AltWeeklies Wire
Never Trust Liarsnew
The band that traded Brooklyn for Berlin has made a career of re-imagining itself with every release, but according to guitarist and founding member Aaron Hemphill, what sounds like so many calculated reversals is "not that intentional."
The Portland Mercury |
John Motley |
10-18-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Liars
Plowing Down Kids on 'Reservation Road'new
Based on its concept, the film should have been an all-out gut-wrench fest. If you're going to have a plot device as emotionally manipulative as a dead child, I should at least choke up once, right?
The Portland Mercury |
Chas Bowie |
10-18-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Reservation Road, Terry George
'30 Days of Night': Why I Will Never, Ever Go to Alaskanew
Based on a fairly overrated graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, the film version of 30 Days of Night is pretty goddamn cool.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
10-18-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: David Slade, 30 Days of Night
'Living Biblically': A Skeptically Holy Experimentnew
It could have been shaved down by a quarter without losing its effect, but Jacobs' dedication to his project, combined with his own ambivalence to the Bible, make this book one of the surprise hits of the fall.
The Portland Mercury |
Chas Bowie |
10-18-2007 |
Nonfiction
Portland Welcomes the World to Fashion Weeknew
With the time feeling nigh for something to strike, the organizers behind Portland Fashion Week have drawn together an international collection of designers under the shared ideal of green fashion.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
10-18-2007 |
Fashion
Tags: fashion
The Evolution of Patrick Wolfnew
As a personality Wolf has transformed into a cross between David Bowie, Marc Almond, and Adam Ant — a flamboyant, androgynous, sexualized crooner with an outlandish fashion sense. But above all else, he's now officially a performer.
The Portland Mercury |
Rob Simonsen |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Patrick Wolf, The Magic Position
Justice for All (except Kanye)new
It wasn't Kanye West's most (in)famous bit of public speaking. But when West interrupted last November's MTV Europe Music Awards to un-ironically proclaim that his clip for "Touch the Sky" should've won the fête's Best Video Prize, plenty within the pop community took note.
The Portland Mercury |
Tristan Staddon |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Film School's Sense of Placenew
While the Film School sound itself — a brainy My Bloody Valentine-inspired foray into atmospheric post-punk — has not changed all that much, the tendency toward creative expression and experimentation has changed.
The Portland Mercury |
Jenny Tatone |
10-11-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: film school, Hideout
The Everybodyfields on Delicate Sadnessnew
The duo is part of an exciting new movement in contemporary bluegrass-influenced music (alongside labelmates the Avett Brothers), and its brand-new release, Nothing is Okay, is a gorgeous waltz of swelling country ballads soaked in a river of spilled tears.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
10-11-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Bat for Lashes Debuts with Childhood Nightmaresnew
During the softest whispers of Fur and Gold, Natasha Khan's delicate voice cries out like a child stranded in the woods.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
10-11-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Bat for Lashes, Fur and Gold
'We Own the Night' Disappointsnew
The "two brothers on opposite sides of the law" storyline is formulaic and uninspired, but the presence of loveable freaks Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg and Joaquin "It's Not a Harelip!" Phoenix offers faint hope. Alas, mediocrity wins the day.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: James Gray, We Own the Night
Morality 101 with Professor 'Michael Clayton'new
It's nothing that we haven't seen before: A stereotypically villainous corporation hurts the little guy; our conflicted protagonist has to figure out what to do. But an impressive cast and Tony Gilroy's sharp direction allow the smart, intense film to take a John Grisham-y concept and amp it up.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy
Spoiler Alert: Jesse James Diesnew
The much-anticipated revisionist western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, as evidenced by its chewily purple title, has a lot on its plate -- too much, possibly.
The Portland Mercury |
Andrew Wright |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
John Woo Returns to Form with a Video Gamenew
The sequel to Hard Boiled, Stranglehold is a video game rather than a movie, but all the important ingredients are here: Chow Yun Fat reprises his role as the badass Inspector Tequila; there's plenty of slow-mo gunplay; and a dozen city blocks are leveled by the game's pornographic number of explosions and gunshots.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
10-11-2007 |
Video Games
Tags: video games
The Virgin Queen Gives Cinematic Blue Ballsnew
The courtly bravado of 1998's Elizabeth had a purpose: to show Cate Blanchett tearing up the scenery as she dallied about with the Earl of Leicester and spouted feministic jingo. It was sumptuous, kinda sexy, and complex. Elizabeth: The Golden Age is none of that.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
