Now Playing
Midnight at the Oasis
Pick of the Week:
The Cascade Festival of African Films is here until March 7!
“The Cascade Festival of African Films shows us Africa through the eyes of Africans, rather than a vision of Africa packaged for Western viewers. The films celebrate Africa’s achievements, expose its failures, and reveal possibilities for a hopeful future. Although the films cannot represent an entire continent, we hope to encourage American viewers to become interested in and study African cultures.”
This is likely your only chance to catch these films in a theater and this is one of Portland’s most ambitious festival of foreign films. Check out the screenings here.
Also Playing:
Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992). Directed by Leslie Harris. Starring Ariyan A. Johnson, Kevin Thigpen, Ebony Jerido.
Playing at the Hollywood on Feb. 9 from Vast Territories. A fantastic movie from the 90s and on my list of best movies about New York City. There were a lot of “quirky” movies about mouthy teens talking directly to the camera in the late 80s/early 90s. Chantel Mitchell lives in Brooklyn, is 17, and going about her life and navigating high school. It’s about the ups and downs of being a teenager. I’m pretty sure this made it into Staff Picks here at some point and if it didn’t it will eventually.
This Week:
Judas and the Black Messiah plays at the Clinton on Feb. 6th. This is a great movie from a few years about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, and was one of those movies that got lost in the shuffle of COVID a bit. It won a bunch of awards, has a great cast, and was sold as a cross between The Conformist and The Departed.
At the Fifth Ave: I Am Not a Witch plays this weekend. “Convicted of witchcraft, 8-year-old Shula is brought to live in a penal colony where witches do hard labour in service of the government.” This has been on my to watch list for a long time so I will be at all screenings. You can spot me easily because I will be wearing one of my trademark wacky t-shirts.
At the Academy:
Punch-Drunk Love returns to theaters.
So does Harold and Maude.
The Ascent opens for a run— an amazing Russian film directed by Larisa Shepitko about World War II and is famously bleak. It’s great and better in a theater than at home.
At Cinemagic:
VHS Night returns with Retroactive on Feb. 6th which appears to be a time travel movie employing the talents of one Mr. J. Belushi.
Having won an Oscar for my performance in Scent of a Woman (I am Al Pacino) I have great respect for awards. They are playing some films nominated for an award I have already conquered. Those films are playing here and they are K-Pop Demon Hunters, Sentimental Value, One Battle After Another, Mary Supreme, and It Was Just an Accident. Please go see It Was Just An Accident because it was great and deserves to be seen. Being Al Pacino, I have seen all of these movies and I cannot recommend them because I do not care for demon slander, I do not believe in sentimentality, I was denied a part in Battle (I wanted to play my character from Scent of a Woman again), and I am afraid of Timothée Chalamet.
At Cinema 21:
The 400 Blows plays on Feb. 7th. Hey! It’s the classic Truffaut movie. These types of “Arthouse 101 films” don’t play super often in Portland so catch this on the big screen. This is a movie about 400 blows. Sorry. I haven’t actually seen it. I haven’t actually seen any movie because I am a little afraid the men from the screen are going to hurt me if I watch too hard.
The Voice of Hind Rajab continues. “January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 5-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab.”
You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine opens for a run. It “captures a star-studded tribute to the legendary songwriter, filmed in October 2022 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The event brought together acclaimed artists, friends, and family to share behind-the-scenes stories and perform classic songs, honoring Prine's enduring legacy.”
At the Clinton:
No Worries Film Festival plays on Saturday and Sunday. “An indie film festival focused on weird, marginalized, and micro-budget films by Pacific Northwest Filmmakers. We let freak flags fly, revel in diversity, and value creativity at every skill and experience level. Our focus is to give to-be-discovered, ultra-low budget, and otherwise oddball films a chance to be seen, with an emphasis on amplifying the voices marginalized communities. We connect our audiences with films that could otherwise be gatekept from them by the politics, commercialism, and financial barriers often set in place by the current festival circuit. Our proudly weird festival has no cutthroat competitions or big industry hobnobbing, just some truly unique and special films. We are here to inspire meaningful conversations and jump-start creativity. Local filmmakers are encouraged to attend, walk our red carpet, and have live Q+A’s with their newly-minted biggest fans.” I let my freak flag fly and revel in diversity but I do not value creativity so I will be passing on this.
