For only being a plus-size gorilla, King Kong has still become one of American cinema’s biggest stars, appearing in a slew of films over the past 70 years—and almost all of them have sucked. • King Kong (1933)—With still-amazing special effects and an epic but fast-paced story, the original King Kong is so rad that […]
Erik Henriksen
With honor and distinction, Erik Henriksen served as the executive editor of the Portland Mercury from 2004 to 2020. He can now be found at henriksenactual.com.
Posted inMusic
U2 4-EV-R
Can We Just Admit We Like U2 Already?
IT’S ALREADY BEEN SAID a thousand times, but once more can’t hurt: Fuck Bono. I mean, man, aren’t we all just sick of his shit? Okay, so he “means well” and has a “good heart” and “helps people” and all that bullshit. But Jee-zus Christ am I sick of hearing about how he single-handedly cured […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Chronicles of Nerdia
Lord of the Rings—Sunday School-Style!
C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe—the most famous book in his revered, Christian-flavored The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series—sounds like the ideal multiplex offering: a family friendly mix of fantasy filmmaking, literary heritage, and Happy Meal tie-ins. Hence Hollywood’s long-awaited The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Going Out
Disney’s Dual Narnias
A few years ago, it might have been a problem: Filming a fantasy novel that also happens to be a Christian allegory. In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, four siblings—the boys dubbed “sons of Adam,” the girls “daughters of Eve”—venture to a fantasy land where they meet a Christ-like […]
Posted inBooks
The Areas of My Expertise
Often I have said to myself, while reading: “Dear, dear. This book is quite satisfactory
Posted inMovies & TV
Fucking Rad!
First Descent’s Snowboarding Shenanigans
It’s been a good few years for sports documentaries. 2001 kicked things off with Stacy Peralta’s kickass skate doc, Dogtown and Z-Boys, while 2003 had Dana Brown’s surfing film, Step Into Liquid. Peralta promptly followed in 2004 with his spectacular examination of big-wave surfing, Riding Giants, and shit, even off-road racing got its due, with […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
Sex, guns, and Tech
The live-action adaptation of Aeon Flux opens this week—but we can’t tell you anything about it. It wasn’t screened for critics, which probably means that the studio’s hoping that no press is better than bad press. What we can tell you about is the recently released, digitally remastered Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection; an […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Adorable Losers
Crime, Malaise, and a Dork in The Ice Harvest
John Cusack’s made a hell of a career out of being a dork. Not a real dork, mind you—as far as I can recall, he (thankfully) hasn’t ever thrown down Dungeons & Dragons-style, and he clearly has no problem scoring with chicks. But his nebbish sort of self-consciousness and cleverer-than-average-everyman shtick has marked him, ever […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Family Dynamics
A Touching, Hilarious Yours, Mine and Ours
What the hell? You were seriously going to read a review for Yours, Mine & Ours? BUSTED! Nobody wants see a review for Yours, Mine & Ours! I mean—look at it! It’s got Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo in it! It’s some crappy Thanksgiving family comedy! It’s directed by the guy who did the live-action […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Geek Out
Of Wookiees and Wampas
Star Wars Battlefront IIDeveloped by Pandemic StudiosAvailable for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable You’ve got to hand it to George Lucas: If nothing else, the guy knows his shit when it comes to marketing. Witness his multi-kazillion dollar empire, and his latest entry in the Star Wars videogame mega-franchise—Pandemic Studios’ Star Wars Battlefront […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I Was a Hot Night Elf of Azeroth
How Mercury Reporter Erik Henriksen Bravely Ventured Into the World of Warcraft
How Mercury reporter Erik Henriksen bravely ventured into the World of Warcraft.
Posted inMovies & TV
Wasted Sympathy
More Revenge from the Director of Oldboy
Is it fair to judge an artist’s work in relation to their other work? Okay, more specifically: Should an earlier film by Chan-Wook Park, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, be examined as individual work, or in relation to Park’s more recent film, Oldboy? I’m going to guess that no, it’s not fair—but since when is life […]