Whats-Happening: Page 681

Marv Ellis Gets Shook

Music

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 →

Born to Gun?

Going concealed in Lane County

Culture

The pistol wasn’t the first gun given to me as a gift, but it was probably the most unexpected. My father usually gives books for Christmas, and that was what I was anticipating. Dad even disguised the gun by packaging it up to look like the box had a novel inside. Imagine my surprise when, thinking I was getting a copy of the latest Book of the Month Club selection, I pulled a .22 semi-auto out of the wrapping paper. My proud parent, dressed as Santa Claus for the occasion, had a camera at ready to capture the moment. Continue reading →

Spielberg’s 13th Amendment

Film

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 →

Sex and the Surrogate

Film

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 →

One Man’s Delusions

Film

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 →