I don’t remember much detail about Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book “The BFG,” but I remember how it made me feel. I know that after I put that book down, the world seemed like a much larger place: a world filled with mysteries I would never understand or even discover. For moments throughout “The BFG” […]
Movie Review
Posted inCulture
Swingers
Tarzan, Jane and cultural stagnation
Sometimes it’s easy to describe a movie as a “throwback:” something that would have worked if it had been released in a bygone era with different cultural standards and practices. For example: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was a throwback to the film serials of the 1930s and 1940s that George Lucas grew up watching. […]
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Irreverent Commentary Makes Bad Movies Hilarious
MST3K is back without missing a beat
Bendites who miss Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) are in for a real treat. For those few unfortunate individuals who have never seen the cult classic television show, it starred Joel Hodgson as a janitor trapped on The Satellite of Love by a couple of mad scientists who wanted to rule the world. Along with […]
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Murder Party 2016
Vote no on “The Purge: Election Year”
You had one job, “The Purge: Election Year,” just one. You either needed to be a schlocky gorefest that painted America as a candy-colored nightmare of xenophobia and fear or a smartly satirical look at the worst case scenario of Trump’s America. You failed at both, “Purge,” and I hope you feel bad about it. […]
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Lively Up Yourself
“The Shallows” swims in deep waters
Saying that “The Shallows” is the best shark movie since “Jaws” isn’t saying much. Mainly because there aren’t that many good shark movies, but also because it’s not. It is definitely better than the “Sharknado” movies, but “Deep Blue Sea,” “Open Water,” and maybe even the goofy-as-all-hell “Shark Night” are more fun. “The Shallows” follows […]
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Aliens vs. Teenagers
No matter who wins, we lose
When “Independence Day” was released in 1996, there was something refreshing about a movie that chose to blow up most of the world before saving it. The heroics of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum mattered little because millions of people were already dead. While there were plenty of disaster flicks before “ID4,” the novelty of […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
2016 Summer Events Guide
It is officially summer and the there is plenty to do in Central Oregon! We broke it down into four categories to help plan out your summer of adventure. Click the categories below to see summer events in that area. Have fun out there! Summer Events Guide: -Food & Drink Events -Film & Theater Events […]
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Between The Rock and a Hart Place
“Central Intelligence” goes for laughs over thrills
“Central Intelligence” is not a perfect movie. There are a few long stretches with no laughs, the action is poorly edited and shot, and the script has a few downright stinkers littered throughout. Yet, “Central Intelligence” is easily one of the most entertaining films of the year because of two huge advantages. Firstly, Dwayne “The […]
Posted inCulture
Swimming in Place
“Finding Dory” packs a Pixar punch
It is difficult to go into a film released by Pixar Animation Studios without abnormally high expectations. While not every single one of their films is an outright classic, they have had only one full-blown misfire in their filmography with “Cars 2.” Even though these are basically categorized as animated films for children, Pixar has […]
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The Demonologists
Ed and Lorraine Warren head to Enfield
Following the release of the first “Conjuring” film, critical conversation strayed from the contents of the actual film to focus more on the “Based on True Events” marketing push. Lead characters Ed and Lorraine Warren were real-life paranormal investigators who wrote several books about their adventures in demonology. The Warrens’ most famous case was their […]