2008 Woodie Awards
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Arts and Culture Articles
The good book of Church
God ain't got nothing to do with this band's symphonic folk
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Despite changes of the past couple years, Portlanders still seem to prefer their indie rock as "big" as possible. With local folk orchestras stretching their memberships to the breaking point, and Craigslist ads appearing daily to inquire about the availability of a competent oboist, it seems that texture has grown into a paramount concern for emerging artists.
(Not yet) big in Japan
Portland pop youngsters Soutern Belle aim across the sea
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For the ragged musicians of Portland's Southern Belle, Tokyo is not just a destination--it's a consummate manifestation of the group's giddy ambitions.
Dark Meat tastes better
Hailing from Georgia, Dark Meat is taking the country by ... collective?
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With tags like "collective" and "neo-psychedelia" attached to them, Dark Meat could easily be understood as yet another attempt to revive the flower-power good times of the '60s.
That would be a gross misunderstanding.
Save me, Indy!
Indiana Jones and the glory of videogames
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Unless you've spent the last 25 years living under a rock, it's a safe bet that you grew up as a fan of Indiana Jones.
It's hard not to love the films, given their sharp sense of pulp adventure and the famed archaeologist's signature everyman charm. Now, with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull just over the horizon, what can a good Dr. Jones fan do to satiate the wait?
Your inner criminal, now surfing the Internet
The newest Grand Theft Auto focuses on inane features, not graphics
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If you've never rattled off a machine-gun blast into a crowd of people, you've never really lived. But that's why God (OK, Rockstar Games) invented Grand Theft Auto.
The newest installment of the video game, Grand Theft Auto IV, returns to Liberty City, where you play as the generically Eastern European Niko Bellic. After a cinematic opening, you are greeted at the docks by your drunk cousin Roman, who naturally makes you, the dude who just arrived two minutes ago, drive his taxi back to his inner-city hovel.
I Love You, Beth Cooper
Like a high-school movie in book form! (But it's actually funny)
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You've seen Dazed and Confused a few-too-many times? Say Anything is, like, your favorite movie? Being part of the Breakfast Club was a longtime dream of yours? If that's true, or you went to high school, you'll find something to like about Larry Doyle's recent book I Love You, Beth Cooper.
Filming at the edge of Earth
German auteur Werner Herzog at the Northwest Film Center
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Werner Herzog is relentless.
Once during an interview he was shot with an air rifle, paused, told the reporter "it was not a significant bullet," and continued the interview while blood oozed from his stomach.
Stoner bros unite
Funny, stupid and mostly harmless, the new Harold and Kumar goes up in smoke
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Harold Lee and Kumar Patel. Two guys you probably thought you'd never be seeing again. But you were wrong.
And while the scenery has changed (the pair are now on the run from the Department of Homeland Security instead of trying to find their way to White Castle), this stoner duo has not.
Welcome to the jungle
Animal Planet: a ferocious new force on TV
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It was a simple idea--let animals be animals.
And with that straightforward, yet brilliant concept, an old cable standard-often forgotten in the world of MTV sluts and truTV meth heads--finally came into its own.
It's the rebirth of the 12-year-old Animal Planet.
Sex, alcohol and madness
Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire at the Artists Repertory Theatre
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Hunter S. Thompson once said "I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."
The same words could easily have come from the mouth of Tennessee Williams, one of the most respected modern playwrights and author of A Streetcar Named Desire, which is now playing at Portland's Artists Repertory Theatre.
Iron Man
Don't believe the hype! Iron Man is fun, but it isn't the Jesus of superhero movies
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Summer is here!
This is obvious for two reasons. First, I'm sweaty. Second, the first summer blockbuster, Iron Man, just made a shit-ton of money ($98.6 million in the opening weekend, to be exact). Whoopee. Now we can look forward to months of insipid sequels and formulaic cash cows with big dazzling effects.
Invoking the past (and future) of T'ai Chi
Horatio Law's participatory art at the Southwest Waterfront
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On the first Saturday in May, a group of concerned citizens was gathered in the Southwest Waterfront Artist in Residence (AiR) studio, asking questions and looking worried about the implications of what they were about to do.
Please, sir, can I have Another?
Portland band Another Cynthia creates a delicious musical jambalaya
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Another Cynthia isn't just another indie band.
The serendipitous collection of six--Ian Mackintosh (vocals, guitar), Abe Smith (vocals, guitar), Jason Mackie (vocals, guitar), Ian Mouser (bass), Jackson Coffey (drums) and Ben Braun (keys/sampler)--have something fresh to offer.
Eat brains, suck blood
Fans of zombies and vampires rejoice at the Zompire Film Festival
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Do you have a deep love for both zombies and vampires? Do you long for the rise of the undead? Do you insides churn when you see 15-year-olds on Facebook debating pirates versus ninjas?
The QB Snap: Buzz from Portland State's Queen Bee Ryan W. Klute
PSU's dirty little secret: porn
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I like to keep my fingers on the pulse of the Portland State social scene. This usually means I know which professor has a sick kitty or when freshmen break-up, but sometimes, my tireless and creepy vigilance pays off.
Fly high with Atmosphere
Indie rap's greatest heroes come to Portland in support of a new album
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The year is 2003. The hip-hop scene is in shambles, still trying to recover from nearly a decade of Jay-Z and Puff Daddy clones doing everything in their power to make rap music as uninspiring as possible.
Herzog continues
Upcoming at the Northwest Film Center
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A Quest for the Sublime: The Films of Werner Herzog continues for another three weeks at the Northwest Film Center. The German filmmaker's filmography is as interesting as it is long, so don't miss out on your chance to see some classics on the big screen. Here is a guide to just a few of Herzog's films you can see over the next two weeks.
TV Party: Get out of our brains! Down with advertising!
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Commercials are a necessary evil of television. If we didn't have people selling us things, we wouldn't have network TV--it's what pays the bills. And that's fine.
Film in brief
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One of the producers says in the production notes that he considers this movie as "something of a throwback to an earlier era of filmmaking." He must be referring to the 1980s, because this feels like the kind of slick, mindless thriller Adrian Lyne used to make--for better and for worse. For a while, it has the guilty-pleasure allure of a 9 1/2 Weeks or a Fatal Attraction, and it certainly resembles the British director's aesthetic with its good-looking characters, urban setting and cool, steely grays and blues.