Capturing the Friedmans dir. Jarecki Opens Fri, July 11 Pioneer Place I love a good documentary, especially one that involves a conspiracy theory, coercion, sloppy police work, a dysfunctional family, and the tearing of little boys’ buttholes (or more succinctly, sodomy). Capturing the Friedmans has all of these things in one pretty little documentary package, […]
Katie Shimer
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The Freshmaker
Thai Noon; Thai Done Light
It amazes me that people still debate the gentrification of Alberta, because it’s so over. Other than Joe’s Place, the Alberta Street Market (which will soon be torn down and turned into a sushi bar!!!), and a few Mexican markets, Alberta has been lost to the yuppie cheesehead for some time now. Maybe everyone could […]
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Cool Me Off
I’m Burning With Love for Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings 4100 NE Fremont 282-2118 Alright, let’s just get it over with. Doug E. Doug will not be serving you your entrée at Cool Runnings. Now let us proceed. A mix of Jamaican, Caribbean, and Cajun food (three genres you never see enough of), Cool Runnings’ fare is prepared with care, skill, marvel, and […]
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COKE:
From Where It Grows… To Your Nose
It’s pretty damn easy to buy a bag of cocaine in Portland if you know the right people. And even if you don’t, an hour of asking around at any bar with a long bathroom line will probably stir some up. However, the ease with which one can procure a sack of yack is ironic […]
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Not Such a Wallflower
Breakfast Cafe Gets the Point
Utopia Café 3308 SE Belmont 235-7606 There’s no angle on the Utopia Café. It’s not a good place to take Grandma, it’s not great for a date, it’s not healthy, it’s not vegan, it doesn’t have great ambiance and they don’t allow dogs. It’s just really good food. If you haven’t been there before, the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
An Airy 91 Minutes
A Mighty Wind is a Slow-Moving Target
A Mighty Wind dir. Guest Opens Fri May 9 Various Theaters Actors are no good at playing real people. They’re actors. When they’re pretending to really talk on the phone to someone, they pause too much, they intentionally trip on their words, they look too intense, their movements are contrived, and they’re always working up […]
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Sit and Spin
Spun: Another Boring Tweak-Fest
Spun dir. Ackerlund Opens Fri April 18 Cinema 21 Anyone who has ever sniffed a rail of cocaine knows what it’s like to be on speed. Anybody who has ever snorted crystal or crank, smoked crack, taken trucker speed, diet pills, mini-thins, mescaline, ecstasy, PCP, LSD, or drunk too much coffee knows. Practically every person […]
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The Cup Runneth Over
Navarre: A Portland Jewel
Navarre 10 NE 28th 232-3555 Navarre does everything right. Their food is absolutely perfect. I have not one complaint about my visit. Every dish was spectacular. I will continue on, but I have already told you everything you need to know. It’s possible that there could be some skepticism about this fabulous new restaurant because […]
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Thai Machine
Tuk Tuk’s Flavor Falls Flat
Tuk Tuk 4239 NE Fremont 282-0456 A local expert recently said to me, “Tuk Tuk has done for the 1990s what Kim Hong did for the 1980s.” I know, you have no idea what this local expert is talking about. But please, let me explain. For many years, the space at 4239 NE Fremont was […]
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Huff Love
Love Liza Huffs and Huffs
Love Liza dir. Louiso Opens Fri March 28 Fox Tower If there is one thing I can say about Love Liza, it is that it’s certainly one of the most unexpected films I’ve seen in a long time. Previous to seeing it, the movie was described to me as a story about a man whose […]
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Blood Love
Irreversible’s Endurance Test
Irreversible dir. Noe Opens Fri March 28 Cinema 21 Be warned: watching the first 45 minutes of Irreversible is akin to watching Faces of Death. The camera swirls around, scaling buildings and swooping down, making you feel as if you’re going to vomit. The action is unexplained as two men rush around frantically, trying to […]
Posted inMusic
The Scene Creamers are Serious
Svenonius Sings the Gospel
Scene Creamers Fri March 21 Crystal Ballroom Leader of the tight-suited early ’90s political punk band, The Nation of Ulysses, and more recently the evangelistic rock outfit, The Make-Up, Ian Svenonius is always full of surprises. Ian’s latest group, The Scene Creamers, has released its first album, I Suck On That Emotion, by which title […]