Pick of the Week:
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). Starring Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano
Volver (2006). Starring Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas.
Both directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
Both playing at my favorite movie theater, the Hub for Cultural Snackers on May 3rd. Look, I may mock them because of asinine promos and other reasons, but Pedro Almodóvar is one of my favorite directors. Nervous Breakdown is one of his signature movies and is, uh, about a woman having a nervous breakdown. Volver is about a woman looking for her past. Both movies deal with complicated themes and storylines with a panache that only he can bring. Truly, one of our great stylists.
Also Playing:
Laura (1944). Directed by Otto Preminger. Starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb.
Playing at Cinema 21 on May 3rd—considered one of the best American mystery films ever made! Our Pal Ebert said, “Film noir is known for its convoluted plots and arbitrary twists, but even in a genre that gave us The Maltese Falcon, this takes some kind of prize ... That Laura continues to weave a spell − and it does − is a tribute to style over sanity ... All of [the] absurdities and improbabilities somehow do not diminish the film's appeal. They may even add to it ... [T]he whole film is of a piece: contrived, artificial, mannered, and yet achieving a kind of perfection in its balance between low motives and high style. What makes the movie great, perhaps, is the casting. The materials of a B-grade crime potboiler are redeemed by Waldo Lydecker, walking through every scene as if afraid to step in something.”
This Week:
The Public Enemy plays at the Hollywood on May 8th. This is the classic mobster movie from the 30s that made Tony Soprano cry. It’s a pre-code movie and those are a lot of fun and get away with a lot more than you remember. Go see this if you haven’t! And go see this if you’ve only seen it on TCM or your iPod (my preferred way to watch movies).
Persepolis plays at 5th Avenue Theater this weekend. This is a great animated film and one of the best comic book adaptations. It’s about the Iranian revolution as a coming of age story through the eyes of a young girl.
At the Academy:
Cabaret opens for a run, a great (and classic) musical by Bob Fosse.
They Live opens for a run, which is fun but also feels like it’s always playing in Portland somewhere. You can’t miss something if it never goes away.
At Cinema 21:
Continues to play Cronenberg’s latest The Shrouds. We love Cronenberg in Portland. His movies play all the time. Shocked only one theater got this. Go see it!
Metropolitan plays on May 1 with the director in attendance. This is a 90s comedy about debutants in Manhattan that won a bunch of awards and was super buzzy but has fallen by the wayside.
Out of Sight plays on May 2nd, which is a great Soderbergh crime drama. A guaranteed nice time at the movies.
The Portland EcoFilm Festival is here on May 6th with Queer Ecology. “Three new films by queer filmmakers about intersections of nature, ecology, disability, Indigeneity, and queerness.”
At Cinemagic:
It’s a…bunch of movies the bar across the street likes! Whaddywe got:
The Fifth Element, which is fun if unoriginal hodgepodge of European comic books in a blender.
The Night Comes for Us—an Indonesian Action film with one of the stars from The Raid that had been buried on Netflix. Famous feet drawer Rob Liefeld liked this a whole lot.
Pitch Black starring Claudia Black from Farscape! One time I was in Trader Joe’s and they played the Farscape theme and I thought I was having a stroke. Anyway, I love Farscape. The Pitch Black movies are dumb but almost fun to watch? Another ringing endorsement from Portland’s most hated crank WatchThisPDX.
The Warriors, which is about how hard it is to get around in New York. And very true to life. I was a former baseball fury.
Also, VHS night returns May 2nd with Evolver: “Meet Evolver--the ultimate toy for the Cyberpunk generation--a virtual reality game brought to fierce, three-dimensional life. With each battle, Evolver lives up to his name. He becomes faster…smarter…deadlier.”
At the Clinton:
Ray Wise is in town with:
The Nyback Showdown returns on May 6th for dueling projectors and a cavalcade of oddities.
Oil Lamps from Church of Film on May 7th. This is a rad looking Czech film by Juraj Herz about madness. Herz is such a great director. Go see this!
The Masque of Red Death plays on May 8th. The Clinton is doing a proper Roger Corman retrospective this month and playing a bunch of his films. GO SEE THESE SO THEATERS WILL DO MORE RETROSPECTIVES! One of the things I miss the most from certain other cities is proper retrospectives for directors. There’s no reason we can’t have nice things in Portland. This movie is great.
Do you have 4th of July plans? WELL YOU DO NOW! Revolutions Per Movie is back at the Clinton with Julie Klausner on July 5th. They will be screening Raquel Welch’s special which promises to be an erotic journey. I GOT MY TICKET, GET YOURS.
At the Hollywood this week:
From the Portland EcoFilm Festival:
Oikos/Homecoming on May 2nd. “We present the regional premieres of four new ecological films from around the living world about different ways of being at and returning to home.”
Ecology, Animated plays on May 3rd. “We are excited to present the regional premieres of eight new animated ecological films from around the living world.”
The Welcome To Mooseport Gene Hackman tribute continues with:
Three Bad Romcoms are playing on May 4th—I mean, maybe Singles is fine—it’s been a while. I have a lot to say about You’ve Got Mail which is awful in a way that I find very interesting. Everyone is so unlikeable in it. If anyone wants to send me their impression of Tom Hanks doing his coffee bit I will buy you a (toy) boat. I mean, there are good rom coms out there but I guess that’s not the spirit of the thing. This is more about nostalgia.
The Witch: Revenge plays on May 4th. “A special screening of THE WITCH: REVENGE, a gripping Ukrainian folk horror film blending supernatural vengeance with historical resistance. Directed by Andriy Kolesnyk and written by Yaroslav Voytseshek (The Rising Hawk, Mavka: The Forest Song), this film taps into the folklore of Konotop, a town steeped in legends of witches.”
Special Silencers plays on May 6th from B Movie Bingo, which seems to be about a marital artist/dope fiend.
Beyond Hypothermia plays on May 7th, which is another lady assassin film.
Check the Joy Cinema’s website! Who knows what kooky films they’ll play next. They played Rope and, uh, Superchick last week which is a swinging motion picture experience. Shagadelic, dudes.
At the Kiggins:
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off opens for a run. It’s about a rich creep! I do not like this movie.
Star Wars Episode IV The Star Wars Begins plays on Star Wars Day, which is May 4th. Look. I said this last week. I am an adult. I watch Star Trek. This is none of my business.
At the Tomorrow Theater:
After Hours plays on May 4th. They got me pals. They got me again. This is one of my favorite Marty films. It’s about a New York yuppie being menaced by downtown women (Catherine O'Hara is my favorite). It’s a surreal Kafkaesque (I’m sorry I wrote Kafkaesque but I’m very tired) journey from, uh, Milan to Minsk. Plus you get a bagel at it. Now, I don’t know about a bagel place that calls bagels “round boys” but who knows. Round boys? Round boys! Round boys. “Fresh bagels made sporadically”? Uh. Maybe skip the bagels.
The tip jar is open so I can buy credits to get out of Tormented Space. Next week I will only talk about Farscape.