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Bombastic, charismatic and iconic through and through, Roger Ebert was the Muhammad Ali of film criticism, a man whose face and voice became synonymous with our modern pastime of going to the movies. He was the champ: With a review in The Chicago Sun-Times or a little wiggle of his thumb on the syndicated TV show At the Movies, Ebert possessed the power to single-handedly revive a flailing filmmaker’s career or curse a new movie to oblivion. Continue reading
Fans of scary monsters and super creeps will have a lot to feast on in coming days, as the Bijou Classic Series unleashes its “Monster Blockbuster” tribute, featuring screenings of a handful of legendary films moderated by local film buffs. Coordinated by Joshua Purvis, Bijou marketing director and founder of the Eugene Film Society, the series puts together a chilling variety of freaker classics — from Jaws to Invasion of the Body Snatchers — pairing each with a moderated Q&A and discussion that will tackle critical, historic and technical aspects of the film. Continue reading
Two dudes standing behind a service counter, slinging cheesecake for the masses and, during down times, brainstorming a tangle of ideas about music, movies and the end of the world: This is the genesis of Tectonic Jelly, a deliciously bizarre short film and companion comic book series that gets its first public airing Thursday, July 17, at Bijou Art Cinemas. Continue reading
Last week, a friend wanted to know if she should see Snowpiercer. The easy answer is “Yes.” The longer, glibber answer was, “Did you want a sci-fi movie about class warfare? Then yes.” She replied, “Isn’t that what all sci-fi movies are really about?” Continue reading
We’re starting to live in a Jenny Slate world, and I’m perfectly OK with that. She’s brilliantly annoying on Kroll Show, as one of the Lizzes of PubLIZity; she’s the creator, with her husband Dean Fleischer-Camp, of the video and bestselling book Marcel the Shell With Shoes On; she’s been guest-starring on more TV shows than I can remember. She makes fart jokes in interviews and tweets videos of her dog. And Slate stars in Obvious Child, the rare film that can genuinely be called a feminist romantic comedy. Continue reading
In Kelly Reichardt’s new film, Night Moves, a ragged trio of would-be eco-saboteurs plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam in western Oregon. There is Josh (Jesse Eisenberg), a steely young man full of sidelong glances and inarticulate rage; Dena (Dakota Fanning), a doe-eyed rich girl levitating on hippie zen; and Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard), the elder, who emanates the cool, malevolent calm of nihilism. Continue reading
Fifteen years ago, Lukas Moodysson’s feature debut, Show Me Love (limply retitled from the evocative Fucking Åmål), gave us a beautifully honest, complicated and lovely tale about small-town teenage life and love. Moodysson’s latest, We Are the Best!, is another gloriously told tale about Swedish teens — though they can barely claim the word. Continue reading
James Franco is a fascinating character. With his chiseled good looks and bedroom eyes, he is genetically perched for sex-symbol status, and certainly Hollywood yearns to dip him in those spangled shallows. But Franco, as part of Seth Rogen and Jason Segel’s Freaks and Geeks mob, resists the most earnest superfluities of celebrity; his artistic talent is tempered by self-deprecation and suspicion, which keeps him on his toes — witness the masochistic pleasure he takes in ripping his reputation in This is the End. Continue reading
The illegitimate, biracial daughter of a British navy admiral, Dido Elizabeth Belle, was born into complicated circumstances. In Belle, director Amma Asante and screenwriter Misan Sagay take some liberties with what’s known about the real Belle, but strict accuracy isn’t the point of Asante’s lush, Jane Austenesque film, which belongs fully to Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Continue reading
Days of Future Past opens in a dark future, a world devastated by war. A ragtag band of mutants, led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan), puts up a decent fight against the Sentinels, but they have zero hope of victory against the shape-shifting, mutant-hunting robots. In a last-ditch effort, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) sends the consciousness of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back into his ’70s self. Continue reading