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The first half hour of Atonement director Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina is such a joy to watch, I began to doubt my expectations of the story. This has a tragic ending, doesn’t it? Terrible things are going to happen? For that matter, unfortunate things are happening in the first act, but the clever way they’ve been pieced together is a magical distraction, and appropriately so. Continue reading
Garrick Bushek, aka Marv Ellis, is perhaps Eugene’s most famous emcee. And despite a move to Portland, Ellis is once again living in Eugene and remains a popular attraction on local stages, with locals remembering his days with hometown hip-hop group Genus Pro. Eugene has stayed loyal to Ellis as he’s grown and expanded his definition of hip hop, integrating a broad range of styles into his sound, and Ellis returns the loyalty to Eugene, continuing to bring a little something special to shows in his hometown. Continue reading
Legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck has passed, just shy of his 92nd birthday. Bruebeck wrote such jazz standards like “Take Five” and “The Duke.” The Dave Brubeck Quartet played at the UO in 1957 for the Erb Memorial Union’s “Jazz a la Carte” series and Brubeck performed at the Hult Center in 2008 (pictured above). Continue reading
Lincoln, contrary to what its name implies, is not a defining portrait of a man, though Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance as Abraham Lincoln is one of his defining roles. Stooped, quiet, introverted, exhausted, brilliant and prone to making his point via stories, Day-Lewis’ Lincoln is the calm center to a complex and flawed film about the 16th president — and about the role of politics in America’s terrible relationship with race. Continue reading
The Sessions, a candid, gentle film about a paralyzed man’s quest to have sex, walks a tricky, balanced, grave and funny path that’s all its own. Struck by polio at a young age, Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes) lives mostly in an iron lung; he can get out for a few hours at a time, his assistant pushing him on a gurney. Three assistants are key in the film: Amanda (Annika Marks), a pretty young woman with whom Mark falls in love; Rod (Hawkes’ fellow Deadwood alum W. Continue reading
If you look at Richard Gere’s body of work, it appears he should be on movie screens constantly. A film or two every year, an I’m Not There slipped in between every couple of Unfaithfuls. But Gere still gives the impression, somehow, of popping up every so often, not remaining constantly visible, not sustaining a movie star presence. And when was the last time Gere actually impressed you? Continue reading
Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Axe and Fiddle was an event 40 years in the making. Hundreds of people filled the pub, occupying every table, lining the staircase overlooking the stage and some even finding spots on the wood floor. Hundreds of faces basked in the glow of flickering tea lights gaze upon the stage as a soft voice filled the cavernous space. Wayne Drury, squeezing his blue eyes shut, leans forward in his wheelchair to the mic as he sings “Cimarron Rose” over the strumming of his former band mates, Rob Anderson on guitar and Randy Crawford on banjo. Continue reading
Four years ago, this country was gearing up to elect Team Obama-Biden or Team McCain-Palin. Four years ago there were flag pins, Bill Ayers and lipsticked pigs instead of Big Bird, Bain and bayonets. Four years ago, Mitt Romney was a blip on the election trail and the U.S. was toppling into one of the largest economic downturns in history. And four years ago, the David Minor Theater (DMT) opened at 5th and Pearl St., bringing film and libations to Eugene. Friday, Nov. 2, the theater will host a “Re-election Party” to mark the conclusion of that crucial first term. Continue reading