HANG ON TO YOURSELF

NOW IN THEATERS...

It's an Academy Awards bonanza.

* Animated and Live-Action Shorts: Catch all the nominated short films in a limited program.

* Leviathan, the Russian entry in the Best Foreign Language category shows why it's a front runner.

* Still Alice earned Julianne Moore a Best Actress nod, but offers little else worth noting.

Portlanders also might head out to see the French animated film The King and the Mockingbird, newly restored after a long journey that started in the 1950s. Or you might settle in for the challenge of Lars von Trier's Dogville.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* The Bride Wore Black, Francois Truffaut's tribute to Hitchcock, featuring Jeanne Moreau as a woman bent on revenge. Now on Blu-ray.

* Port of Flowers/The Living Magoroku, the first two films of Japanese director Keisuke Kinoshita, as included in Criterion's Eclipse 41: Kinoshita and World War II.

MISSED IT...

Links I didn't post last week.

* Sit Stay Ride: The Story of America's Sidecar Dogs: a documentary with a self-explanatory title. Available digitally.

* Two music documentaries: one about Portland's the Prids, the other about the San Diego music scene of the 1980s/90s.

Current Soundtrack: The Beatles, Live at the BBC

ALL IN WHITE

NOW IN THEATERS...

* American Sniper, Clint Eastwood's uneven, politically muddled Oscar-nominated feature. Go for Bradley Cooper and the combat, hit the restroom during the "drama."

* Blackhat, Michael Mann fails to make his fascination with hackers interesting onscreen. Hemsworth fizzles in a zero-thrills thriller.

Adding to the disappointment, I reviewed the Patricia Highsmith adaptation The Two Faces of January on Blu-ray, and despite a fine cast--Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen--found the con-man tale to lack passion.

Special Portland screenings prove more interesting.

* A trio of Robert Altman: The Long Goodbye, 3 Women, and the documentary tribute Altman. You can also read my longer review of the 3 Women Criterion Blu-ray. 

* Heaven and Earth Magic, a rare showing of an obscure 1960s animated feature from Harry Smith

Why so serious, Thor...?

Current Soundtrack: Belle & Sebastian, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance

JAZZ THIEVES

It's been a weird couple of weeks without me reviewing any major releases. I skipped the press screening for Mockingjay because there were so many restrictions on my attendance...well, I just couldn't see Katniss putting up with all those rules. I'll be seeing it on Sunday. Catch my rating at my letterboxd.com account.

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Bad Turn Worse, a sparse little crime thriller with designs on Jim Thompson.

* Keep on Keepin' On, this jazz documentary about an old trumpet player and his blind protege is a good cure for Whiplash. 

Revival movies playing in Portland include Ginger Rogers in Roxie Hart and a festival of WWI movies, including The Big Parade and Paths of Glory.

Whereas, Portlanders, you've already missed these, but who knows, other locales might be getting:

* Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets

* Two evenings with experimental filmmaker Ben Russell

WATCH IT AT HOME... 

* It Happened One Night, the screwball comedy that started it all, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, directed by Frank Capra.

* L'Avventura, Michelangelo Antonioni's classic breakthrough coming to Blu-ray from Criterion.

Current Soundtrack: Tim Wheeler, Lost Domain

PARANOID ANDROID

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), the much-hyped superhero meta-movie with Michael Keaton taking on the role of a disgraced actor post-franchise. There's something not quite right about this one.

* Citizenfour, a film about Edward Snowden that also serves as a powerful historical document. A definite must-see.

* Eternity: The Movie, a musical comedy about a Hall & Oates-like duo in the 1980s, and one of the worst movies I've seen this year.

* Nightcrawler, a phenomenal performance by Jake Gyllenhaal is almost enough to save this hollow motion picture.

Portland also has short runs of Alain Resnais' 1968 time-travel movie Je t'aime je t'aime and the 1985 cult hit Return to Oz.

Oh, and film related, I also reviewed the book De Niro: A Life by Shawn Levy. It's a great read, with lots of backstage talk and insight on how De Niro's best and worst roles came to be.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Hangmen Also Die, a gripping World War II thriller from master director Fritz Lang.

