â MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday-Thursday, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.
ADRIFT
An engaging, occasionally harrowing âbased on a true storyâ survival saga, depicting Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharpâs (Sam Claflin) remarkable 1,500 mile voyage in a demasted pleasure yacht. Made in cooperation with Oldham, Adrift presents a faithful (if occasionally heightened) adaptation of her memoir; that said, neither the fizzy tropical romance that begins Tami and Richardâs story nor the desperate tedium that concludes it have much of a dramatic arc. Director Baltasar KormĂĄkur (Everest) wisely intermingles the two threads. BEN COLEMAN Various Theaters.
AMERICAN ANIMALS
See review, this issue. Various Theaters.
BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II
Once upon the 1980s, a young Republican in a life-vest, with the help of his science friend, traveled back in time, where he had to prevent his motherâs sexual advances and instead steer her towards Crispin Gloverâs dick. He succeeded, but accidentally transformed the future into Planet Las Vegas, which sounds cool, but was actually kinda shitty. Even shittier? When this movie was written, the dystopian future on display was considered a satirical, way over-the-top farce featuring a disgusting, burnt-out America embodied by a caricature of Donald Trump that went too easy on the man by at least half. Back to the Future Part II was always the most mean-spirited film in the trilogy, sometimes aiming for spirited but landing in teeth-on-tinfoil territory. Watching it in 2018? If it wasnât for the whole time-travel thing, you would swear this shit was a documentary. BOBBY ROBERTS Academy Theater.
BUT IâM A CHEERLEADER
A screening of Jamie Babbitâs ahead-of-its-time satire, with proceeds benefitting TransActive Gender Center. Clinton Street Theater.
THE CHANGELING
For this monthâs installment in Hollywood Theatreâs viewer-request showcase âThis is Your Theater,â the viewers have decided that early summer is the perfect time to revisit... (checks notes) uh, Peter Medakâs 1980 depressing mindfuck of a ghost story, The Changeling, starring George C. Scott as a man haunted by the death of his wife and daughter who tries to move through his grief by renovating an old house haunted by a drowned boy and a legitimately unnerving wheelchair in the attic. So... yeah. Welcome to summer, ya fuckinâ weirdos. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
DEADPOOL 2
If youâre not a Deadpool fan, the entire phenomenon probably seems obnoxious. Deadpoolâs a self-aware superhero who talks like an overcaffeinated vlogger from 2009âand get this! He says the F-word! Sure, whatever. But with David Leitch in the directorâs chair for Deadpool 2, itâs much easier to see the characterâs appeal. Just as he did with Atomic Blonde, Leitch shoots Deadpool 2 with kinetic whimsy, choreographing symphonies of R-rated gore with such obvious glee that the feeling is contagious. VINCE MANCINI Various Theaters.
THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH
A one-time screening of The Exorcist director William Friedkinâs documentary about an ACTUAL EXORCISM that combines Friedkinâs âstartling and singular footageâ with âinterviews from priests, psychologists, neurosurgeons, and non-believers.â AAAAAAAAAAAHHHGGGHHHHHHH Hollywood Theatre.
DONâT WORRY, HE WONâT GET FAR ON FOOT
Gus Van Sant hosts an advance benefit screening of his film detailing the remarkable life of Willamette Week political cartoonist John Callahan, as played by Joaquin Phoenix. Cinema 21.
FEMALE TROUBLE
Just in time for Pride, the Hollywood Theatre unleashes a new film series: Mondo Trasho. With a title like that, you might be thinking âHmm... smells like John Waters to me,â and oh boy are you gonna get your nose mashed into the plentiful, joyful stink that is the Baltimore bad boyâs 1974 queer classic Female Trouble. Honestly, itâd be some sort of cinematic crime if they didnât kick off a trash cinema series with Divine front and center. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
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FIRST REFORMED
Writer/director Paul Schrader redeems his recent misfires with the extraordinary First Reformed, a film whose outward restraint belies emotions just as explosive as those in his screenplays for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Ethan Hawke gives a career-best performance as a pastor at a neglected church in upstate New York; after counseling a doomsday-minded environmentalist, he spirals into his own set of crises. In the movieâs second half, Schrader does a couple of audacious things that may alienate more literal-minded viewers, but this is a movie that seethes with ideas even as it, like Hawkeâs pastor, maintains an outward asceticism. Plus, Cedric the Entertainer! NED LANNAMANN Various Theaters.
FRESH FEAR
A horror-flavored spinoff of the Fresh Film Northwest festival, collecting the best shorts made by teenagers in the region. Hosted by Queer Horrorâs Carla Rossi. NW Film Centerâs Whitsell Auditorium.
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FULL METAL JACKET
âAre you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy fucking walrus-looking piece of shit! Get the fuck off of my obstacle! Get the fuck down off of my obstacle! Now! Move it! Or Iâm going to rip your balls off so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world!â Screened in 35mm in honor of R. Lee Ermey, with Ermeyâs acting coach on the film, Leon Vitali, in attendance. Hollywood Theatre.
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THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE
See review this issue.. Fox Tower 10.
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HEREDITARY
See review, this issue. Various Theaters.
