Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Peabody award-winning documentarian Steve James (Hoop Dreams) turns his eye on the story of the Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings in Chinatown, New York— notable for being the only savings and loan following the financial crisis of the 2000s to get hit with criminal charges. The district attorney who went after them? None other than recently-revealed-to-be-a-shitheel Cyrus R. Vance, AKA the guy the Trumps bought off to keep our repugnant president’s goulish hellspawn out of prison.NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
★ All-Night Horror Marathon
The unknown is literally a scary thing tonight—or rather, it’s four scary things. If you wanna know what horror classics from the 1970s and ’80s are getting screened in 35mm tonight, you’ll have to enter the theater first in order to discover what bloody treasures await you, alongside the more mundane (but delicious) treasures of pizza, beer, and coffee. Hollywood Theatre.
Animated Worlds: Stop Motion Classics
A series dedicated to spotlighting some of the most miraculous cinema ever created, with entries from directors including Henry Selick, Nick Park & Peter Lord, Wes Anderson, and Travis Knight. See nwfilm.org for a full list of titles and showtimes. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
The Beyond
Spreading Lucio Fulci’s 1981 supernatural freakout across the Hollywood’s giant curved screen would be enough by itself to send self-respecting horror aficionados screaming to the box office. But this screening goes one step further, and includes legendary composer Fabio Frizzi playing a new version of the score with a seven-piece band, live, as the unrepentant malevolence of the film (Zombies! Giant fucking spiders! Demon dogs! Eyeball stabbin’!) plays behind him. Hollywood Theatre.
Boo 2! A Madea Halloween
You know what? I’m not even mad at this. Tyler Perry’s at the point now where the consistency of his bullshit is such that you have to admire it. Of course this wasn’t screened for critics. He’s never needed them before, and the sequel to Boo: A Madea Halloween sure as shit doesn’t need ‘em now. Various Theaters.
Breathe
Gollum's directorial debut is a based-on-a-true-story tale about aRobin Cavendish (played by Spider-Man), who, paralyzed by polio and given three months to live, grabs his wife (played by Queen Elizabeth II) and goes on an inspirational world tour. Not screened in time for press. Various Theaters.
★ Coraline
Once upon a time, children’s films had teeth and weren’t afraid to use them. As time passed, anything overtly aimed at kids got its crusts cut off, forced to assume the shape and feel of an overstuffed pillow. That is not the story of Coraline, LAIKA’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beautifully sharp fable, which has bite strong enough to leave marks on any smart, inventive child’s imagination. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
The Devil, Probably
Robert Bresson’s 1977 film about a disillusioned Parisian youth who comes to the startling realization that society is an inescapable existential prison. You know, the sort of fluffy, light-hearted escapist fare that post-Vietnam French cinema is known for. Fifth Avenue Cinema.
★ The Evil Dead
The first Evil Dead is a film that’s been a little misunderstood over the years. Its sequels (and amazingly, a live musical adaptation) veered strongly towards black comedy and splatstick, so people would go back to that first movie and not quite get it—why isn’t it funny? It’s supposed to be funny, right? No. Raimi wasn’t trying to do anything but scar you with that first film, and once you stop looking for all the winks and nods that aren’t there, The Evil Dead reveals itself as the irresponsible and mean-spirited little poison pill it is. BOBBY ROBERTS Academy Theater.
The Exterminating Angel
Luis Buñuel's 1962 satire of cosmopolitan society, set at a dinner party that devolves into the sort of surreality only Buñuel can conjure up—with no shortage of shocking-yet-silly scenes to be lodged in your brainmeats forever. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
★ The Florida Project
See review, this issue. Hollywood Theatre.
Geostorm
This isn’t a new video game? Seriously? All this time, I thought it was like a semi-realistic looking third-person shooter thingy, but it’s actually a fuckin’ movie? That’s surprising! Not as surprising: Nobody at the studio wanted to screen it for critics. So you’re on your own, would-be geostormers! Various Theaters.
★ Human Flow
See review, this issue. Hollywood Theatre.