* La dolce vita, Fellini's masterpiece shined up and polished and looking better than ever.

* Sundays and Cybele, a surprising drama about the relationship between a troubled man and a needy little girl. The 1961 winner of the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Current Soundtrack: Ex Hex, Rips

ULTRA MODERN NURSERY RHYME

NOW IN THEATERS...

* The 78 Project Movie, a travel documentary that explores the traditions of folk and blues recordings and challenges current musicians to take part. 

* The Drop, the latest from Dennis Lehane features Tom Hardy, a pit bull puppy, and James Gandolfini in his final performance.

* I Am Not a Rock Star, the girlhood of a piano prodigy.

* The Skeleton Twins, in which Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig essentially play their usual comic personas but only after several not-so-good years.

* A Will for the Woods, a sobering documentary about one dying man's quest for a green burial.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* All That Jazz. The '70s were a hell of a drug.

* Arrowsmith, an early John Ford talkie adapting the Sinclair Lewis novel about a heroic doctor.

* Love Streams, a ragged later-life semi-romance from John Cassavetes.

* Teenage, a docu-collage of the rise of youth culture in the 20th Century.

Left to right: Rocco, Tom Hardy

Current Soundtrack: Future Sound of London, Environments Five

OO-DE-LALLY

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Evergreen: The Road to Legalization, a documentary about passing the marijuana law in Washington last year. (I pair it with the new Trailer Park Boys movie, subtitled Don't Legalize It. Though, that movie's pretty much absolutely terrible.)

* The Last of Robin Hood, an attempt to dramatize and normalize the final romance of Errol Flynn. Starring Kevin Kline and Susan Sarandon.

* Love is Strange, particularly for two older men (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) whose lives take some unexpected turns after they are married. Plus, Marisa Tomei (my favorite).

Plus, Portlanders can see Robert Altman and Robin Williams' Popeye on the big screen at Saturday and Sunday matinees.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Bicycling with Moliere, an engaging week of arguing theater with two older French actors.

* Une chambre en ville, one of Jacques Demy's later musicals.

* Cotton Comes to Harlem, an energetic 1970 blaxploitation picture from Ossie Davis.

* Magnificent Doll, a boring biography of Dolly Madison, starring Ginger Rogers as the first lady.

* The Party, an hilarious shindig with Peter Sellers.

* That's My Man, a plodding melodrama with Don Ameche as a horse owner with a gambling problem. 

* Vengeance Is Mine, revisiting Shohei Imamura's true crime picture on Blu-ray.

Current Soundtrack: Tricky, Adrian Thaws

I'VE KNOWN NO WAR

NOW IN THEATERS...

* The Internet's Own Boy, a political documentary about the life and tragic death of the creator of Reddit.

* Life of Crime, an entertaining if slightly underwhelming Elmore Leonard adaptation. Jennifer Aniston leads a great cast.

* The November Man, Pierce Brosnan's return to the spy genre, brings Olga Korylenko with him.

* The Trip to Italy, another excursion out on the road with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. 

Portlanders can also catch Terry Gilliam's manic fantasy The Adventures of Baron Munchausen all this week at the Academy. It has an hilarious Robin Williams cameo.

And Saturday night, pay tribute to the late Lauren Bacall by watching Key Largo at the Hollywood.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* I've Always Loved You, a 1946 melodrama set in the world of classical music. From director Frank Borzage.

* Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Pedro Almodovar joins the Criterion Collection.

Current Soundtrack: The Sweet Inspirations, The Complete Atlantic Singles Plus 

STANDING OUT IN THE UNIVERSE

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Code Black, a documentary following the country's busiest emergency room as it goes to work.

* Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the funnest movies of the summer and the one Marvel Comics film guaranteed to send you home smiling.

Also, for Portlanders looking for older fare, you can pay tribute to James Garner by seeing The Great Escape or head downtown for a Mid-August Lunch. That is, if you like Italian. (I do.)

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Arch of Triumph, an overly serious love story with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer set in pre-WWII France.