Numbskull Revolution plays on Feb. 10th. “Dubbed “the Godfather of Punk Cinema,” Moritsugu and Amy Davis (Mod Fuck Explosion) are back with a satirical deconstruction of the high art scene. Starring David and James Duval (The Doom Generation), the play a pair of rival conceptual artists battling for fame in Shitville, Earth. As one rises in the scene, the other becomes addicted to a new drug called Skullfuck. ART = $HIT”
The Singing Ringing Tree plays on Feb. 11th from Church of Film. This is a neat looking and deranged fairy tale inspired film. “A wandering Prince attempts to woo a haughty Princess by obtaining for her the magical singing, ringing tree! But along the way, he is transformed into a bear, and the Princess into a witch, by the wicked spells of a malicious warlock!”
Maria Mirabela plays on Feb. 8th at the Dream House bar. It’s an odd Romanian children’s film that mixes animation with life action and is about some weirdo kids wandering around in a forest.
Ricard Pryor: Live in Concert plays on Feb. 12th. One of the more influential stand-up specials but you didn’t need me to tell you that.
Béla Tarr’s 7.5 hour Sátántangó plays on Feb. 7th. There will be intermissions and limited seating. It’s a bleak film about a Hungarian town! Hey, it’s shorter than a work day!
Detour Cinema is playing I Walked With a Zombie on Feb. 12th. This is a famous zombie movie from the 40s that borrows bits from Jane Eyre.
At the Hollywood:
Make Way for Tomorrow plays at 3 PM this weekend. It’s about an elderly couple who lose their home and their children can’t take both of them so they have to split up. Yes, it’s a Depression era film.
Isn’t She Great returns with Muriel’s Wedding on Feb. 7th which of course is great and stars Toni Collette but I can’t endorse anything from Australia.
Animayhem returns with Dirty Pair: Project Eden on Feb. 8th which is more space chaos from those two broads.
Comedy 101 returns with When Harry Met Sally on Feb. 9th. I’ll have what I’m having.
Kung fu Theater returns on Feb. 10th with Shogun Assassin. This is an extremely rare print and a Long Wolf and Cub adaptation that’s pretty awesome. As a masterless samurai I can relate.
Paris Blues plays on Feb. 11th. Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman have a Jazz off and handsome off in this one. Yes, they are in Paris and they don’t kiss. I mean what do I know, I’ve never seen a movie.
Sense of Wonder returns with Southland Tales on Feb. 12th. This is Richard Kelly’s follow-up to Donnie Darko and what may have put him in movie jail for life (outside of The Box). One of the touchstone Millennial filmmakers, this movie is an ungodly mess but entertaining to watch if you like to watch these kinds of things. It is, however, two and a half hours long and you feel that run time. What is it about you ask? Everything.
At the Kiggins:
A Woman in the World plays on Feb. 12th. This is a silent film starring Pola Negri about a flinty woman challenging gender norms synced to the music of Pearl Jam which challenges, uh, music norms.
At the Liberty:
It Was Just an Accident opens for a run.
At OMSI:
The yearly Studio Ghibli festival continues! What do we have this week? Castle in the Sky, From Up On Poppy Hill, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, Spirited Away, and The Secret World of Arrietty. I am secretly buying tickets to all of these screenings so no one can see them. I recently got a letter in the mail Hayao Miyazaki today! Let’s see what it says….
Spectrum Between is playing “a split program dedicated to Dorsky and Hiler, two legends of avant-garde cinema known for their meticulously constructed works of abstract beauty. As partners for more than six decades, they have exerted a profound influence on one another, and so it’s no surprise that they share a number of artistic sensibilities (“polyvalent” theories of montage; sensitivity to the effects of changing seasons; a reverential approach wherein “film itself” might take on “the spirit or experience of religion”).” The magic all happens at the Sunnyside Community Center on Feb. 15th, so mark your calendars!
At the Tomorrow Theater (the Hub for Cultural Snackers):
Mubi, who has recently come under fire for taking Sequoia Capital investment money, has been partnering with the Tomorrow Theater and they are doing another screening in October. Sequoia has ties to the Israeli army. Mubi has released a bunch of mealy mouthed statements. Filmmakers are urging Mubi to cut ties. If the Los Angeles Festival of Movies can cut ties with Mubi so can PAM. You can contact the Tomorrow Theater here through this link and let them know that they should’t partner with organizations like this.
Again, if the Tomorrow Theater working with a company that has direct ties to the Israeli military bothers you please let them know.
Please do not let the bastards win. Let them know you care about genocide.
We’re not talking chump change for the Sequoia investment: $100 million.
There was a good article about Mubi in Vulture recently behind their paywall.
If we can get them to divest from Mubi I will never make fun of PAM or the Tomorrow Theater ever again.
The tip jar is open if you are so inclined. If enough people tip I will watch a movie. Actually, I rewatched Waiting for Guffman this week and this is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen. These two were so fucking funny.