Fahrenheit 911 dir. Moore Opens Fri June 25 Various Theaters Want to go for a ride? It’s a roller coaster/house of horrors that spans the past four years of American politics. Buckle up! Fahrenheit 9/11 begins with George W. Bush’s ascension to the presidency and drops you right back into the present quagmire. Given the […]
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 inMusic
Drop A Dot
Legendary Pink Dots Knead Your Mind
Legendary Pink Dots Sat. June 26 Berbati’s Pan 10 SW 3rd You don’t really need the drugs. With over 25 releases available from cult geniuses the Legendary Pink Dots, all you need is a turntable and the desire to have your mind kneaded into ponderous hypnosis and tricked down dripping halls of epic psychedelia. Not […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Hanoi Rocked
Howard Zinn’s Rockumentary
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train Dir. Ellis and Mueller Opens Fri June 18 Cinema 21 If your career as a rockstar is flailing, maybe you should consider becoming a historian. Just look at Howard Zinn, author of numerous tomes (including the wildly popular A People’s History of the United States) […]
Posted inNews
Gay Up Your Pet!
Pets Have Pride, Too!
Stan, like many cats, enjoys drag. He’s fond of accessorizing with scarves and beads–actually, any kind of frilly neckwear makes him feel pretty and content. If your dog or cat has gay tendencies like Stan, allow them to flaunt it with the same pride that gay people do! And what better time of year than […]
Posted inNews
Freedom Ain´t Free
How Three Burnt SUVs Bought Jeffrey Luers 22 Years in Prison
On June 16, 2000, 23-year-old Jeffrey “Free” Luers lit three Sport Utility Vehicles on fire. An articulate and by most accounts warmhearted young man, Luers had been an activist since 1996. He was well known in the community for his work dealing with issues like police misconduct and eco-defense, as well as affiliations with organizations […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Boys, Boats, & Bloody Noses
The Rugged Mystery of The Return
The Return dir. Zvyagintsev Opens Fri June 4 Cinema 21 The Return is both beautiful and bewildering. Set in rural Russia, its unique premise is of a father reuniting with his two sons after 12 years. The catch is that nobody says where he was or why he came back, only that the boys had […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Let’s Play House
And Lock John Corbett Out
Raising Helen dir. Garry Marshall Opens Fri May 28 Various Theaters Mothers’ Day doesn’t have to end! If you can’t get enough of that springtime female energy, drag it out by seeing Raising Helen, the latest from cheese-peddlin’ director Garry Marshall. It stars Kate Hudson as glamorous party girl Helen, who is entrusted with the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
In The Cold
The Most Alienating Movie in the World
The Saddest Music in the World dir. Maddin Opens Fri May 14 Cinema 21 This is one hell of a film–or so it insists. From the very beginning it assaults its audience with the assertion that it is arty, deep, and important. This is first presented by the film’s look–dark, grainy black-and-white that’s purposely smeared, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Whiskey for Breakfast
A Jumbled Hunter S. Thompson Doc
Breakfast with Hunter dir. Ewing Opens Fri April 23 Clinton Street Theater Breakfast with Hunter is definitely for fans. The documentary on the loquacious pioneer of “gonzo journalism,” Hunter S. Thompson, does little to explain its content. Rather than acting as a retrospective, biographical exposition, or analysis of the man, its coverage is mostly limited […]
Posted inMusic
Cinema in Your Stereo
Manta Ray: Music You Can See
Manta Ray Sat April 17 Berbati’s Pan 10 SW 3rd Manta Ray, that band generically referred to as Spain’s “premier post-punk band,” has never visited the United States before. Hopefully, their experience of the country first-hand will be less gloomy than their awareness of American racial oppression, as referenced by the song “Rosa Parks” on […]
Posted inNews
How the Hell Do I Get Cut Off?
An Informational Guide
The OLCC has a huge list of drunken characteristics that bartenders are supposed to watch for. Read it if you get a chance (it’s posted above the bar at Sassy’s), because it will most likely describe permanent characteristics of your lifestyle, drink or no drink. (For instance “careless with money” or “messed-up hair.”) And for […]
Posted inNews
Benicio likes beaver
Mary’s Girls Dish Celeb Dirt
It ain’t New York, and it ain’t L.A. That’s why, when celebrities are spotted around Portland, we still totally dork out. (Witness the recent Britney shopping stampede at the Red Light.) But if you know where to look for them, celeb sightings in P-town aren’t as rare as they seem. One such place is Mary’s […]