The Long and the Short of It: Extending Shane Acker's bleak animated 9 improves its action, but not its story

Posted inCulture

The Long and the Short of It: Extending Shane Acker's bleak animated 9 improves its action, but not its story

Source Weekly

Once upon a time, if you saw a short film, you saw the work of someone who wanted to make a short film. Nowadays, that ain't necessarily so.
In 2006, Shane Acker's 10-minute computer-animated 9 was nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar – but by that point, Tim Burton was already working with Acker to develop it into a feature. It became the latest in a line of “calling card” shorts: works created by inexperienced filmmakers hoping to get a full-length movie out of their efforts. In just such a way, Jared Hess's short Peluca became Napoleon Dynamite; Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's Gowanus, Brooklyn became Half Nelson. Sometimes, the raw material was there for something bigger and richer. Sometimes, it's not. In its expanded form, 9 remains a dazzlingly innovative vision that showcases Acker's skill as a director. But in trying to develop the mythology behind his story, Acker loses sight of its appealing mystery.
The title refers to the number scrawled on the back of a rag doll (Elijah Wood) who wakes up with no knowledge of the world. Wandering through a crumbling, corpse-strewn city, he soon spots a similar figure marked as 2 (Martin Landau), and learns that a mechanized predator stalks the streets. But how did these sewn-together bits of burlap achieve sentience? What happened to all the humans? What is the significance of a strange dome-shaped artifact 9 carries from the place of his birth?

Posted inFood & Drink

Pub Grub: Bend's breweries raise the bar on bar food

Alice Finer

Anyone who's been in Bend for more than five minutes can tell you that folks around these parts take their beer very seriously. New microbreweries pop up like wildflowers, and the market never seems to get flooded. But for me the best part about a brewery is the requisite brewpub that inevitably pops up with it. Don't get me wrong, I love the beer. But I love the bar and, more importantly, the bar food even better. The hard-working chefs at our area brewpubs are often overshadowed by the brew, and the menus are taken for granted. Since this weekend the town will be gathering at the Des Chutes Historical Museum to celebrate the first annual Little Woody Barrel-Aged Brew Festival and all the hops and malt that go along with it, I thought a rundown of food favs from the brewpub menus around town was in order.

Posted inFood & Drink

Pub Grub: Bend's breweries raise the bar on bar food

Alice Finer

Anyone who's been in Bend for more than five minutes can tell you that folks around these parts take their beer very seriously. New microbreweries pop up like wildflowers, and the market never seems to get flooded. But for me the best part about a brewery is the requisite brewpub that inevitably pops up with it. Don't get me wrong, I love the beer. But I love the bar and, more importantly, the bar food even better. The hard-working chefs at our area brewpubs are often overshadowed by the brew, and the menus are taken for granted. Since this weekend the town will be gathering at the Des Chutes Historical Museum to celebrate the first annual Little Woody Barrel-Aged Brew Festival and all the hops and malt that go along with it, I thought a rundown of food favs from the brewpub menus around town was in order.

Posted inMusic

Folk Survives: Sisters Folk is still trucking and here's five acts you need to see

The Source Staff

A lot has changed in the past couple of years when it comes to live music in Central Oregon. Venues have opened and closed, we've seen our numbers of summer concerts fluctuate and festivals have come and gone. But standing strong (and largely unaltered) amidst all this change has been the Sisters Folk Festival.
Now in its 14th year, Sisters Folk remains a stalwart in the local music landscape. The festival not only takes over the entire town for three days, it has a year-round presence with an education program and a winter concert series. Artistic Director Brad Tisdel says Sisters Folk will likely bring some 2,500 music fans to town this year for a lineup that's as diverse as any we've seen at the festival.
A songwriter himself, as well as a serious music junkie, Tisdel took some time out from festival preparations and the Americana Song Academy (the folk musician's summer camp that preceeds the fest) to talk about what acts you shouldn't miss at Sisters Folk. I combined my own list with his to create this Five Acts You Need to See roster:

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for 9/10-9-17: Hill Country Revue, Sisters Folk, HardNox. Xterra National Championships

Anne Pick

Sister Folk Festival
friday-sunday 11-13
We're going to go ahead and say it: this might be one of the best Sisters Folk lineups EVER! While the pluckers and strummers still support the bulk of the lineup, there are some more adventurous, not to mention big, names at the fest this year. You can read more about the five acts we recommend you see in the Sound Section, but hit up the website for the complete lineup and then go to the durn thing.

Posted inNews

Booked Up: All about the time I tried to update my Facebook page 100 times in 24 hours

The Source Staff

It's about 1 a.m. on a Thursday and I'm sitting in my dark living room staring at a cursor that's flashing back at me from the update box of my Facebook page. I start to type, then delete, then type, then delete again. I want nothing more than to leave behind this computer and the nearly embarrassing-to-watch Jimmy Fallon mumbling on my television for the comfort of my bed, but I can't. I need to update my Facebook status at least five more times before calling it a night, but given that I'm merely sitting on the couch with a half-empty Pabst tall can in my hand, there's not much to update. I type the phrase “Only halfway there?” hit the “Share” button and then abruptly close my laptop.
This is when I realize that I'm probably not going to be able to update my Facebook status 100 times in 24 hours, which was the goal I began relentlessly and annoyingly pursuing at 11 a.m. that morning.
Now in bed, I reach blindly for my cell phone, flip it open and text “Sleep” to the number that Facebook ensures me will place my two-thumbed ramblings, which include things like, “Tying my shoes” and “Ordering a beer” directly onto my page. This is my 51st update in 14 hours and I'm exhausted… and disappointed in myself.
But at 11am the next morning, I make my 67th post in the past 24 hours and I'm no longer disheartened. I'm relieved. I'm done with Facebook.

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