Ella Enchanted dir. O’Haver Opens Fri April 9 Various Theaters Some college student once described a particular hallucinogen as “like being kicked in the head by a psychedelic horse.” This is also an apt description of Ella Enchanted, a colorful retch of a film based on a novel by Gail Carson Levine. It retells and […]
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
Feeling Festive
Festfest
FESTFEST Thurs, Fri & Sat, April 8-10 Berbati’s Pan 10 SW 3rd & Nocturnal, 1800 E Burnside Festfest2004 is billed as the festival of all festivals. And though Festfest probably can’t beat out the original Woodstock or even Bumbershoot, its three days of music, art, and film will guarantee that your head will be ringing–and […]
Posted inMusic
Aw, Widdle Wappers
FannyPack–Ha, That’s Cute
FannyPack Sat April 3 Dante’s 1 SW 3rd It is an incontrovertible fact that teenagers are annoying. So even though FannyPack’s gleeful, retarded shtick is enticingly reminiscent of JJ Fad, it really must be considered that this show is going to be a wild explosion of all the things that make you cringe when you […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Fairytale Fodder
The Prince & Me is All Money Shot
The Prince & Me dir. Coolidge Opens Fri April 2 Various Theaters If you’ve ever wondered what goes through a 12-year-old girl’s mind while she’s jacking off, here is your opportunity to find out: The Prince & Me has one of the most endearingly logic-free plots in the history of cinema. It’s a love story […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Band’s Back Together
An MC5 Retrospective
MC5–A True Testimonial Opens Fri April 2 Clinton Street Theater Even though they’re all the same, rock bios just never get old. That myth-like formula of rising and falling from fame is a great backbone for a story, especially when it’s all dressed up with afros and marijuana cigarettes. MC5–A True Testimonial is a thorough […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Hollywood Is For Honkys
White People “Helping” Black People
Never Die Alone dir. Dickerson Opens Fri March 26 Various Theaters Not to sound like a broken record, but Hollywood is fucking racist. Never Die Alone, based on a Donald Goines novel by the same name, is a slick noir featuring all the good stuff: sex, violence, drugs, and cool cars. It’s an updated version […]
Posted inMovies & TV
War Is Messy
And Here Is the Evidence
The Fourth World War dir. Big Noise Films Opens Sat Feb 28 Clinton Street Theater It is possible to make striking, effective documentary films about political activism. Berlusconi’s Mousetrap, or even freaking Bowling For Columbine, work the medium to their advantage, splicing scenes together to create succinct arguments and clear points of view, backed by […]
Posted inMusic
Pirate (Radio) Party
Achieve Symbiosis with the PRA
KPRA Benefit Thurs Feb 26 Holocene 1001 SE Morrison Kevin, Gus, and Sam operate your local pirate radio station, Portland Radio Authority (PRA). Can you hear it? No? A-ha! That’s why they’re having a benefit. SoÉ you guys haven’t gotten caught yet. Sam: Because no one can hear us. Gus: I think we’ve all pretty […]
Posted inNew Years Eve Events
Whatcha Doin’ For New Years?
Ring in 2004 with a Pile of Parties!
Alberta St. Pub–Myshkin’s Ruby Warblers, Nathan Moore, Sqidt To Death, and Amy Denio perform tonight, making it a tidy little mix of celto-punko-gypsy folk and atmospheric whisper-tunes. 1036 NE Alberta, 284-7665, 9 pm, $10 Nocturnal–The Big Bang w/ T-Rexa, The Divided, The Playroom Genderfuck Cabaret (Eva Ning & Max Voltage), Double Trouble, and DJ Devrox. […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Fantastic Voyage
Returner Feeds It Back To Us
Returner dir. Yamazaki Opens Fri Dec 5 Clinton Street Returner is a Japanese action film that literally has it all. There’s aliens, car chases, explosions, an unlikely crime fighting partnership, special effects, and combat choreography. Much like the Terminator series, it concerns a young protagonist, Milly, sent from the future to prevent an intergalactic war, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Knock, Knock. Who’s There?
Another Dead Punk Icon
Hey! Is Dee Dee Home? dir. Kowalski Opens Fri Nov 14 Clinton Street Theater Hey! Is Dee Dee Home?, a documentary about Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone, is truly one for the archivists. Originally filmed as an interview for director Lech Kowalski’s Johnny Thunders movie, the footage primarily consists of Dee Dee tremulously recalling his […]
Posted inMusic
Taken To Jabba
Learn Some Jedi Mind Tricks
Jedi Mind Tricks Sat Nov 15 Meow Meow Jedi Mind Tricks is a dumb name. The underground hiphop group, comprised mainly of rapper Vinnie Paz and producer Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind, may pepper their songs with geeky references to Star Wars, but the juvenility is misleading. Based in Philadelphia, they’re touring in support of […]