The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
One-hundred-year-old Allan (Robert Gustafsson) escapes his retirement home and discovers a money-filled suitcase, angry skinheads, and an elephant. Allan's simple worldview (accepting whatever happens) keeps him a step ahead of danger as he reminisces about the times he met Stalin, Franco, Truman, and Reagan. While basically a mashup of Forrest Gump and Being There, this is more adorably funny than either. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY Cinema 21.
All About My Mother
Almodóvar! Fifth Avenue Cinema.
Aloha
Hey, know what isn't interesting? Another sad white guy. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
Arresting Power: Resisting Police Violence in Portland, Oregon
Making good use of rare (and expensive) archival footage from the Oregon Historical Society, local documentary Arresting Power is at its strongest when telling the origin story of Portland's police accountability movement—providing potent evidence that the marches and demands for change that have erupted post-Ferguson are part of a decades-long tradition started by our city's African American community. DENIS C. THERIAULT Clinton Street Theater.
Bard in the Backcountry
If you're a rural Montanan, Shakespeare in the Parks' annual summer tour might be the only time you can see live, professional theater where you live. In Bard in the Backcountry, Cindy Stillwell and Tom Watson follow the company's 10 actors over 15 weeks of crashing on couches, building and striking their set daily, and performing for a devoted rural following (it's "our one shot at culture," says an audience member). There are shades of Christopher Guest in Bard, but it's above all an earnest portrait of a theater company, and a powerful argument for a populist approach to art. MEGAN BURBANK NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium.
Best of the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival
If you missed the annual Northwest Filmmakers' Festival last fall, here's your CliffsNotes version. NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium.
Clouds of Sils Maria
The title of Olivier Assayas' latest refers to a beautiful, foreboding meteorological phenomenon that takes place in the Swiss Alps: With the right conditions in place, a bank of clouds will move away from a group of lakes, wending like a serpent through a mountain pass near the town of St. Moritz. It's stunning—but also an indicator of bad weather ahead. ROBERT HAM Various Theaters.
Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll
A documentary focusing on the Cambodian music industry. Presented by Mississippi Records. Hollywood Theatre.
Entourage
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
Ex Machina
It's not as if the themes explored in Ex Machina are new—from Asimov to Blade Runner, we've pondered them before—but they're handled here with a depth and intelligence that gives them jarring impact. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
Follow that Bird
"This news just in, concerning a six-year-old runaway: The runaway is an eight-foot yellow bird who answers to the name 'Big Bird.'" Hollywood Theatre.
Insidious: Chapter 3
What's this? Another crappy-looking horror movie that wasn't screened for critics? Why, I never.... Various Theaters.
It Follows
One of those rare scary machines where everything just clicks together, with a ferociously single-minded rightness that keeps the nerves in a state of high, perpetual thrum. ANDREW WRIGHT Laurelhurst Theater, On Demand.
Kung Fu Theater
In America, The Dirty Dozen threw a bunch of manly military men (and Donald Sutherland) together and had them caper like crazy. In Hong Kong, their Dirty Dozen is called Eastern Condors, featuring flat-out legends Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and Yuen Woo Ping, teamed up with a squad of female freedom fighters. It's less caper and more kickass. BOBBY ROBERTS Hollywood Theatre.
Love & Mercy
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
Mad Max: Fury Road
A brutal, beautiful, two-hour action overdose that's injected with a surprising, if welcome, feminist bent. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
Pitch Perfect 2
Anna Kendrick smells of chocolate-chip cookies and lemon verbena. COURTNEY FERGUSON Various Theaters.
Planet of the Apes
"Imagine me needing someone! Back on Earth, I never did. Oh, there were women. Lots of women. Lots of lovemaking, but no love. You see, that was the kind of world we'd made. So I left, because there was no one to hold me there." Laurelhurst Theater.
Portland EcoFilm Festival
Only the Essential, another movie about the Pacific Crest Trail. Director and subject Colin Arisman in attendance. Hollywood Theatre.
Results
See review this issue. Cinema 21, On Demand.
Saint Laurent
See review this issue. Cinema 21.
San Andreas
One of the least watchable movies I've seen in years. It doesn't even work to judge it solely on the merits of its special effects, as it's impossible to illustrate catastrophe without humanity, and the California of San Andreas feels about as lifelike as Sim City (although I suppose one could argue how that's a pretty accurate portrayal of Los Angeles). MORGAN TROPER Various Theaters.
Spy
See review this issue. Various Theaters.
Tomorrowland
By the time Tomorrowland ends, the only thing that's clear is that George Clooney might want to fuck an eight-year-old robot. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
When Marnie Was There
See review this issue. Fox Tower 10.
Zombie Cats from Mars
The title didn't already sell you on Zombie Cats from Mars? Add to the glorious bounty: a squadron of cat actors who scratch, purr, and bat at each other's faces, Friday references, puns, and so many feline POV shots you'll want to chase your own tail. This is delightful and silly and LOL funny—finally, a local B-movie that nails it! COURTNEY FERGUSON Academy Theater.
MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday, June 5-Thursday, June 11, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.
