AltWeeklies Wire
'Step Brothers' Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Perfect the Comedy of Retardationnew
The touched man-child is a comedy staple. Step Brothers marks the apotheosis of exploiting a repressed urge to laugh at brain-damaged antics. It is also the best film Ferrell and company have made since Anchorman.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
07-23-2008 |
Reviews
Holy Bummer, Batmannew
Why so serious? Maybe because Heath Ledger's dead.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
07-16-2008 |
Reviews
New Doc on Hunter S. Thompson Examines His Bond with Richard Nixonnew
It was part of the American genius for polarization that Thompson saw Nixon as his doppelganger, his mirror. Nixon was his dark shadow. Or maybe it was the other way around.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
07-02-2008 |
Reviews
Blood-drenched Underdog 'Wanted' Should have Stayed on the Porchnew
In a summer of Dark Knights and Iron Men, Wanted is a movie version of titular football lameass Rudy.
Willamette Week |
AP Kryza |
06-25-2008 |
Reviews
Bigger, Strong, Faster* Struggles with Its Cheating Heartnew
Director Christopher Bell isn't just a regular, curious guy: He's one of three brothers who have all tried steroids, and he's the only one who isn't still taking them.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-18-2008 |
Reviews
'Get Smart' is Better Than the TV Shownew
While series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry were mostly interested in poking fun at the espionage dramas of the day with Marx Brothers-style nonsense and physical comedy, the Steve Carell-helmed adaptation aims to take on the real-world intelligence community.
Willamette Week |
Ben Waterhouse |
06-18-2008 |
Reviews
M. Night Shyamalan's Latest Twist?new
Once a wunderkind of suspense manipulation -- infamous for his third-act twists but watched for every adroit set piece that came before -- M. Night Shyamalan has recoiled from the disaster of Lady in the Water by making his first lazy movie, a picture that grinds from one obligatory shock to another.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-11-2008 |
Reviews
Enfant Terrible's Latest Film Is Not Strange Enoughnew
Diego Luna plays a Michael Jackson impersonator in Gummo director Harmony Korine's strange new film, Mr. Lonely.
Willamette Week |
Andy Davis |
06-04-2008 |
Reviews
'Speed Racer' is So Shallow It's Scarynew
There are no hidden depths in a cartoon originally translated from the Japanese as Mach GoGoGo. And, to their credit, directors Andy and Larry Wachowski have not tried to find any.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
05-07-2008 |
Reviews
Does Werner Herzog Take Werner Herzog Seriously Anymore?new
Encounters at the End of the World is principally a collection of Herzog's Antarctic vacation pictures; the movie feels like an episode of Travels with Rick Steves if the show were hosted by a perpetually gloomy German.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
05-01-2008 |
Reviews
Mark David Chapman Falls Victim to Character Assassinationnew
J.P. Schaefer's direction is ultimately a prime example of how cinema has been degraded since the glory days of Scorsese.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-09-2008 |
Reviews
Soldier Boys Don't Crynew
Taxi to the Dark Side and Stop-Loss try to understand our troops -- the tortured and the torturers.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
03-26-2008 |
Reviews
Protecting Our Precious Bodily Fluids with Pure Hokumnew
It is very difficult to overestimate the importance of water. Russian filmmakers Anastasiya Popova and Julia Perkul have done it.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
03-19-2008 |
Reviews
Teenage Wastelandnew
Gus Van Sant knows where Portland's skater kids have buried their feelings.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
03-19-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park
The Arthouse and the Slaughterhouse Meet Againnew
In 2008 -- the era of Eli Roth and Saw -- a remake of Funny Games should be extra potent, especially with Michael Haneke behind the camera and boasting a supreme cast.
Willamette Week |
AP Kryza |
03-12-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Funny Games, Michael Haneke
