Afro-pop pioneer Orlando Julius
Page 74 of 78
The Oregon-born cartoonist's barnstorming tour of the region will end with a proclamation.
Bill Plympton will get his day -- officially.
36-year-old Jackie Robinson steals home on Whitey Ford & Yogi Berra, 1955. I ask you: Safe or out?
Nowhere Man: “The Ghost Writer” (2010)
“I’m just a snoop….” (frame from “Chinatown”)
Spokes Mashiyane, king of Kwela (South African pennywhistle jive-jazz)
Bill Foster, who's been director of the NFC for 31 years, reflects on some highlights of his tenure and of Portland's growth as a film town.
Bill Foster has been director of the Northwest Film Center for 31 of its 40 years.A fortieth birthday is a fairly big deal in any lifetime, but for a not-for-profit arts institution, it’s practically miraculous.
And yet that’s just where the Northwest Film Center finds itself: at the dawn of a fifth decade and, in many ways, bigger and more robust than ever.
In February, the NFC’s Portland International Film Festival drew more than 37,000 ticket-holders to nearly 140 films at locations throughout the city and as far afield as Lake Oswego. The NFC’s tentpole exhibition programs (including the Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival, the Portland Jewish Film Festival, and the Reel Music and Top Down film series) roll on heartily, some of them decades into their lives, and one-off events, such as Ernest Borgnine’s recent visit to town, can be electric. The NFC continues to offer a full slate of classes for young people and college-aged (and older) filmmakers, to support independent filmmakers on their projects, and to form a nexus for filmmakers from throughout the Northwest, from Montana through British Columbia to Alaska.
It’s a whirling dervish of an institution even in years that aren’t marked by nice round numbers. But throughout this milestone 40th-anniversary year, the NFC has been pausing from its busy routine to celebrate itself, and there’s no bigger celebration in store than “Lights! Camera! Action!,” a gala party being held on Saturday, May 12, in celebration of the big birthday and raising money that will help fund the NFC’s various activities.
On tap is a full-fledged evening of celebration and celebrity (well, Portland-scale celebrity). The evening’s honorary chair is Cannes-winning and Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant, who was first heard from as a young filmmaker honing his chops in NFC programs. The evening’s entertainment will be provided by singer China Forbes and a big band orchestra, and there will be live and silent auctions, some special film programming, and other surprises to keep the evening buzzy. (For information about attending the event or donating to it, visit the web page for the event.)
Prior to the big night, Bill Foster, who has been director of the NFC since 1981, spoke with The Oregonian about some of the milestones and mainstays of the organization’s four decades. His comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival
(The NFC’s longest-running annual event, having just completed its thirty-eighth year (when it was redubbed after being known as the Northwest Film and Video Festival), it brings together new works from filmmakers throughout a massive geographical region for evaluation by an outside juror.)
Foster: “That was the event I actually started on: the first thing I actually did. It was supposed to be a three-month project. I’d worked for the museum (the Portland Art Museum, which operates the NFC) as a curatorial assistant and assistant registrar. I didn’t know anything about the Film Center, which wasn’t connected to the museum. I got involved by accident. The Film Center’s director, Bob Sitton, had come from California and didn’t know many people in town. I had left the museum and he called me up and asked if I’d be willing to help him with this project. The previous year, they had put on an Oregon filmmakers festival, so the local filmmaking community knew about the Film Center. There were about 60 or 70 entries, compared to about 450 nowadays, and we showed probably 15 or 20. The Film Center was never intended to be a film society, though it does serve that function. It was meant to be a community catalyst, a means of creating a viable media community in Portland. And this has become the flagship event that says to the filmmaking community and the larger community, ‘There are filmmakers in the Northwest, and movies don’t just come from Hollywood or France, and we should celebrate those voices.’”
The Portland International Film Festival
(Since 1977, the NFC’s most visible and popular annual event, with a gala opening night, scores of local and regional premieres, visiting filmmakers, and a chain of downtown -- and, in recent years, outer-lying -- theaters choked with film buffs trying to take in dozens of movies in less than three weeks time.)