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HOTEL ARTEMIS
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES
I donât know what the experience of being a young male punk is like, but it seems like maybe I should at this point, because thatâs the perspective we always seem to get. Whatâs life like for this one regular punk guy? If you still donât knowâif SLC Punk, Rude Boy, or Trainspotting didnât tell youâthen How to Talk to Girls at Parties is here to tell you again. SUZETTE SMITH Cinema 21.
INGMAR BERGMAN: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION
For all of June and most of July, NW Film Center pays tribute to an absolute legend of cinema, Ingmar Bergman, including the biggest hits in his filmography (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Fanny and Alexander, and Persona) as well as many lesser-seen triumphs, all digitally restored by Janus Films and the Swedish Film Institute. NW Film Centerâs Whitsell Auditorium.
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KUNG FU THEATER: THE DRAGON, THE HERO
This monthâs installment in Dan Halstedâs ongoing celebration of all things whoop-ass is the only known 35mm print of 1979âs The Dragon, The Hero, about an assassin facing an evil villain whoâs basically a really shitty thrift store owner. If that sounds sorta low-stakes, the film makes sure the path to the back office of this antiques smuggling ring is stocked with all sorts of colorful characters for the kicking, including drunken masters, opium addicts, and a Bruce Lee impersonator. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
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MOUNTAIN
Clocking in at just over an hour, thereâs not a lot of there there in Mountain, but what is there is fantastic: Awe-inspiring, breath-catching, and vertigo-inducing footage of some of the most beautiful and dangerous mountains on the planetâalong with footage of climbers, skiers, snowboarders, bikers, wingsuiters, slackliners, and more doing absolutely insane shit on them. With an overly dramatic score performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Willem Dafoe narrating occasionally purple prose, Mountain isnât perfect, but between its wondrous, humbling aerial cinematography and its clips from battered GoPros, itâs impossible not to be caught up in the majesty and adrenaline. I watched Mountain at home on my crappy TV and I was still inspired and terrified, but donât make my mistakeâsee it on the biggest screen you can. ERIK HENRIKSEN Cinema 21.
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THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
Of all the big-screen Muppet adventures, 1984âs The Muppets Take Manhattan is the most uneven. But while the story (Kermit and company want to stage a Broadway musical) never quite takes off, even mediocre Muppetry is still a good time, and Manhattan boasts two legitimately great sequences: The wedding of Kermit and Miss Piggy (spoilers!) and the first-ever appearance of the Muppet Babies, whose adorability couldnât be contained in a single film and went on to become a beloved, award-winning Saturday morning cartoon. Also starring Dabney Coleman, who is first-rate. BOBBY ROBERTS Academy Theater.
NATIVE WISDOM FILMS
Wisdom of the Elders presents People of the Oregon Interior, a documentary about the impact of environmental change on Native peoples in the Pacific Northwest. Hollywood Theatre.
NOSSA CHAPE
Jeff and Michael Zimbalistâs documentary on the tragedy of Brazilâs Chapecoense football club, all but three of whom died in a 2016 plane crash, and their rebuilding on the way to a championship gameâa game that necessitates the team fly that same route. Cinema 21.
OCEANâS 8
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
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ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOâS NEST
This 1975 adaptation of the novel by Oregonian Ken Kesey was MiloĹĄ Formanâs big splash in American mainstream cinema, and won about a bazillion Oscars. Filmed in Salem, itâs an incredibly bleak satire dealing with distribution of power; Forman, an exiled Czech, is preoccupied with the oppression of the individual at the hands of those in controlâin this case, the nurses and doctors at an insane asylum. But itâs a comedy, isnât it? Jack Nicholson mugs it up as a con artist posing as a lunatic to avoid hard time; his skewed mindset and goofball antics inject some life into the other crazies. Sure, it doesnât end well, but the movie isnât afraid to entertain even as it asks tough questions. NED LANNAMANN Hollywood Theatre.
PORTLAND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
This fest returns with shorts from all over the world spanning the horror spectrumâfrom funny-gross to gross-gross, from understated eerie to full-blown bizarre. COURTNEY FERGUSON Hollywood Theatre.
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RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not a silly person. Sheâs fucking smart. Like, Iâm-embarrassed-that-this-idiot-brain-is-the-one-I-have-to-use-to-write-about-her smart. She was the second woman confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court. She was the first woman on both the Harvard Law Review and the Columbia Law Review. She can do more push-ups than you. She eats prunes. Sheâs not a kooky old grandma. In fact, in terms of beloved old beings, sheâs more Gandalf than Betty White. Yâall shall not pass shit. ELINOR JONES Cinema 21, Hollywood Theatre.
UPGRADE
One of the things I miss most about my childhood is being able to enjoy movies that were kind of bad. Steven Seagal vehicles come to mind, but there were lots of others. Movies that werenât good, exactly, and clearly hadnât cost a lot to make, but nonetheless had a certain dynamism and visceral thump. They had grit before âgrittyâ meant a steroidal Batman. Upgrade is a throwback to those movies, a sort of schlock action sci-fi thriller thatâs heavy on the viscera and light on the introspection. VINCE MANCINI Various Theaters.
