If you’re a hopeless film fan like myself, then you more than likely feel some kind of way about the films of Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. Whether you’re a fan of his darker, edgier earlier work like “Dogtooth” and “Alps,” or of his more whimsical and experimental later films like “The Lobster” and “The Favourite,” […]
Film
Posted inFilm
Rich Man/Rich Man
“Good Fortune” is in bad faith
I think Aziz Ansari meant well when he sat down to write ”Good Fortune” and really thought he was trying to unpack the unfairness of the gig worker system in America, and how easy it is to make one or two small mistakes and end up homeless and destitute. While “Good Fortune” has some solid […]
Posted inFilm
It’s a Block(buster) Party
Blockbuster hits middle age
I think Bendites and Central Oregonians take for granted that they live alongside the Last Blockbuster on Planet Earth. While there are still several incredible and iconic video stores across the West Coast (the dreamy “Movie Madness” in PDX and the deeply quirky and cavernous “Scarecrow Video” in Seattle are two of my favorites), our Blockbuster is a genuine Mom and […]
Posted inFilm
Score One For Ross and Reznor
Nine Inch Nails save Tron: Ares
The “Tron” franchise is an interesting one. The original from 1982 is groundbreaking in terms of filmmaking and special effects, but it didn’t perform well critically or financially. At the time, Disney had to write off most of the budget, and the film was seen as a failure (except by Roger Ebert!). Over the next […]
Posted inFilm
The Best Fest in the Northwest
A quick peek at BendFilm 2025
To try and describe the exact vibe of the Bend Film Festival is nearly impossible because no two have ever been the same…and I should know because I’ve seen at least one movie at every fest since the first one in 2003. That year, I sat in a frigid Midtown Ballroom and watched a midnight […]
Posted inMovies
Post-Modern Romance
Two love stories of equal or lesser value
One of those little cliche nuggets of wisdom about cinema that people like to bandy around has been stuck in my head after watching two romances back to back this week: movies are a visual medium. Obviously, that is a true statement because the illusion of a motion picture doesn’t even work unless you are […]
Posted inFilm
Based On A “True” Story
We watched nine Conjuring movies, so you don’t have to
Let’s talk about “The Conjuring” Universe for a second, just in case the newly released “The Conjuring: Last Rites” truly is the last film in the franchise. “The Conjuring” Universe is the only successful interconnected series of movies, post-Marvel, that Hollywood has successfully managed to launch (RIP Universal’s Dark Universe). Starting with 2013’s “The Conjuring,” […]
Posted inFilm
When Good Directors Make Bad Movies
Ethan Coen and Ron Howard fail to evolve with “Eden” or “Honey Don’t”
I would never make a ridiculous statement like Ron Howard and the Coen Bros. are remotely in the same league as filmmakers, but I also think Howard isn’t necessarily accorded the respect he deserves from his nearly 50 years a director. Sure, he introduced the world to JD Vance with “Hillbilly Elegy,” which is definitely […]
Posted inFilm
Whistleblowers, Nervous Breakdowns and TPS Reports
Celebrating Labor Day at the movies
I have no idea how you feel about your job. Some people live the dream every day by being doctors, lawyers, marine biologists, or celebrity chefs, while others wake up with a pit of dread in the morning as the alarm clock wrenches them from the sweet release of dreams of a different life. The […]
Posted inFilm
Naked Guns and Being Alone Together
A very strange double feature
If you want to go to the movies and watch a double feature so insanely polar opposite from each other that it factory resets your brain, then look no further than the mind-melting combination of “The Naked Gun” and “Together.” One is a gruesome, body-horror deconstruction of toxic relationships and codependency and the other is […]