Warning: Spoilers ahead. I knew “Jigsaw” was the eighth film in the “Saw” franchise, of which I had only seen the first two. I was also aware of how the series was obsessed with its own continuity by not wasting any of its characters and tying all the films together with a deeply convoluted, impenetrable […]
Film
Posted inCulture
Suburban Gothic
George Clooney releases a rare misfire
T he worst part about watching movies for a living isn’t sitting through the bad ones; it’s sitting through the crushing disappointments. For example, that Bond movie where Denise Richards played a rocket scientist was probably going to be stupid no matter what happened. When it turned out to be terrible, you shrugged your shoulders […]
Posted inCulture
Disaster Movie
Cloudy with a chance of “Geostorm.”
I t’s not that Gerard Butler is necessarily a bad actor. He’s usually fun to watch as he stabs or shoots his way through bad guys while failing to conceal his molasses-thick Scottish brogue. His movies instantly became more interesting when he backed away from the Katherine Heigl-infused romantic dreck he waterboarded his fans with […]
Posted inCulture
Bingeworthy: “Stranger Things” Gets Weird
Handcuffs, fisticuffs and the return of the King
A nother week means another look at all the new and upcoming things that I think are downright neato. There’s so much goodness on Netflix that we’re gonna skip the podcasts and DVD releases this week and dive right into what’s bingeworthy. Bingeworthy: Horror films are my drug of choice, and October is my favorite […]
Posted inCulture
Run Them Blades Fast
Lost like tears in rain
D o we have time for a quick confession? Here it is: I’ve never been as in love with “Blade Runner” as I wanted to be. Don’t get me wrong, the film is groundbreaking in its design, cinematography and ambiguity, but I never could find a connection to Harrison Ford’s jaded replicant hunter Rick Deckard. […]
Posted inCulture
Bingeworthy: October Spookiness
Feminist horror, the gods of America and the profoundly profane
Another week means another look at all the new and upcoming things that I think are downright neato. Yeah, I’m bringing neato back. In Pod We Trust: I f you feel like getting a little bit sociological with your October frights, the podcast, “Bloody Mary,” is an interesting place to start. There’s a false narrative […]
Posted inCulture
Film Fanatics Unite
BendFilm returns with a knockout lineup
T he time is upon us once again for the Pacific Northwest’s premier film festival, BendFilm. I have to say, with no hyperbole, that the lineup for this year’s festival has several movies that any film festival on the planet would be lucky to have—downright coups for our little festival that could. With this year’s […]
Posted inCulture
A Local Film Lover Tells You WHY BendFilm
Jodie Barram, director of fundraising for The Tower Theatre
“F ilm has the ability to impact my mood, reflect my interests, challenge me, expand my horizons and experience ideas and places I might not otherwise get to. It’s as diverse as I am! “I love that with film I can learn through documentaries, be absorbed into science fiction, feel the ups and downs of […]
Posted inCulture
For King and Country
The Golden Circle Goes Big and Goes Home
T he first “Kingsman” movie looked terrible. I would have guaranteed that it was going to be a brain dead and facile recreation of the tropes that made the James Bond franchise a success. In truth, it was an action packed and hilarious spy thriller that actually ended up being better than Bond’s newest adventure, […]
