AltWeeklies Wire
Jean-Claude Van Damme's JCVD is ... Brilliant?new
Before you think JCVD is just another excuse for the aging action star to try and roundhouse kick his way into our hearts one last time, wait up: JCVD is as wildly entertaining and daring as cinema comes, and that's something you don't necessarily associate with the train-wrecked career of the weathered action star.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
11-20-2008 |
Reviews
Vivian Girls Keep it Simple and Spectacularnew
Though the equation that vocal harmonies plus reverb plus jangly punk equals greatness doesn't seem that tricky, nobody seems to capture it the way Vivian Girls have.
The Portland Mercury |
Rob Simonsen |
11-20-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Vivian Girls
We Protested Prop. 8 ... Now What?new
With all of this talk of moving forward and looking to the future, what can we do to achieve full equality? In Oregon, Measure 36 still bars marriage equality on a constitutional level, and it'll take a tough and expensive ballot measure fight to repeal. The anti-gay activists at Concerned Oregonians are also reorganizing, and will likely try to roll back domestic partnerships next year.
The Portland Mercury |
Amy J. Ruiz |
11-20-2008 |
LGBT
'Twilight' Makes a Far Better Movie Than Booknew
Largely freed from Stephenie Meyer's ponderous prose, the movie is surprisingly campy and fun, with a cheerful sense of humor about its own ridiculousness.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
11-20-2008 |
Reviews
The Drunken Host: How to Booze Your Way Through Your Own Partynew
To be a good host, you must not fear the drunken abyss. A few boozy punch recipes will help get you there.
The Portland Mercury |
Patrick Alan Coleman |
11-14-2008 |
Food+Drink
'The Dart League King' is Surprising and Compellingnew
Keith Lee Morris' second book takes place entirely at a championship darts match on a single night in Idaho, in June of 2007. Surprisingly for such a narrowly focused work, it is as compelling a novel as I've read all year.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
11-14-2008 |
Fiction
Now We're Cooking ... with Pot!new
There's really no better way to get through a holiday than flying high on baked goods. With recipes for Bud Butter, Marijuana Milk, Stoner Suds, Pot Truffles, Chocolate Chip Pot Cookies, Thanksgiving Day Dope Stuffing, and The Green Dragon.
The Portland Mercury |
Katie Shimer |
11-14-2008 |
Food+Drink
The Spinto Band Prepares to Soarnew
Moonwink starts a few miles high and stays elevated, its tone shifting into progressively brighter colors.
The Portland Mercury |
Tobias Carroll |
10-31-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Moonwink, The Spinto Band
Army of One: The Coup's Frontman Goes Solonew
How does one emcee lead the revolution without a DJ, his fellow rappers, and backing band? With an acoustic guitar.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
10-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Coup, Boots Riley
Chris Smith Takes up Fiction... In Indianew
For a film with so many elements seemingly at odds, The Pool is distinctly relatable. It is the work of Chris Smith, who we know best as the documentarian behind American Movie and The Yes Men. The Pool, on the other hand, is straight-up fiction.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
10-31-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Chris Smith, The Pool
Patti Smith Gets the Documentary She Deservesnew
With Dream of Life, director (and Smith superfan) Steven Sebring has assembled a strange and beautiful tribute to Smith, equal parts biography, music video, and love letter.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
10-31-2008 |
Reviews
Ed McClanahan's Memoir is Generous and Irreverentnew
Formally meticulous and thematically irreverent, O the Clear Moment is a loose collection of autobiographical pieces in which McClanahan reflects on an idyllic childhood in small-town Kentucky, chronicles the successes and humiliations of high school, and opens a few small but well-placed windows onto his adult eccentricities.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
10-31-2008 |
Nonfiction
'The Fire' is the Latest Guilty Pleasure from Katherine Nevillenew
Not only is it a new book by Neville, who hasn't written anything in nearly two decades, but her last novel, The Eight, is the ultimate let-me-lie-on-the-couch-and-eat-bonbons-while-a-hunky-Persian-man-in-a-loincloth-paints-my-toenails book. The Fire is the next episode in the saga.
The Portland Mercury |
Melissa Lion |
10-24-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Katherine Neville, The Fire
'The Hills': Summer's Eve for the Brain!new
That's right, I admit it. I watch The Hills -- but only for its medicinal purposes! See, whenever I watch an episode, my brain activity slows down to the point where it almost flatlines.
The Portland Mercury |
Wm. Steven Humphrey |
10-24-2008 |
TV
Portland Designer Leanne Marshall on Winning 'Project Runway'new
Marshall talks about leaving Portland for New York, soundtracking her Bryant Park debut to a song called "Cookie Breath," and what was up with that hiphop walk.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
10-24-2008 |
TV