* Bay of Angels, Jacques Demy's unique take on crime movies, starring Jeanne Moreau.

* Born Yesterday, the classic comedy from George Cukor, with a marvelous performance by Judy Holliday. I'm absolutely in love with this film. 

* The Other Love, a passionless romantic melodrama with Barbara Stanwyck.

Current Soundtrack: Jenny Lewis, The Voyager

SUMMERTIME SADNESS

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Cold in July, a chilly adaptation of a Joe R. Landsdale story, anchored with a strong cast.

* Korengal, the documentary follow-up to Restrepo. One-night only event with director Sebastian Junger in Portland, in advance of a full release later.

My local compatriots also can catch Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette or the 1953 Alan Ladd western Shane on the revival circuit.

WATCH IT AT HOME:

* Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, the deranged revenge tale of Sam Peckinpah

* Home in Indiana, a milquetoast 1940s family picture from Henry Hathaway

* Like Someone in Love, Abbas Kiarostami's drama of the heart, new from Criterion.

Current Soundtrack: The Horrors, Luminous

MOVIE REVIEWS/ARCHER COE chap. 4/LIBERTY COMICS

After last week's bounty of movie releases, this week's major debuts were pretty lacklustre. I did review a few small things playing locally, however:

* A Cinema of Mutual Respect, a double-feature of international experimental cinema.

* A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness, a trippy existential exploration of the Scandinavian landscape and mindset.

* Winter in the Blood, a compelling indie drama about the Native American experience in the American midwest. 

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Equus, a bold adaptation of the modern classic by director Sidney Lumet.

* Master of the House, a charming silent drama from Carl Th. Dreyer.

* Paradise: Hope, the final installment of the Austrian Paradise trilogy.

In comics today...

* The fourth chapter of Archer Coe and the Thousand Natural Shocks went online today. Our hero is really in the thick of it now!

* You can also download the complete Liberty collection, featuring all the annuals benefitting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. That includes the year I edited and wrote for.

You really want to go to a comic book shop and get the hardcover, though. That's a lot of comics to have under one package. Here's the info from Image Comics.

Current Soundtrack: Misc. recent tracks on shuffl,e, including Conor Oberst, "Hundreds of Ways" and Foster the People, "Pseudologia Fantastica"

TURN DOWN FOR WHAT

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Cheap Thrills, a dark but empty movie about a lucrative game of dare and dare.

* Draft Day, a surprisingly affecting comedy about backroom football deals starring Kevin Costner.

* Jodorowsky's Dune, a winning documentary about a movie that never was and the meaning of creation.

* Joe, a return to form for both Nicolas Cage and director David Gordon Green.

* The New Rijksmuseum, a documentary that feels as long as the ten years it takes to renovate the Amsterdam museum.

* The Raid 2: Berandal, a bloated sequel to the violent Indonesian action flick.

* Under the Skin, an artful and compelling sci-fi film starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Jonathan Glazer.

* The Unknown Known, a one-on-one documentary with Donald Rumsfeld. 

If you're in Portland, you can also catch the Ray Harryhausen adventure classic Jason and the Argonauts.

Or if you're a Criterion fan, Orson Welles' little-seen 1968 literary adaptation The Immortal Story is on Hulu.

Current Soundtrack: Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home

THE CRADLE OF THE BEST AND OF THE WORST

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Captain America: The Winter Soldier, an excellent second mission for Marvel's most vanilla hero.

* Ernest and Celestine, the adorable Academy Award-nominated animated feature from France.

* The Face of Love, a mature drama about romance and grief starring Annette Bening and Ed Harris.

* The Great Flood, a fascinating abstract documentary about the Mississippi floods of 1927, soundtrack by Bill Frisell. 

* In the Blood, a very much not at all good action picture with Haywire-star Gina Carano beating up more bad guys. And a few maybe-not-so-bad ones, too.

This weekend Portlanders also have an opportunity to catch Orson Welles' film noir twister The Lady from Shanghai.

And next Thursday, the one-man show Romantic Macabredy: Short Films of Dave Hanagan, a collection of cinematic pranks and genre subversions. 

