In the Marvel Universe, there really isn’t anyone like Deadpool. Created in 1991 by extremely terrible comic book artist Rob Liefeld, Deadpool (real name, Wade Wilson), began his comics career as a villainous killer-for-hire in X-titles like “The New Mutants” and “X-Force.” He’s a ripoff of DC Comics’ villain Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, […]
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Yawn of the Dead
Jane Austen’s Zombieland
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is exactly what it sounds like. Maybe a little better than it sounds for some and a little worse for others. For most of the population, just the word “zombies” in a title will put them in the seats as the continued stratospheric ratings of “The Walking Dead” keeps proving. […]
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Hail, Coen!
The smartest filmmakers on Earth return
Reviewing a new Coen Brothers film is an exercise in futility, especially only after one viewing. Their work is never as simple as it first seems on the surface and, regardless the genre they’re dabbling in, there are always multiple layers to unpack. “Hail, Caesar!” is the latest in their almost unbroken string of classics […]
Posted inOutside
Oceanfront Cinema
Pacific Reef Hotel debuts outdoor theater
The Pacific Reef Hotel in Gold Beach, Oregon, billboards its new oceanfront outdoor theater as state-of-the-art. Viewers might label it using many other superlatives. It is another first for Oregon: the hotel industry’s first oceanfront outdoor theater. The Pacific Reef Adventure Theater is a smart-technology glass screen measuring 33 feet wide and 12 feet high. […]
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Teenage Dystopian Apocalypse Blues
Meet the 5th Wave, same as the 4th Wave
It shouldn’t be so hard to do dystopia right, but the young adult genre seems to struggle with it. For every excellent YA post-apocalyptic series (e.g. “The Chaos Walking Trilogy” or “The Red Rising Trilogy”), there are a dozen bad ones ( “Divergent” comes to mind). With the success of “The Hunger Games” films, all […]
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Lost in the Woods
The Forest is Less Horror and more Bore-er
Horror movies are a bit of a conundrum when it comes to what makes one successful (as a piece of cinema, not financially) and what would relegate one to the dusty bins of failed grotesquerie. So many of those little things that add up to making a great horror movie can be mixed and matched […]
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Top 10 Films of 2015
A big challenge with being a film critic in Central Oregon is that we don’t get to go to press screenings and Central Oregon doesn’t always get some of the more prestigous releases until closer to Oscar night. So, going into writing this list, there are still quite a few movies I haven’t seen that […]
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Worst Films of 2015
I tend to avoid films that look like they’re going to be terrible, but that isn’t always possible. Sometimes high expectations can take a movie that is only serviceable and make it utter garbage because of how great the marketing is. While these are certainly not the five worst movies of 2015, they are most […]
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Film Events 11/18-11/25
Mile, Mile & A Half A fascinating and gorgeous documentary about five friends who take off from responsibility to hike the legendary John Muir Trail, which stretches 211 miles from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. Their goal was to complete the trail in 25 days and their journey is a powerful one. Even a few locals […]
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Witch, Please!
Problems plague The Last Witch Hunter
Vin Diesel is an interesting fellow. He refuses to talk about his sexuality or his ethnicity; started his career writing, directing, producing, and starring in his first feature; and is an unabashed puppy dog on Facebook. Most importantly, he loves Dungeons and Dragons. He has played for more than 20 years and has even written […]