The five films playing in Portland-area theaters that I’d soonest see again.
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
1) “Beasts of the Southern Wild” A
dreamy and joyous film about life, death, hope, dreams and wonder on an
island in the Mississippi Delta. The miraculous young Quevezhané Wallis
stars as Hushpuppy, a wee girl who experiences life in the feral
community known as the Bathtub as a stream of wonder and delight, even
though her dad (Dwight Henry) is gruff, her mom is absent and a killer
storm is bearing down on her home. Writer-director Behn Zeitlin, in his
feature debut, combines poetry and audacity in ways that recall Terrence
Malick, but with a light and spry touch. Still, all his great work
pales in comparison to the stupendous little Wallis, whom you’ll never
forget. Hollywood, Living Room, Moreland, Tigard
2) “Moonrise Kingdom” Wes
Anderson films are such a specific taste that I’m a bit hesitant to
suggest that this might be his most approachable (but surely not
crowd-pleasing) work. In the wake of the delightful “The Fantastic Mr.
Fox,” Anderson returns to live-action and his familiar tics and habits
in a tale of young (as in ‘pre-teen’) lovers on the run. Newcomers Jared
Gilman and Kara Hayward fill the lead roles delightfully, and
Anderson’s muses Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman are joined ably by
Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Frances McDormand, among others. It’s a
light and breezy film with a very sweet heart and old-fashioned
sturdiness. Even if you were left puzzled by the likes of “Rushmore” or
“The Royal Tenenbaums” (still his best non-animated films, for me), this
is likely to win you over. Cine Magic, Fox Tower, Hollywood, St Johns
3) “The Bourne Legacy” A dense, slick and thrilling spy movie that’s got as much brain power as brawn. Writer-director Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”) turns the trilogy of films about Jason Bourne into the story of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner),
another souped-up intelligence operative on the run from the secretive
organizations which built him. The film cleverly integrates the story of
the previous three, but stands alone as a gripping story about a man
trying to extend the only life that he has come to know and depending on
a geneticist (Rachel Weisz) and his own abilities to stay alive. From the complex narrative to the thrilling final half-hour, it’s top shelf stuff. multiple locations
4) “Searching for Sugar Man” A truly remarkable documentary that demonstrates how big and how small this world of ours can be.
Rodriguez was
a Detroit singer-songwriter whose poetic and soulful music deserved a
much bigger career than the little blip it experienced in the early
’70s. But, in fact, that bigger career did exist: in South Africa,
where Rodriguez was a huge star and didn’t know it. So obscure was
Rodriguez in his homeland, in fact, that his overseas fans long believed
he had killed himself in an baroque onstage apocalypse. The Swedish
filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul tracks this amazing history and then
witnesses a third act that you simply have to see to believe.
Mind-blowing, heartwarming and true.
Fox Tower
5) “Robot & Frank” Frank Langella is
a delight in a film about a curmudgeonly retiree whose children foist a
robot on him to monitor his diet, activities and housework. The grumpy
old fella hates the little electronic buddy (whose voice is provided
by Peter Sarsgaard), then he realizes he has a use for it: he
devises a means to use it to get back into his life’s work, which
happens to be burglary. Debuting director Jake Schreier and screenwriter Christopher D. Ford nicely balance the mild sci-fi with human comedy, and a sharp supporting cast, which includes Susan Sarandon, James Marsden and Liv Tyler, give the great Langella all the room he needs to be wonderful. Fox Tower