Posted inCulture

Marvel Swings For The Fences

“Captain America: Civil War” is an ideological trip to the MCU

Captain America debuted in Marvel Comics in March of 1941, based on the character of Steve Rogers, a young man whose parents have died, who grew up during the Great Depression. Trying to enlist for World War II to fight the Nazis, he fails to pass the physical requirements, but is invited to take part […]

Posted inCulture

Summer Movie Lineup

Mandatory Fun, Part I: May & June releases

Welcome to the Summer Movie Preview. Last weekend’s arrival of “Captain America: Civil War” was the early dawn of 2016’s summer movie season. There will be big actors, enormous explosions and the largest budgets the American film industry has ever seen this year. The following mandatory fun list includes the bigger flicks of May and […]

Posted inCulture

Punks vs. Skinheads

“Green Room” paints Portland in a violent light

Jeremy Saulnier’s modern classic, “Green Room,” viscerally punches the audience in the face with every death. The script gives each character at least one moment to be human, even those who wouldn’t deserve it in a lesser film. Nothing is easy here, every choice is fraught with dire consequences and repercussions. There aren’t very many […]

Posted inCulture

Hazed and Confused

Linklater sets his sights on college life

If there were a running theme to the films of Richard Linklater, it would have to be the search for meaning. Each entry in his filmography spends at least a little time on the idea that as humans live through defining moments, they tend to miss the true import until either retrospect or nostalgia kick […]

Posted inCulture

Sci-fi Chase Film Runs Short on Depth

“Midnight Special” fails to satisfy

“Midnight Special” is an art-house science fiction/thriller/road movie with a stellar cast, interesting director and a script that unpeels layers of mystery throughout its running time. As entertaining and enthralling as the film is, however, all of the disparate pieces don’t add up to a satisfying whole. “Midnight Special” tells the story of a boy, […]

Posted inCulture

Life in the Remake Jungle

“The Jungle Book” amazes with a new twist on Kipling’s classic

The story is already well known. “The Jungle Book” is about Mowgli, a man cub (human boy) raised by a family of wolves in a jungle. When an angry tiger decides Mowgli must die, the boy begins an epic journey through the dangerous and deceptively beautiful jungle to live with the rest of the humans. […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

“Bikes vs. Cars”

The idea of a battle between cars and bikes is an interesting one because there does seem to be a rivalry between the two modes of transportation. In Bend, a day doesn’t go by (especially downtown) without bicyclists and car drivers cursing each other. Yet it should be easy to understand the common purpose of […]

Posted inCulture

Hearts of Darkness

“Embrace of the Serpent” is a jungle trip worth taking

There is a lot to unpack after the first viewing of “Embrace of the Serpent.” It is at first glance a Columbian adventure/thriller/drama that unfolds like Werner Herzog, Francis Ford Coppola and Terrence Malick teamed up to make the ultimate travelogue. As the film sits longer, however, the character work and thematic depth take the […]

Posted inCulture

Hank Williams Biopic

“I Saw the Light” cheats on heart

“I Saw the Light” tells the story of Hank Williams. Not the right-wing second one or the gutter punk third one, but the original, hillbilly country music icon (and winner of a posthumous 2010 Pulitzer Prize). The really complicated thing about making a film based on someone’s life is deciding which part to tell. Should […]

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