Look, I agree that the Oscars is an archaic institution that exist mostly just for Hollywood to pat itself on the back for a year’s worth of moneymaking, shrouded in attempts to remind the viewers about the magic of cinema. As someone who isn’t cynical about movies, I appreciate the attempt, even when it’s not […]
Jared Rasic
Film critic and author of food, arts and culture stories for the Source Weekly since 2010.
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: March Edition
Jared Writes His 1,000th Article
This doesn’t make me feel old at all, but with this article, I’ve officially written 1,000 stories for the Source Weekly, on and off since September of 2010. I’m glad my 1,000th story landed on the date of my monthly column, so I can just take a moment and say three thank yous. One to […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A Place to Gather
Sierra Phillips takes Bo’s into the future
There’s no one else like Sierra Phillips. After growing up in Bend, she went to Boston for law school, became a practicing attorney, decided no thank you and opened up Bo’s Falafel Bar just down the street from where she lived as a kid in Old Bend. Watching her move swiftly around Bo’s is fascinating […]
Posted inCulture
Bringing Sundance to Bend
The Tower and BendFilm screen exclusive docs on the Indigo Girls and Little Richard
Last week I didn’t know much about Little Richard and I knew even less about the Indigo Girls, so sitting down to watch documentaries about them back to back felt like a crash course in two very different but equally as iconic musical legends. In completely separate ways, both Little Richard and the Indigo Girls […]
Posted inCulture
Phase Fatigue
Marvel and Ant-Man expand and contract without growing
Here’s a random fact for you: counting this article, I’ve written 997 stories for the Source Weekly, going all the way back to Sept. 29, 2010. The first superhero movie I reviewed for this paper was Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” released July 22, 2011. Ironically, the article focuses on how I was starting […]
Posted inCulture
A Cinematic State of the Union
Are films for grownups dying?
When heavily marketed movies for grownups still flop one after the other, it’s easy to feel cynical about the state of cinema in the United States. Movies like “Women Talking,” “Tár,” “Babylon” and “The Fabelmans” are losing tens of millions of dollars during their theatrical runs, meaning it’s becoming harder and harder for “adult” films […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Playing Chicken
Jared goes for a hot-mouth winter and learns the hard way that spacing out spicy food is the way to go
I really thought I could hang. I was mistaken. When I heard that Portland buffalo wings favorite, Fire on the Mountain, was coming to Bend (next to the Campfire Hotel), I knew I had to try a heat challenge of my own before they opened. Their El Jefe wing sauce is cripplingly hot and I […]
Posted inCulture
Shakes-Spirited Away
Choreographer, dancer and director Michelle Mejaski explores a new medium
In the quiet of a brunch-hour coffee shop, I looked across the table at the medium, whose body looked like it was gently being pulled from side to side. She started clearing her throat, over and over, like there was something caught halfway down the wrong pipe. “Is there something you’re not saying?” She rasped […]
Posted inCulture
Leave, Stay, Fight
Women talking, history listening
I went to the theater this weekend to watch “Knock at the Cabin” with the full intention of reviewing it. After the film ended, the timing worked out perfectly for me to pop into another auditorium and check out a film nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, “Women Talking.” It’s a movie I’ve heard […]
Posted inCulture
Always Seeking the Stars
"Space, Hope and Charity" tells the unforgettable story
of Charity Woodrum
Most of us are going through some sort of difficulties in our lives, true, but Charity Woodrum’s story reads like someone being taught, lesson after lesson, by a universe unaware of individual struggle. And after watching the locally made documentary about Woodrum, “Space, Hope and Charity,” it’s hard not to feel like she took those […]