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* The Great Beauty, last year's scintillating Oscar-winner from Italy, showing an aging author searching for meaning. Nope, nothing to identify with here.

* Sleep, My Love, a romantic suspense film from Douglas Sirk, master of melodrama.

*  Young at Heart, pairing Doris Day and Frank Sinatra to blend some of her nice with his naughty.

Current Soundtrack: Lewis Black on WTF with Marc Maron

I KNOW I WON'T FORGET YOU, BUT I'LL FORGET MYSELF

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Enemy: It's Jake Glyllenhaal vs. Jake Gyllenhaal in a fight to own all the vowels. Intriguing, though overstates its own flaws.

* The Lunchbox, a subdued romance from India will likely be the best love story we see this year.

* Southern Baptist Sissies, a filmed performance of the award winning play.

* Stranger by the Lake, an erotic thriller from France that mostly runs cold.

Portland audiences also have a chance to see Burt Lancaster's favorite movie he starred in, The Swimmer, based on a John Cheever story. The screenings will have his youngest daughter in attendance.

Also, a local showcase, the German expressionist parody Ich Hunger. 

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* The Lady in Question, teaming Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford in a light comedy several years before Gilda.

* The Miracle Woman, a religious morality play starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Frank Capra.

* Paradise: Faith. The second round in Ulrich Seidl's Bummer Trilogy.

* Repo Man, they say punk never dies, but it certainly can age.

Current Soundtrack: Sia, "Chandelier"

THE STARS WE ARE

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Bad Words, the meaner side of Jason Bateman.

* Breadcrumb Trail, director Lance Bangs search for the secret origins of indie rockers Slint.

* Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, a documentary following the Broadway star as she prepares a one-woman show.

* Far from Vietnam, a resurrected protest film from the 1960s, put together by Chris Marker, and featuring work by Agnes Varda, William Klein, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, and more.

* Muppets Most Wanted, a sequel of diminishing returns, but still fun to watch.

Portlanders also have one opportunity to see the marvelous Russian Ark on the big screen.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* A Brief History of Time, Erroll Morris' biographical documentary about Stephen Hawking.

* What Price Hollywood? the prototype of Tinsel Town tales, from George Cukor, released 1932.

Current Soundtrack: A Bad Boy Entertainment playlist on Spotify

GIVE LIFE BACK TO MOVIES

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Bettie Page Reveals All, a documentary built around a recording of the pin-up queen telling her own story, frustratingly amateurish in execution.

* Out of the Furnace, Scott Cooper's follow-up to Crazy Heart features Christian Bale looking for justice and revenge in the Jersey backwoods.

* The Punk Singer, an engrossing portrait of former Bikini Kill and Le Tigre-singer Kathleen Hanna.

* Spinning Plates, a three-way documentary looking at the different approaches of a trio of restaurants around America.

Plus, for Portlanders, a chance to see some Christmas movies on the big screen.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, the 1970 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Picture, now released on disc by Criterion.

Current Soundtrack: Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water

GIRLS LIKE IT TOO

 NOW IN THEATERS...  

* Carrie, Kimberly Peirce's remake of Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King.

* Ghostlight, indie horror from the Pacific NW.

* Hey Bartender, a documentary on Manhattan mixologists.

* Mars Project, the story of the schizophrenic Canadian rapper Conspiracy.

* Wadjda, a Saudi Arabian family drama about a little girl and a bicycle. 

WATCH IT AT HOME... 

* Drums Along the Mohawk, a tale of the Revolutionary War from director John Ford. Starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.

* Five Dolls for an August Moon, a stylish dud from Italian horror maestro Dario Argento. 

* I Married a Witch, a Halloween comedy starring Veronica Lake. Directed by Rene Clair.

Current Soundtrack: Arcade Fire, "Reflektor" single

CAME BACK HAUNTED

NOW IN THEATERS... 

* Adore. You heard of wife-swapping? How about son-swapping? Naomi Watts and Robin Wright are best friends who start having sex with each other's sons. It's all very literary.

* Short Term 12, one of the year's best. Brie Larson stars in this potent drama about counselors for troubled teens who find some of the kids' problems hit a little too close to home.

