AltWeeklies Wire
Striking Outnew
Are you happy the writers' strike is finally over? Well, I most certainly am ... NOT!! When networks get desperate, some really funny, dumbass ideas get to shine.
The Portland Mercury |
Wm. Steven Humphrey |
02-21-2008 |
TV
Jump, Jumpnew
Based on the young adult novel by Steven Gould, Jumper's concept is a Twilight Zone/Xbox mash-up.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
02-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Doug Liman, Jumper
Definitely Not Terriblenew
Taking a page from The Princess Bride's format, Definitely, Maybe follows the story a father tells his 10-year-old daughter about the women he has dated, changing their names and letting her guess which one became her mom, with whom he is now finalizing a divorce.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
02-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Adam Brooks, Definitely, Maybe
Martin Beats Stillernew
Your enjoyment of Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins can be predetermined by one question: Do you think an obstacle course showdown between Martin Lawrence and Cedric the Entertainer sounds hilarious? If not, move along to the next review.
The Portland Mercury |
Chas Bowie |
02-08-2008 |
Reviews
Are We Excited Yet?new
Hang the blame on poor marketing, or a tendency to cater to a faithful older audience rather than drum up some fresh blood—fact is, Portland's International Film Festival (PIFF) is not the Big Deal it should be.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
02-08-2008 |
Movies
Ghost Whisperernew
Over Her Dead Body's plot is ludicrous. Thank god for lowered expectations, 'cause this pithy piece of fluff is downright funny.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
02-01-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Jeff Lowell, Over Her Dead Body
'Honeydripper': John Sayles Meets Jim Crownew
Sayles' sedate, inoffensive film takes place in Harmony, Alabama, in 1950, where Jim Crow laws are in full swing and black men can be arrested simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
02-01-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Honeydripper, John Sayles
I Love Television: The State of the Robotic Unionnew
My fellow Americans: We have a serious and potentially life-threatening problem facing our nation this week. Shockingly, the president of the United States has scheduled his State of the Union address to directly conflict with not one, but TWO of my fave new shows!
The Portland Mercury |
Wm. Steven Humphrey |
01-24-2008 |
Movies
The Growing Indifference of Woody Allennew
If the last few years have taught us anything about the current state of Woody Allen's creative process, it's that he stopped caring about his actors a long time ago.
The Portland Mercury |
Zac Pennington |
01-17-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Woody Allen, Cassandra's Dream
Monster Mash-Upnew
AAAAAGGHH! A monster! Quick! YouTube it!
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
01-17-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Cloverfield, Matt Reeves
A Haunted Orphanage? No way!new
Screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez and director Juan Antonio Bayona are content to dig up and exploit every worn-out horror cliché they can think of -- which'd be a problem if The Orphanage wasn't so goddamn scary.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
01-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Juan Antonio Bayona, The Orphanage
The Films of Paul Thomas Andersonnew
Screening all of Anderson's feature-length films in order was something I'd never done, but in anticipation of his latest, There Will Be Blood, I started with Hard Eight, then hit Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
01-10-2008 |
Movies
Your Dreams are Worthlessnew
An undercurrent of pathetically naked hope that makes Great World of Sound weirdly compelling, and a sad-but-honest look at the depressing consequence of our national obsession with fame.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
12-27-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Craig Zobel, Great Wall of Sound
'The Walker' Plays Fill in the Blanksnew
The Walker provides glimmers of detail, with hardly any context -- and it's pretty impossible to get into a film when you feel like you're only getting half the story.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-27-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Paul Schrader, The Walker
Extreme Skiers are So... So... Extreme!new
Steep is one more fawning sports documentary in the vein of Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants, Step into Liquid, and First Descent, and while it's not nearly as good as any of those, it still has some stuff to recommend.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
12-27-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Mark Obenhaus, Steep