The Leopard Man
Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur quickly reunited after their sultry and weird little werecat movie Cat People. The result was The Leopard Man. 1940s audiences thought they were in for more wacky cat-monster hijinks! What they actually got was a 66-minute serial killer suspense thriller, decades before the term would even be invented. If you're in the middle of a Mindhunter binge, press pause, hit the Hollywood, and check out one of the first (and deepest) roots of the genre. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
★ Lucky
Before shuffling off this mortal coil at 91, Harry Dean Stanton filmed his last starring role as Lucky, a chain-smoking realist who’s as prickly as the saguaros in his dusty small town. It’s very slow—the film follows Lucky’s molasses-paced daily routine as he agonizes over his crossword puzzles, does yoga in his underwear (those long shots of Stanton’s wrinkly flesh are something), and sips Bloody Marias at the same dive every night. David Lynch makes an appearance as Lucky’s drinking buddy, Harold, who spends the film pining over President Roosevelt, his runaway pet tortoise. But Lucky is also very sweet—even though Lucky’s convinced that death will plunge him into a void of nothingness, he still gets up each morning and keeps living. Lucky plays like a final wink from Stanton, so prepare to have those tears jerked right out of your eyeballs. CIARA DOLAN Cinema 21, Hollywood Theatre.
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House
Peter Landesman wrote and directed this adaptation of Deep Throat’s memoir, and got Liam Neeson to play him. Does this mean this version of Deep Throat is suddenly going to start neck-punching Beltway insiders who dare cross his path? Probably not. But it’d be way more fun if he did. Fox Tower 10.
Match Cut Movie Club
A mystery screening series: Buy a ticket, be surprised. Past selections have included George Lucas’ American Graffiti, The Shane Black-penned The Long Kiss Goodnight, and John Sayles’ Lone Star. More at matchcutmovieclub.com. Hotel deLuxe.
Only the Brave
So far the most notable thing about the latest film by director Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy, Oblivion) has nothing to do with the film itself, but concerns star Josh Brolin mouthing off in a pre-release interview about what a tantrum-throwing little shitbird James Cameron is—especially when you tell ol' Jim you don't wanna be in the vaporware sequels to his big-budget fetish porn about USB-powered cat people. Will anything in this based-on-a-true story tale of B-team firefighters burn as hot as Brolin's off-the-cuff flames? You'll have to find out for yourself, because this wasn't screened for critics.Various Theaters.
★ Pipe Organ Pictures: The Phantom of the Opera
1925’s silent Lon Chaney classic, featuring live organ accompaniment by Martin Ellis. Hollywood Theatre.
Re-run Theater: X-Files & Millennium
The Hollywood’s tribute to classic television. This month: troublesome sci-fi showrunner Chris Carter gets some shine, with back to back episodes of The X-Files (the one where a call center employee thinks his boss is a bug-monster), and the less highly-regarded-yet-still-pretty-good Millennium, starring Lance Henriksen as a kindly-yet-creepy psychic ex-FBI agent who has irrevocably changed the lives of three coffee-sipping demons. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
Same Kind of Different as Me
Greg Kinnear and Renee Zellwéger star in a "faith-based" drama. Hey, doesn't it feel like maybe this week is some sort of, oh, let's call it a "dumping ground" for studios ? Not screened for critics. Various Theaters.
Score: A Film Music Documentary
See review, this issue. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
The Secret of Roan Inish
NW FIlm Center continues its admirable mission to present alternative choices for mid-afternoon kids fare. Sure, you could sit your li’l anklebiters in front of a screen and dose ‘em with more Minions (ugh) or you could bring ‘em to the Portland Art Museum (way better already) and have them take in John Sayles’ sweet-natured mystery/adventure about a little Irish girl who believes her long-lost baby brother was raised by seals. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
A Silent Voice
Naoko Yamada’s latest anime feature tells the story of a deaf student who grows into a unique relationship with her bully, years after their tumultuous time together in elementary school. Various Theaters.
The Snowman
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday, October 20-Thursday, October 26, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.
