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. […]
Movie
Posted inCulture
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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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 […]
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What Just Happened?
A noob watches “Warcraft”
I have a confession to make. I have never played Warcraft. Not even 30 seconds of it. In fact, from my perspective, Real Time Strategy (RTS) games seem designed for gamers who enjoy Risk much more than I do. Furthermore, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) work best for people who actually enjoy playing with […]
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Conscious Uncoupling
“The Lobster” is a singular sensation
“The Lobster” is a romantic science fiction/black comedy about coupling, loneliness and the possibility of getting changed from a human into an animal. Singularly strange, sad and hopeful, there has never really been anything like this movie and probably never will be again. Colin Farrell plays David, a doughy, depressed man whose wife has just […]
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Superhero Fatigue
The X-Men fail to thrill
The last thing the X-Men franchise needed was another origin story. The series, which started with 2000’s “X-Men,” has circled around so many times it almost plays like an SNL sketch mocking superhero films. While “X-Men,” “X-2” and “X-Men-The Last Stand” introduced a large majority of the mutant team, “First Class” and “Days of Future […]