AltWeeklies Wire
The Ancient Sorcery in 'Ponyo' is Exceptionally Suited to the Very Youngnew
For the first time since early Hayao Miyazaki works like My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, it is possible to bring your preschoolers to the theater without fear of frightening them.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
'Soul Power': Papa's Got a Brand-New Documentarynew
The footage assembled for Soul Power was shot by four cameramen, and it reflects Albert Maysles' "direct cinema" movement, that philosophy of keeping documentaries immersed in the moment. But when that moment has been excavated from the stratum of 35 years, it attains an immense poignancy.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
Jules of the Food Worldnew
Nora Ephron’s new film, Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as her modern-day acolyte Julie Powell, follows the parallel stories of these two real-life cooks. It’s a big, gorgeously decorated, bittersweet confection of a film, one that makes up for much of the lumpy, sugary dreck that Ephron’s been concocting for the past decade or so.
Willamette Week |
Kelly Clarke |
08-05-2009 |
Reviews
After '(500) Days of Summer,' Here's an Open Letter to Zooey Deschanelnew
Zooey, baby, can't you see Marc Webb and his friends don't understand you? Yes, I know that's part of the movie's point, but the puncturing of boys' expectations can be accomplished by three-dimensional women as well. There are no real girls in (500) Days of Summer. I think you should play one again.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
07-22-2009 |
Reviews
Michael Bay Pimps His Transformers Ridenew
The sequel to 2007's Transformers is measurably better, simply by virtue of its utter commitment to spectacle.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
'Treeless Mountain' is an Exception to the Sentimental Rulenew
Korean-American director So Yong Kim's semi-autobiographical film has a premise especially ripe for mawkishness. But it evades schmaltz, in no small part because the Korean actresses themselves are so resolutely dry-eyed.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: So Yong Kim, Treeless Mountain
Post-'Multiplicity' Michael Keaton: Sadder, Wisernew
The Merry Gentleman is nearly an excellent three-way character study of isolation and regret within the confines of a muted crime plot. But Keaton, as superb as he is with actors (most likely owing to his being an underrated actor himself), doesn't have the directorial delicacy to balance it.
Willamette Week |
Alex Peterson |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Zach Galifianakis Is the Best Bro at a Memorable Bachelor Partynew
The Hangover's plot sounds disturbingly like quintessential bro cinema. Only something funny happens on the way to a routine Hollywood man-comedy: Phillips gives a comedic genius his first big break and rediscovers the lost art of screwball.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
06-03-2009 |
Reviews
The Limits of Tolerating Jim Jarmuschnew
The Limits of Control is an enormously irritating movie. It is a puzzle box that contains no hints about life, only references back to other surrealist artworks and Jarmusch's own films.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
05-13-2009 |
Reviews
The Heroic Optimism of Anvilnew
It has been a long, strange trip for Anvil, but the trajectory has been smoothly downward. As Anvil! The Story of Anvil trails Anvil through an increasingly dire European tour, what distinguishes the film is Sacha Gervasi's palpable affection for her subjects, and her subjects' awareness of themselves.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-22-2009 |
Reviews
Greg Mottola Remembers the Mysteries of Pittsburghnew
When it's not sidetracked by clowning, Adventureland is finely observed. Its tranquil, forgiving vibe exactly captures how someone who came of age in 1987 Pittsburgh would prefer to remember it. Which is also the movie's problem.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-01-2009 |
Reviews
A Damning Look at Watts Goin' Onnew
Hand wringing about the rise of gang activity traditionally combines equal parts racial panic and blame deflection. What marks director Stacy Peralta’s turf is his dedication to undermining these reflexes.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
03-11-2009 |
Reviews
'Gomorrah' Recognizes the Mob for What It Is: A Quiet Scourgenew
The real-life Neapolitan crime organization, known as the Camorra, is depicted here as a hovering presence above the locals, dropping down into ordinary lives only as sudden flashes of death, but otherwise reigning from above, its fearsome presence unseen but influencing every action.
Willamette Week |
Andy Davis |
02-25-2009 |
Reviews
Petite Movies With Hearts Big Enough for Oscarnew
For all their brevity, the short films nominated this year for the Oscar carry as much invention and feeling as any feature-length movie from last year.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
02-04-2009 |
Movies
Laika Launches 'Coraline,' and Its Creators Wonder: What Now?new
There are fewer than 1,000 people in the world who specialize in stop-motion animation. Many of the 30 animators who worked on Coraline, as well as the more than 250 technicians and designers who labored alongside them, came to Portland with the hope that Laika represented something more stable.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
02-04-2009 |
Movies
