It’s such a nice feeling to be surprised by movies. That’s why I keep my cynicism buried underneath a giant pile of ridiculous and unwarranted optimism; that way every bad movie is a mild disappointment and every good one is delightful. But what usually ends up being a real rarity is when almost an entire […]
Film
Posted inCulture
Blockbuster Season
Summer movies quietly return
OK, so here we are, creeping into another summer movie season and the upcoming deluge of blockbusters and the movies that the studios put the most money into marketing while looking for their next four-quadrant smash like “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer.” If you’d asked me a month ago, I would have bet that the Ryan Gosling/Emily […]
Posted inCulture
May the Fourth Be With You
The Original Trilogy comes to Bend…live!
Everyone has a different relationship to the “Star Wars” franchise, and it mostly depends on how old you are. I’m “Return of the Jedi” years old, so that’s the one I watched a thousand times before I discovered that a vocal majority of “Star Wars” fans hated the Ewoks and that “The Empire Strikes Back” […]
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: April Edition
What show has your favorite ending?
We’ve talked about this in the past, but I want to get into it a little bit more: I don’t trust streaming services anymore…especially Netflix and Max. Maybe it’s my OCD, maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been let down too many times before, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to want to […]
Posted inCulture
Political Prisoners
Alex Garland’s newest provocation imagines a modern civil war
My grandma turned 99 this year, and whenever she talks about the future she laughs and says she wants to live long enough to see the next election because she’s excited for a civil war. I think there’s a dark anarchy to my grandma that scares the shit out of me, but I also can’t […]
Posted inCulture
Neo Noir and Action Cinema Unbound
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ and ‘Monkey Man’ don’t play by the rules
One of the reasons I think movies are such a powerful and transformative medium for artistic expression is that the boundaries of genre keep expanding and changing. Production companies like A24, Neon and Janus Films realize that horror, crime dramas, noir, science fiction and fantasy shouldn’t be treated like lesser forms of the medium. Instead […]
Posted inCulture
Godzilla x Kong x Audience Expectations
The Monsterverse remains entertaining, if shallow
I guess I should get this out of the way up front: Do not go into “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” expecting something like “Godzilla Minus One.” That was a character-driven monster movie that explored generational trauma, PTSD and a nation’s collective fear of a crusty radioactive kaiju that indiscriminately destroys Japan as easy as […]
Posted inCulture
Talking Svengoolie and the ’70s with David Dastmalchian
Late Night with the Devil is an absolute spook-a-blast
Even though his name might not be widely known yet, I guarantee you’ve seen David Dastmalchian on the big screen at least once before. In an acting career that’s already bordering on legendary, the man knows how to pick a project that will enhance his idiosyncratic brilliance into something truly remarkable. Whether he’s a supporting […]
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: March Edition
Canceled shows and cultural ‘casts
I don’t know what got me started doing it, but lately I’ve been watching a ton of shows that got canceled before their time, and mostly just focusing on pop culture podcasts. I think I just don’t have it in me to listen to political stuff right now, as I just feel the stress levels rising […]
Posted inCulture
Big Screen Kenergy
The best and worst of the 2024 Academy Awards
Well, another Academy Awards is in the books and I’m not sure we really gained anything from it. There were a few nice moments, three amazing speeches and one fairly big upset award, but otherwise it was a fairly predictable night all around. It moved a bit faster than it usually does, which was nice, […]