BLOGTOWN

Magnolia Pictures

Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and it’s now playing in Portland after being raved about by critics for the past few months. Count me in that group—Shoplifters really moved me, and did it in a sneaky way, carefully setting the table during the film’s early stages for a gut-wrenching and unforgettable ending.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale—Sabrina Spellman's back with a holiday special! Mercury Editor-in-Chief Wm. Steven Humphrey loved the first season of Sabrina, calling it "entertaining, dark, and blisteringly pro-feminist." (Now streaming, Netflix)

Roma—Alfonso Cuarón's insanely acclaimed drama is finally out, and you can either go see it in a theater or stay home and watch it on Netflix. Go see it in a theater. (Now playing at the Hollywood Theatre, now streaming on Netflix)

Half the Picture—"A documentary about women directors—or, more accurately, the lack thereof," says Elinor Jones. "Featuring interviews with Ava DuVernay, Miranda July, Penelope Spheeris, Catherine Hardwicke, and more, the doc includes most of the women who have directed feature films over the last two decades, who are easy to fit into 94 minutes because there aren’t that many of them. It's at first eye-opening, then infuriating." (Fri Dec 14, NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium, followed by panel discussion with filmmaker)

It's at first eye-opening, then infuriating: Women behind the camera have faced obstacles at every level of their professional development, from assumptions that their puny lady arms aren’t strong enough to lift reels to concerns that they’ll be too preoccupied with childcare to top-shelf actors demanding to work with certain male directors. (Those interviewed in Half the Picture are very careful to not name names, which is very womanly of them, but don’t you want to know who those nasty actors are?!)

Read more of the Mercury’s award-winning* movies and TV coverage! For movie times, click here.

*Not actually award-winning