Black Mass
Touted as a return to Johnny Depp's early form, the gangster saga Black Mass encouragingly shows that it may be a bad idea to write Depp off quite yet. Unfortunately, the film can't quite measure up to this level of intensity, adopting a somber pace at odds with its star's level of enthusiasm. ANDREW WRIGHT Various Theaters.
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Coppola's Keanu-tastic attempt at Dracula screens as part of the "Fashion in Film" series, hosted by the Mercury's own Marjorie Skinner. Hollywood Theatre.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Old-school horror. Like, 1920 old-school. Hollywood Theatre.
Everest
A jumble of characters and tragedies that never coalesce into an engaging narrative. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
Grandma
In Grandma, teenager Sage (Julia Garner) faces the all-too-common problem of having to come up with a fuck-ton of money for an abortion, like yesterday. Enter her cantankerous SoCal queer poet grandma (Lily Tomlin). She's not particularly equipped to help, but she tries anyway, in what's half-madcap quest, half-straight-up depressing reality. At times, Paul Weitz's dialogue is thin, his world not quite as solid as it should be. But then Lily Tomlin says something like, "Where can you get a reasonably priced abortion?" with the perfect grousing tone, and you realize you're watching a movie—finally!—about a teenager who has an abortion and turns out fine, and it couldn't seem more honest. MEGAN BURBANK Various Theaters.
The Green Inferno
Eli Roth's cannibal horror flick. Not screened for critics. Various Theaters.
Hecklevision
An entire cottage industry of clowning has sprung up around Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhas' sweaty, sleazy misfire Showgirls, so you knew it was only a matter of time before Hecklevision decided to clamber up onto the pole itself. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
Hotel Transylvania 2
An animated Adam Sandler movie that we did not force any of our critics to watch. Various Theaters.
The Intern
A comedy starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. The studio rescheduled a press screening so that it would be after our deadline, so it's probably about as good as De Niro's other comedies. Various Theaters.
Korla
A documentary about Korla Pandit, one of first electronic music pioneers, immortalized in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Screens as part of the Hollywood's Sonic Cinema series. Hollywood Theatre.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
The Maze Runner series may deservedly live in the shadow of YA book-to-film darling The Hunger Games, but it's got a few things going for it. That said, introducing something as played out as a zombie plague is pretty lame. MARJORIE SKINNER Various Theaters.
On Art and Artists
The NW Film Center's series of movies about... well, art and artists. This week's offering: Wim Wenders' 2014 film The Salt of the Earth. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium.
Oregon Independent Film Festival
Over 70 new independent films, with screenings split between Eugene and Portland. Highlights include Caitlyn Larimore and Jeff Harshman's romantic dramedy short The River Bride and Travis Shields' 30-minute Sasquatch comedy (Sasquamedy?) Mellencamp. More at oregonindependentfilmfest.com. Clinton Street Theater.
Portland EcoFilm Festival
An outdoor screening of Upriver, a documentary about the Willamette River basin, screening at Sellwood Riverfront Park. "Attendees are welcome to arrive by boat, kayak, bike, or car." More at portlandecofilmfest.org. Sellwood Park.
Portland German Film Festival
See review this issue. Cinema 21.
POWMonthly
POWFest's film series, featuring films "made by women that address issues of gender equality and the varied nature of women's lived experiences." This month: Black Girl in Suburbia. Clinton Street Theater.
(Re)Discoveries:
New Restorations, New Prints
A series of newly restored films. This week's selections: Jane B. par Agnès V., Kung-Fu Master, and From Mayerling to Sarajevo. See review this issue. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium.
Re-run Theater
One of the quickest ways to reveal you are an elderly person is to try and be funny by complaining that MTV should go back to showing videos. Save your dusty one-liners, and show up to the Hollywood tonight, where Re-Run resurrects the best of MTV's video programming from 1985, including hits from Tina Turner, Madonna, Tears for Fears, Prince, and more. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
Return of the River
An eco-focused documentary about the removal of a dam on the Elwha River. The eyeroll-y problem: It's "narrated" by the river. ERIK HENRIKSEN Hollywood Theatre.
Sleeping With Other People
Sleeping with Other People is pretty good. By "good," I mean "succeeds in making me feel emotionally invested in whether two hot people are going to make out." The gold standard of the romcom. ALISON HALLETT Various Theaters.
Stonewall
A discombobulating concoction of profoundly dumb writing, cartoonish historical fiction, and harrowing violence, Roland Emmerich's Stonewall undoubtedly means well. Its method of translating an under-taught history lesson to a wide audience uses the cliché-ridden Danny (Jeremy Irvine) as a white, handsome, all-American shield so that other white (and straight) all-Americans will have a recognizable protagonist as a touchstone throughout an often ruthless depiction of life for teen hustlers in the late '60s. But there's so much mess to pick through in the wake of this film—from wooden performances to hokey sets (they couldn't get the real New York) to mixed messages about violent protest, to real-life historical figures being shoved aside in order for the film's poster boy to remain in the thick—that it's hopelessly disorienting. There is fantastic potential for films depicting this moment in civil rights history, and some of them may very well wind up being made in protest of this one. So thanks in advance for that, Roland. MARJORIE SKINNER Living Room Theaters.
Time Out of Mind
If you, like so many others, have been waiting to see Richard Gere play a homeless man, have we got a movie for you. Living Room Theaters.
Videodrome
Cronenberg's techno-nightmare from 1983. Academy Theater.
MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday, September 25-Thursday, October 1, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.
