There’s something charmingly bizarro about annual by-country groupings of cinema. Movements can certainly emerge based on convergence of time and place—but more often, a geographically thematic festival like this week’s seventh annual German Film Festival is a total grab bag. The opening night film is the American premiere of Erich Kästner and Little Tuesday, which […]
Marjorie Skinner
Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and other arts and feature sections of the paper. She has been writing about Portland life and culture for the Mercury since 2001, produces one of Portland's largest annual spring fashion shows, and occasionally answers emails.
Posted inMovies & TV
The Portland German Film Festival: Now Featuring Hamsters!
Also: WWII and Try-Hards
Also: WWII and try-hards.
Posted inMovies & TV
The Light Between Oceans: Another Derek Cianfrance Movie About Pretty People Pretending to Be Sad
In the wake of World War I, people were defined by what they had lost. A generation of young men had been scorched from the earth, leaving a corresponding generation of young women desperate to find a match and begin the work of repopulating their communities. It’s helpful, when embarking into the sheer sadness of […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Light Between Oceans (and One Really Bad Idea)
When Bad Ideas Happen to Good People
When bad ideas happen to good people.
Posted inMovies & TV
Everything’s Terrible! (Except Microbe and Gasoline)
It’s grim out there. With the world seeming like it’s thiiiis close to imploding into chaos, it’s worth considering what art should do: add insight to, or distract from, humanity’s mounting troubles. When the latter impulse calls, Michel Gondry’s latest, Microbe and Gasoline, seems to step out of better times. It may not be all […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Hitting the Road with Microbe and Gasoline
Michel Gondry’s Eccentric Tale Offers Some Much-Needed Optimism
Michel Gondry’s eccentric tale offers some much-needed optimism.
Posted inMovies & TV
Love & Friendship Is the Best Underworld Movie Yet
It’s a little rude to betray the wishes of an author who kept certain books out of public view. Still, examining early, inferior, or neglected manuscripts can enable a richer understanding of the author’s work. So in a sense, director Whit Stillman’s unearthing of a very young Jane Austen’s unpublished novella from the late 1700s, […]
Posted inBooks
Love & Friendship and Jane Austen
Of 18th Century Feminism. And Peas!
Of 18th century feminism. And peas!
Posted inMovies & TV
Tonight at the Hollywood: Kelly Reichardt’s River of Grass (with Reichardt in Attendance!)
Kelly Reichardt is a master of the non-event. The films she’s best known for—Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff, Night Moves—take place within limbos. Her characters are displaced, short on money and options. Her characters are ordinary people, shuffling along the margins. Her characters might have faults, but they aren’t bad enough to bring about a […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Being Charlie Is a Movie About a Little Shit
Points for honesty: Being Charlie was co-written by director Rob Reiner’s son Nick, based on his own experiences dealing with substance abuse. The making of Being Charlie was doubtless a therapeutically beneficial exchange between father and son—but despite insights into life at a rehab center and the strum of a few emotional chords, Charlie is […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Kelly Reichardt’s Unearthed River of Grass
The Director’s Little-Seen 1994 Debut Gets Re-Released
The director’s little-seen 1994 debut gets re-released.
Posted inMovies & TV
Being Charlie and the Reiner Family Overshare
This Movie Means a Lot to Rob Reiner! We Don’t Need to See It.
This movie means a lot to Rob Reiner! We don’t need to see it.