Every once in a while a movie comes out that makes a billion dollars and that critics and audiences both fall in love with, yet I end up hating it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. A few years ago, that movie was the J.Lo flick “Hustlers,” which I found to be a […]
Film
Posted inCulture
Spy Game
Marvel’s "Black Widow" is too little, too late
As an unapologetic Marvel fanboy, it has been too long since 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” hit theaters. I think I got so used to the Pavlovian response of there being a new Marvel movie in the theater every few months, that when COVID hit and movies stopped coming out for a while, I missed […]
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May the Source Be With You
Your July Edition of what to watch and listen to includes a thought-provoking indigenous podcast, along with “Loki” and “Shadow and Bone”
I‘m sitting in a profoundly air-conditioned hotel room overlooking Pilot Butte, a few hours before the fireworks begin on the Fourth of July. Living next door to the starting location of the Freedom Ride means that every Independence Day my home becomes a breeding ground for drunken half-naked revelers looking for somewhere to pee, puke […]
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Family Ties
Fast and Furious franchise could use an oil change
When I was a kid and the original “The Fast and the Furious” came out, I’m pretty sure I loved it because car chases and explosions were basically what I was after back then. “2 Fast 2 Furious” was so terrible and “Tokyo Drift” was so ridiculous that the franchise became a bit of a […]
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Art House Cinema Survives in Bend
How one of Oregon’s smallest theaters weathered the pandemic and came out the other side
COVID-19 affected everyone, human and business alike, completely differently. Bend institutions like Sargent’s Cafe and Pilot Butte Drive-In didn’t survive the virus, while newer spots like San Simon managed to pivot and thrive. It became almost impossible to predict which businesses would make it through the toughest and scariest time many of us could possibly […]
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Personal Journals
Bo Burnham is alone inside
“I don’t know about you guys, but, um, you know, I’ve been thinking recently that…that you know, maybe, um, allowing giant digital media corporations to exploit the neurochemical drama of our children for profit …you know, maybe that was, uh…a bad call by us. Maybe…maybe the…the flattening of the entire subjective human experience into a…lifeless exchange […]
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Do the Right Sing
“In the Heights” brings Broadway home
I didn’t know this before yesterday, but apparently musicals are an acquired taste. I thought everyone liked musicals. Isn’t “The Sound of Music” one of the most popular movies of all time? I also don’t know a single human person who doesn’t love “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” or “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” With all […]
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Never Trust a Demon
The Conjuring series returns Strong…if subdued
I don’t like to say that I’m obsessed with “The Conjuring” Universe but…yeah, I’ve watched most of the movies in the series at least two or three times each and sometimes write fan fiction that’s set in the world. I’m even aware that some of the movies in the series are terrible, but that didn’t really […]
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May the Source Be With You
June Edition: A prediction for “Sweet Tooth,”
a comforting podcast from “Frasier”
Happy beginnings of summer, everyone. Now that blockbusters are starting to hit movie theaters again and people are actually going to them (sorry “Tenet”), it feels like things are getting back to normal more than ever. Since I’m a sucker for the theatrical experience, I’ve been psyching myself up for entering the public sector again […]
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The Snyder Cult
“Army of the Dead” mixes zombies and guns
I keep thinking I’ll eventually get sick of zombie movies, but it just never happens. Don’t get me wrong: I’m fully aware that most of them are terrible, but even the worst zombie movie usually has a moment or two worth watching. The truly memorable zombie movies really only need to nail a couple of elements […]
