“The Girl on the Train” is one of those books that everyone calls a “beach read.” Your brain doesn’t have to be 100 percent invested in what’s happening and the mystery is just fascinating enough to keep you turning the pages long after it’s time for bed. “The Girl on the Train” tells the story […]
Movies
Posted inCulture
BendFilm: Our Don’t-Miss Picks
If you’re excited for this weekend’s BendFilm Festival, I know building your schedule can be difficult. As your resident film geek, I hereby offer a schedule of the flicks I’m checking out, so you can see what interests me, what might interest you and what might just be awesome all around. Thursday, Oct. 6 5pm […]
Posted inCulture
Tim Burton’s X-Men
“Miss Peregrine” is peculiarly empty
Tim Burton’s films are primarily focused on outsiders—people who don’t fit into mainstream society, and when they try, are either humiliated, heartbroken or forced to commit horrible acts of violence. If you look at “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” and “Sleepy Hollow,” you’ll find stories of people leaving their comfort zones and trying […]
Posted inCulture
Built to Spill
“Deepwater Horizon” is a nail-biting thriller
“Deepwater Horizon” should not be as good as it is. There’s something inherently offensive about turning a true story in which 11 people lost their lives into an action thriller/disaster picture. That’s akin to making a film about the Boston marathon bombing and shooting it like a film noir/detective thriller focused on the hunt for […]
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Limbo
John Sayles talks filmmaking
I am not adding a single ounce of hyperbole when I say that John Sayles is one of the finest filmmakers in history. He, along with life partner Maggie Renzi, a handful of my all-time favorite movies, and each one of them feels like a completely separate entity. He bounces between genres with ease, taking […]
Posted inCulture
Western Ronin
“The Magnificent Seven” is ridin’ dirty
“The Magnificent Seven” is exactly what you get from the trailers, but with a little more and a little less. The main thing that makes the whole creaky enterprise work is getting a few likable actors together and hooting and hollering as they shoot their way around a hundred mustache-twirling villains. You’ve seen this movie […]
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BendFilm: “Voyagers Without Trace”
“Voyagers Without Trace” is a gorgeous and life affirming documentary that is, on its surface, about two kayaking adventures several decades apart. Filmmaker Ian McCluskey came across a historic marker in Southwest Wyoming. It told the story of Genevieve and Bernard de Colmont and their friend, Antoine de Seynes, who, in 1938, came from France […]
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Hold the Camera Still!
“Blair Witch” brings more of the same
“The Blair Witch Project” doesn’t work anymore. I saw the movie opening night in 1999 and the slowly building tension, ambiguous horror and abruptly-unnerving ending worked perfectly on my 19-year-old brain. The film kept me up late into the night as I kept hearing what I thought was cackling outside in the fields surrounding my […]
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Somebody’s Watchin’ Me
High stakes have never felt so low in “Snowden”
Sitting down to an Oliver Stone movie is always an exciting proposition. Whether you think he is a master provocateur and filmmaker or just a blowhard, there is no denying that he is capable of creating quite a reaction. In case you’re not familiar with the man, lets take a quick look at some of […]
Posted inCulture
Sitting Down with BendFilm’s Todd Looby
Todd Looby has been with BendFilm for a few years now, and with his team of programmers, workers and volunteers, has crafted a festival that Bend can be proud of. Here Todd takes a few minutes to talk about his favorite movie, the culture of film and what he’s looking forward to in this year’s […]