BendFilm has finally announced its opening night film, as well as the entire slate of feature films for the 13th annual festival, taking place Oct. 6-9. This year promises to be filled with films that not only challenge and educate, but also entertain. All told, there are 10 narratives, 10 documentaries and 68 shorts. The […]
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Clutch Them Pearls Fast
“The Light Between Oceans” is weightless melodrama
Before we get into the review proper, I thought I would state the obvious. All criticism is subjective. Just because I think one of the best films of the year so far is a flick about a sausage trying to have sex, find God and dose humanity with bath salts doesn’t mean everyone else will […]
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BendFilm Profile
The BendFilm festival begins Oct. 6. Ahead of the event, the festival asked community members to share their relationship with film. Ryan Tennant Job: Starbucks Barista Bio: Ryan is a recently graduated biology student from the University of Oregon. He is a recently promoted Starbucks shift manager, as well as working with one of his […]
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The Death of the American Dream
“Hell Or High Water” is a funeral march for the West
There’s a moment early on in “Hell or High Water” in which two Texas Rangers are driving through the West Texas countryside headed to a crime scene. A large brushfire has taken control in the fields and a group of middle-aged cowboys are herding some cows across the road, away from the burning plains. When […]
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How Horror Got Its Groove Back
“Don’t Breathe” lives up to the title
Growing up, I thought it was really easy to make a horror movie. Just a few gallons of blood, a tall chap in a mask with something sharp, some screaming teenagers running around hoping for the best, and you’re good. Sadly, as I’ve gotten older I’ve needed a bit more from my horror films. Don’t […]
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BendFilm Preview
The BendFilm festival begins Oct. 6. Ahead of the event, the festival asked community members to share their relationship with film. Name: Cheryl Valdez Job: Social Media Specialist / Nosler Bio: Cheryl’s a California native turned Oregon enthusiast. She manages social media strategy for local Bend business, Nosler, and prior to moving to Oregon three […]
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No Strings Attached
Oregon’s Laika Studio delivers a melancholy masterwork
By the end of the year, there will most likely be at least three American animated films on my Best Films of 2016 list. “Finding Dory,” “Sausage Party,” “Kung Fu Panda 3,” “Zootopia” and now “Kubo and the Two Strings” have all been wonderfully entertaining works—and we still have a few more probable greats to […]
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Morality Fail
“War Dogs” is fun and forgettable
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, studios would release films specifically designated as “Morality Tales.” They were films that existed to show American audiences characters who were rough around the edges, given a choice between doing the right thing and the easy thing. As American filmmaking entered the glorious mid-’60s, characters took on the anti-hero […]
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Head in the Clouds
“Pete’s Dragon” soars
There is this running narrative in Disney films that seems to say that adventure in life is OK, but only for a bit. Then you have to cut your hair, go to school and stop wearing a loincloth all day and get prepared for student loans, mortgages and death. “Pete’s Dragon” isn’t necessarily trying to […]
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A Lavash and a Bagel Walk Into a Bar
“Sausage Party” leaves a lot to chew on (sorry)
I can picture it now. Seth Rogen is in a pitch meeting with Sony and Columbia Pictures and he’s got one hell of an idea. A hard R-rated animated comedy—in the vein of Pixar and Dreamworks animated films—about anthropomorphized food people coming to terms with their grisly fate. “Deadpool” proved that a “fun” movie can […]