War of the Worlds dir. Spielberg Now Playing Various Theaters Christ, I am so predictable. Make a movie with aliens in it, and I’ll go. Toss in some explosions and make it a big summer blockbuster, and I’ll be talking about it for weeks ahead of time. And put Steven Spielberg behind the camera, and […]
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 inMovies & TV
Geek Out
Marvel vs. DC
There are certainly worse things than being confused about comic book movie allegiances, but still–for me, this shit is pretty disconcerting. Case in point: Last week, I found myself more excited about two movies featuring DC Comics characters–Batman Begins and next summer’s Superman Returns–than I was about any of Marvel Comics’ upcoming films. Understand: I’ve […]
Posted inBooks
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (Image) With Hollywood’s greatest Living Dead auteur, George A. Romero, releasing his latest movie this week, there’s no better time to realize that there’s something about zombies. I suppose if I was in a drunkenly philosophic mood, I could come up with […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Zombies! With Guns!
Romero Returns to the Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead dir. Romero Opens Fri June 24 Various Theaters Land of the Dead is being billed as George A. Romero’s “ultimate zombie masterpiece.” That’s a goddamn lie. Truthfully, Land of the Dead isn’t that great compared to Romero’s previous zombie films. Largely responsible for the modern zombie genre, Romero’s 1968 Night of […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
Hail to the King
The man, the myth, the legend: Bruce Campbell, a veritable god amongst film geeks. Best known for his starring roles as the monster-killin’, smack-talkin’ Ash in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, Campbell’s also been in a ton of less infamous projects–from the short-lived TV series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. to writing, directing, and […]
Posted inVideo Games
Advent Rising
Advent Rising by GlyphX Games, written by Orson Scott Card and Cameron Dayton Advent Rising is the worst sort of videogame: One that’s just good enough to make you wish it was a lot better. On the surface, Advent Rising really kicks some ass–the first part in a proposed trilogy, the game has an epic, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Dark Knight Returns
A New Beginning for Batman
Batman Begins dir. Nolan Now Playing Various Theaters Of all the foes that Batman’s faced–the Joker, the Riddler, Two-Face, the Penguin–the only one that ever really kicked his ass was Hollywood. Filmmakers and studios have never quite known what the hell to do with DC Comics’ dark, brooding, and borderline sociopathic superhero. (Or, more accurately, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m a Bossy Jerk
Go See Howl’s Moving Castle. Now!
Howl’s Moving Castle dir. Miyazaki Opens Fri June 10 Fox Tower One of the few hard things about reviewing movies is what happens when nearly perfect films come along. It’s a lot easier to tear something down than to praise it; listing 50 reasons to avoid National Treasure requires a lot less effort than motivating […]
Posted inNews
Lights! Camera! Bottoms Up!
Will Portland Movie Theaters Go Wet?
Last week, controversy erupted when Regal Cinemas submitted an application to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission–an application that Regal hoped would help them obtain a liquor license for their downtown Pioneer Place Theater. The proposed plan would allow adults to purchase and drink beer and wine in a reserved section of the lobby–but, if approved, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Hurts So Good
Suffering Through Oldboy’s Brutal Euphoria
Oldboy dir. Park Opens Fri June 3 Cinema 21 I’ve never really been one for pain–I start hyperventilating at the sight of a needle, and I don’t really get the whole S&M thing–so I’m trying to figure out why I liked Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy so much. The film is a singularly, unflinchingly painful experience, containing […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Children of the Revolution
One More Trip to Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown dir. Hardwicke Opens Fri June 3 Various Theaters As most everybody knows by now, the streets of Dogtown–a lousy, rundown area between Santa Monica and Venice Beach–gave birth to modern skateboarding. More accurately, it was Dogtown’s teenaged residents, the Z-Boys, who used urethane wheels and empty swimming pools to reinvent a sport. […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
The Lord of Dogtown
Stacy Peralta was just a teenager in the early ’70s, when he and the rest of the “Z-Boys”–a group of skaters that included Jay Adams and Tony Alva–more or less invented modern skateboarding. Shortly afterward, Peralta showed his business savvy, first co-founding the Powell-Peralta skate gear company, then moving on to direct skate videos and […]