* And the Oregonian for 9/6: go on pilgrimage in the documentary Walking the Camino, see Richard Elfman introduce a colorized Forbidden Zone, and watch the Everything is Terrible! website come alive.

WATCH IT AT HOME...     

* The Mindy Project: Season One, a funny and smart sitcom that sets up Mindy Kaling as a wonderful comic lead.

* To Be or Not to Be, Ernst Lubitsch's searing satire of the Nazis, with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. (Cross-posted with DVD Talk.)

Current Soundtrack: Nine Inch Nails, Hesitation Marks

 

FLAT OF THE BLADE

These movies, they keep releasing them. Another week down...

  NOW IN THEATERS...

* I'm So Excited, a light-hearted trifle from Pedro Almodovar. As Duran Duran once said, "doesn't have to be serious."

* The Wolverine, just the kind of do-over we were hoping for. Go get 'em, bub!

* For the Oregonian: Hava Nagila: The Movie traces the history of the famous song; Men in Suits looks at the actors who dress as our favorite movie creatures; and the not-so-fantastic Fantastic World of Juan Orol is a biopic of the Mexican Ed Wood.

 

WATCH IT AT HOME 

* Babette's Feast, the Danish drama about French food. (Also at DVD Talk.)

*     Daisies, the 1966 anarchic comedy from Czechoslovakia. Portlanders can also see it his weekend at the NW Film Center.

 * Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola's mess of a vampire movie. 

 

Current Soundtrack:  Skylar Grey, Don't Look Down  (Deluxe Edition)

ONLY YEEZUS FORGETS

Another week at the movies...

NOW IN THEATERS...  

* Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, an interesting man overcomes the conflicting message of the commentary his profilers give him, proving personality always wins.

* Only God Forgives. Hey, Gosling, hurry up with my damn croissants.

* Red 2, the old men need some Viagra, but the ladies have a good time anyway.

* For the Oregonian: A documentary on Big Star, a tribute to Les Blank, and the Serbian gay rights comedy The Parade.

I also take a longer look at those Les Blank films at my Criterion blog, reviewing Burden of Dreams, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers, and Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. Read it right here.

WATCH IT AT HOME 

* Foolish Wives, the silent classic from Erich von Stroheim, newly mastered in HD.

* Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, a 1950s love story that is starting to show its age. With William Holden and Jennifer Jones. 

* Two versions of Mozart's The Magic Flute: a recent film production from Kenneth Branagh and a more accomplished 1975 adaptation helmed by Ingmar Bergman.

 * Mayerling, the 1957 television production with Audrey Hepburn, long thought to be lost, finds its way into the world at last.

Current Soundtrack: Glasvegas, "I'd Rather Be Dead (Than Be With You);" Bob Dylan, Self Portrait

THEY CALL US LONELY WHEN WE'RE REALLY JUST ALONE

I didn't review any major release films this week, but I did just complete going through two major groups of old classics.

The first set of films is "The Solitude Trilogy," a trio of thematically linked movies by director Roberto Rossellini that star Ingrid Bergman. This is of particular note to Portlanders, because you can see all three of them this weekend at the NW Film Center. The movies in question are:

 * Stromboli

* Europe '51 

* Journey to Italy 

 Links to the full schedule are at the bottom of each review.

I also did round-up of the whole series in my Oregonian column, which additionally includes reviews of the recent Chinese drama Beijing Flickers and the documentary A Girl and a Gun.  Read the whole column now. 

  

I've also been working through the Eclipse boxed set Masaki Kobayashi Against the System. You can see my aggregate review of the whole box at DVD Talk, or check them out individually via these links:

* The Thick-Walled Room 

* I Will Buy You 

* Black River 

*  The Inheritance 

 

Remember, if any of these movies sound interesting to you and you buy them through an Amazon link on this blog or over at Criterion Confessions--or buy anything once you've clicked through on my link--I literally get pennies back for your purchase! Pennies! (But hey, it all adds up...and I appreciate it.)

Current Soundtrack: Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Stefan Schneider, Tiden