â MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday-Thursday, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.
AMERICAN ANIMALS
Forget all the heist movies in which thieves steal humdrum things like diamonds or coaxium. The big score in American Animals is something to get really excited about: rare books. Based on a true story about a plot to relieve the library at Kentuckyâs Transylvania University of its most valuable tomes, director Bart Laytonâs first foray into scripted filmmaking is an odd mashup of his usual documentary style and narrative storytelling. NED LANNAMANN 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 fun 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.
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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 Fox Tower 10.
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GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)
âTHEY CAUSED AN EXPLOSION!â Academy Theater.
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HEREDITARY
If youâre not comfortable with the very real possibility that youâll be drenched in sweat and cowering in the fetal position by the end of Hereditary, perhaps this is one cinematic experience you should skip. But youâd be missing outâwriter/director Ari Asterâs feature debut might be one of the most beautiful and nauseating horror movies ever made. CIARA DOLAN Hollywood Theatre.
HOTEL ARTEMIS
Most genre films have an oddball character or two thrown in for color. An eccentric specialist or secretive fixer, they pop into the story for a bit, perform a difficult task, possibly while delivering a staccato monologue, and then disappear. âIâd like to see a movie thatâs just about THEM,â one occasionally thinks. Hotel Artemis that movie, and itâs just as good as it sounds. It also features Jeff Goldblum playing a character named âThe Wolf King of Malibu.â BEN COLEMAN Various Theaters.
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INCREDIBLES 2
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
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.
MA VIE EN ROSE
Alain Berlinerâs 1997 debut blends reality, fantasy, drama, and whimsy into the story of a young transgender girl in a small Belgian town who simply wants to marry the little boy next door. The ACLU of Oregon will host a post-screening talkback panel. Hollywood Theatre.
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MILK
Gus Van Santâs fleshing out the story of gay politician and activist Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) in such a moving and humane way is as invaluable as the words Milk would bark through bullhorns. Sure, Van Sant canât resist putting in some treacly, melodramatic scenes that unfortunately stick out, but for the most part, Milkâs story is simply real, which makes it that much more powerful and relevant. AMY J. RUIZ Clinton Street Theater.
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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 & Co. 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.
OCEANâS 8
There will be people who say that the Oceanâs 11 franchise is ruined now that it stars women. To them I say: Whatâs it like to be joyless? Because (1) heist movies are always good, and (2) itâs not like the Oceanâs movies were Citizen fucking Kane. This spin-off builds off of an already-insane universe and incorporates womenâs empowerment and beautiful jewelry. Whatâs not to like?! ELINOR JONES Various Theaters.
PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE
Remember when Tim Burton made good movies? Okay, that's probably a little un-generous, so lets try this instead: Remember when Tim Burton made fun movies? And fun as in "Oh, that's so childlike and delightful," and not fun as in "Hey, Batman just shoved six sticks of dynamite into a clown's nutsack." 1987's Pee-wee's Big Adventure was Burton's feature debut, and partnered with Paul Reubens at his best, an exquisite red bike, and an expert deployment of "Tequila," it was a big, deserved win. In the 30-plus years since both men have traveled a very potholed road but this look in the rearview at their sunshiny success is still pure smile fuel. BOBBY ROBERTS Academy Theater.
PORTLAND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
This fest features shorts from all over the world spanning the horror spectrumâfrom funny-gross to gross-gross, from understated eerie to full-blown bizarre. Hollywood Theatre.
PORTLAND JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
There are infinite ways in which to reshuffle categories of film, and the world puts out so much that the sheer quantity begs for organization. And so we have strange, simultaneous exercises in homogeny and disparity like the NW Film Centerâs annual Jewish Film Festival. Come for the compendium of culturally specific accomplishments; stay for a series that covers a massive amount of ground in theme, geography, and style. MARJORIE SKINNER NW Film Centerâs Whitsell Auditorium.
PORTLAND LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL: RITA: THE DOCUMENTARY
Monthly screenings from the Portland Latin American Film Festival. This month: Arturo Diaz Santanaâs Rita: The Documentary, a portrait of the artist and Mexico in the 1990s. Director in attendance. Hollywood Theatre.
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QUEER HORROR: SCREAM
Carla Rossiâs bimonthly celebration of a genre known for its predilections towards transgressive shock returns to the Hollywood Theatre with the post-modern deconstruction of slashers, Kevin Williamson and Wes Cravenâs Scream. Craven perfected the blend of self-awareness and scares that he indulged in 1994âs New Nightmare, and Williamson created a calling card so good that it gave him the leverage to get Dawsonâs Creek made, ensuring that even if he never wrote anything as effective or engaging as Scream again (and he didnât), his legacy would still be worthy of celebratingâwhich is exactly what Rossi will be doing with the nightâs bloody, bawdy pre-show tribute. BOBBY ROBERTS 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.
REPRESSED CINEMA: GURU THE MAD MONK
This monthâs deep dive into vaults of mostly-unseen cinema history unearths a rare 35mm print of notorious low-budget auteur Andy Milliganâs 1970 weird-horror curio Guru the Mad Monk. Milligan didnât just write, direct, produce, edit, and shoot the picture, he went so far as to make the damn costumes. Granted, âmaking the costumesâ often looks like âtie this towel around your neck,â but still, you canât knock the hustle. Special guest Jimmy McDonough, Milliganâs biographer, will introduce the movie. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
THE SEAGULL
Michael Mayer and Stephen Karam adapt the Chekhov play for the big screen, with Saoirse Ronan and Annette Bening as two women at opposite ends of their lives caught up in a big fat romantic Russian mess. Fox Tower 10.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
Itâs fitting that Solo, a film about a charming dipshit who succeeds despite his dumbassery, is still a very entertaining movie! Much like its plot, Solo shouldnât work. It doesnât work. It wins anyway. BOBBY ROBERTS Various Theaters.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Come for the music, stay for Christopher Plummer ripping a Nazi flag in half with his bare hands, which is so much more cathartic than it really should be in 2018. Academy Theater.
SUPERFLY
From the producer of Lethal Weapon and the co-writer of Watchmen comes Director Xâs (seriously) remake of the 1972 blaxploitation classic Superfly, with music by Curtis Mayfield uhh... Future. This wasnât screened for critics, so whether any of what you just read constitutes a step up, sideways, or straight off the nearest ledge and into a sewage treatment facility is your adventure to choose. Various Theaters.
SURVIVORâS GUIDE TO PRISON
A one-night-only screening of Matthew Cookeâs documentary about the ongoing atrocity that is Americaâs penal system and criminal justice process, featuring contributions from Jesse Williams, Deepak Chopra, Danny Trejo, Chuck D, and more. Clinton Street Theater.
TAG
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
This is not the court movie where Samuel L. Jackson screams, âYes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!â This is the older court movie about racial injustice in the South. The one where Gregory Peck very politely harrumphs at things and Robert Duvall just sorta... radiates energy. Also heâs got a full head of hair and thatâs just fuckinâ weird. Anyway, if you havenât watched this one, you really should. Itâs a beloved classic for multiple reasons. Even betterâwatch this, and then read the Harper Lee book itâs based on. BOBBY ROBERTS 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.
WONâT YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
See review, this issue. Bridgeport Village Stadium 18, Cinema 21.
