Here we go, ladies, gentlemen and everyone across the spectrum! On Oct. 10 the 21st Annual Bend Film Festival arrives, and I’ve seen an astonishing number of movies, not just in my duties as Lead Shorts Programmer for the fest, but in preparation to recommend some non-shorts related cinema to all of you. From the […]
Jared Rasic
Film critic and author of food, arts and culture stories for the Source Weekly since 2010.
Posted inCulture
The Gorgeous and the Grotesque
"The Substance" provides a singular cinematic experience
I‘m going to lead with this so no one gets mad at me later: of the thousands of you who read this article, maybe 20 will like this movie. This is one of those films critics fawn all over, saying that it’s an audacious and strikingly original piece of work of the kind that comes […]
Posted inCulture
Love and Other World Wars
‘Last Train to Nibroc’ tours Central Oregon
One thing that’s always been a bit difficult about the theater scene in Bend: it can sometimes be hard to find the audience for certain kinds of shows. If it’s a musical, a Neil Simon comedy or something extremely well known, Bend turns up for it most of the time. If it’s lesser known, new […]
Posted inCulture
Sing, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Sing
Art and nostalgia continue the duel
My dream format for writing about movies would be to write about one big and one little movie every week. That way I can be a part of the conversation connected to the newest blockbuster everyone is watching while also trying to bring attention to a smaller movie that deserves more eyeballs aimed at it. […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Food Makes Me Happy
Don't Sleep On Chomp Chomp's happy hour snacks
There are a lot of happy hour options in Bend, let alone all of Central Oregon. In fact, there are a ton of options just in downtown to choose from, and it’s a choice that never gets easier as we get new restaurants what seems like every week. On the list of most underrated restaurants […]
Posted inCulture
The Next Wave Arrives
Rebel Ridge, Jeremy Saulnier and the new guard
Last week I wrote about the New Hollywood movement of auteur filmmaking in the 1960s and 1970s, and it got me thinking. I spent 1,000 words talking about how seminal this period of cinema was, and I realized that I was lamenting missing out on living through that era and what it would have been […]
Posted inCulture
The Auteur Era
Having a conversation about the American New Wave
For cinephiles like me, it’s hard to really overhype the importance of the American New Wave (AKA New Hollywood) era of movies that lasted from the mid-1960s to the early ’80s. It was not only important in how, for a very limited amount of time, the era transferred the authorial role of filmmaking from the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Latin Cuisine with Soul
Chupacabra Restaurant adds vibrant deliciousness to Central Oregon, from the former Tortilleria Reyes location
The thing about the Bend restaurant scene is that people opening new spots tend to see what works, and then they do something similar. A lot of safe bets. That’s why Central Oregon has so many breweries, pizza places and Mexican food restaurants. The cynic might say that we have enough of those types of […]
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: August Edition
A24, reality television and the search for happiness
Whelp, I used a blanket for the first time in months this weekend, so that must mean fall is around the corner and the summer that seemed like it lasted two weeks is almost over. That’s OK for me since it doesn’t change my routines too much (until winter and my Seasonal Affective Disorder rears […]
Posted inCulture
In Space, No One Can Hear Your Chest Bursting
"Alien: Romulus" scares up a mixed bag of fun
Depending on what you think of the “Alien” franchise, the following statement will either sound like a huge compliment or damning with faint praise: “Alien: Romulus” is the third best film of the franchise by a hair. Set between 1979’s seminal sci-fi/horror masterpiece “Alien” and James Cameron’s 1986 action extravaganza “Aliens,” director Fede Álvarez has […]