AltWeeklies Wire
Game Show Imports Like 'Wipeout' are a Study in Orientalismnew
Poking fun at the insanity of a Japanese game show isn't new. But now that mockery is being married with a shrewd commercialism as the very concepts that were once gently derided are Americanized.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
07-09-2008 |
TV
The Summer's Best Sitcoms Aren't on TV. They're Onlinenew
There's no need to pay for cable if you've got a nearby wi-fi connection. What's more, some of the best sitcoms currently being made are only available online.
Willamette Week |
Staff |
07-09-2008 |
TV
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
Rectum? Will Smith Damn Near Killed 'Emnew
I had hoped that Hancock would be a departure, that it might restore some of Smith's Fresh Prince swagger, but instead it's the most explicit demonstration yet of the wallowing that has drained a superstar of his powers.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
07-02-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
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
'Last Comic Standing' Makes Sure You Go Home Unhappynew
Unlike American Idol, pros are allowed to compete NBC's comedy competition. Too bad the voters prefer Larry the Cable Guy to David Cross.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
06-25-2008 |
TV
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
A Refresher Course in the Ladies of 'Sex and the City'new
For crying out loud. It's been a decade since those four Man-hungry-hattanites strutted, sipped and slutted their way into our hearts forever. But do you remember where we left them?
Willamette Week |
Sara Moskowitz |
05-28-2008 |
Movies
'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
Love Him or Hate Him, D.K. Holm Needs Your Helpnew
Recently, film critic Holm was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, for which he has begun chemotherapy and is scheduled for surgery.
Willamette Week |
David Walker |
04-23-2008 |
Movies
Forgetting, but Apparently Not Forgiving, Sarah Marshallnew
Apatow's created another sex comedy with another director-for-hire (Nicholas Stoller), and it takes the attitude that sex is a wholesome and laudable activity for every person to enjoy -- unless that person is your ex, in which case she must be punished.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
04-16-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