Foster: “When PIFF started, we were already showing lots of classic and foreign films, and this was the era when film festivals were really becoming a phenomenon in lots of cities around the country and the world. Seven Gables, who were based in Seattle, was the premiere art film exhibitor in the region, and they operated the Movie House theater here. We struck a partnership with them on a film festival, with Seven Gables using the Movie House the more commercial films, the ones that were likely to return for regular runs, and the Film Center showing the more recondite films. We collaborated on a balanced program. We had maybe 40 movies and maybe 8,000 people showed up. That was a big success. And then after a couple of years, Seven Gables contracted its operations and moved out of Portland, and we’ve been running it ever since.”
View full sizeGus Van SantGus Van Sant
(No single filmmaker has been more associated with the NFC over the decades than the man who will serve as honorary chair for Saturday’s gala. The first public screenings of Van Sant’s films were held at the NFC, he has held local premieres of several of his best-known films as benefits for the NFC, and he continues to support the institution in a number of ways, some splashy and some quiet.)
Foster: “He’s been involved at every level you can think of, from making movies to teaching to making PSAs to starring in trailers for PIFF to letting us show his work to loaning us his equipment to serving as a juror for the Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival. He’s been a steady inspiration and force since the mid-‘70s. And he isn’t only supportive of the NFC but of the whole community. He’s accessible and willing and serves on committees and comes to screenings. He’s fascinating to watch. I really can’t say what he’ll do next. He can synthesize so many types of film and art; he’s really unique. He could go off in the world of commerce, but he doesn’t. And he certainly doesn’t flaunt his success. For one thing, he’s stayed here. Portland is a place that attracts people who want to shape their own lives, and if you’re in the film business in New York or Los Angeles, there are forces that shape you, no matter how big you are. Your career takes on a life of its own, and you can’t veer off and make little films or take months of and sit on Sauvie Island and do watercolors, like Gus has done.”
Visiting Filmmakers
(Gus Van Sant is a big name, yes, but the NFC has attracted some pretty remarkable folks to its programs.)
Foster: “We’ve had more than 3000 visiting filmmakers over the years -- maybe 60 or more every year. And, sure, they’re not all Ernie Borgnine, but we did have (legendary directors) Frank Capra and King Vidor. Werner Herzog has been here a few times, and that’s always memorable. And Oliver Stone was pretty wild to host, and Michael Moore in his heyday. One of the most palpably exciting events was when Pauline Kael was here: you can’t imagine such electricity being generated by a critic today. In PIFFs over the years, we’ve had people like Steven Soderbergh and M. Night Shyamalan. Those sorts of visits are the value-added that get people excited about the festival.”
"Coraline"“Coraline” and Portland animation
(One of the ongoing themes of Portland film history has been the strength of the local animation community, with such pioneers as Will Vinton, Jim Blashfield and Joan Gratz paving the way for the big-budget work being done at Laika Entertainment, which held the world premiere of its acclaimed feature “Coraline” on opening night of the 2009 Portland International Film Festival.)
Foster: “Since day one the Film Center has taught animation, and we’ve had animators on our faculty like Joanna Priestley, Chel White, Jim Blashfield and Will Vinton. Portland has always had an amazing indigenous animation community. And Vinton built a substantial infrastructure that’s still thriving in the shape of Laika. That year, we had the perfect storm of “Coraline”’s premiere and the start of PIFF, and that was a huge event. It all gets back to the community idea and the idea of celebrating what goes on in Portland. Laika has an amazing talent base and resources. But like a lot of things in Portland, it takes being recognized outside of town for people here to acknowledge it. That’s one of the reasons it was so nice to be able to premiere that film here.”
The Portland arts and filmmaking scene today
(Several of the strains of contemporary Portland culture have their roots in the works of filmmakers whom the NFC has nurtured and supported over the years -- the likes of Aaron Katz (“Quiet City,” “Cold Weather”), Matt McCormick (“Some Days Are Better Than Others”) and James Westby (“The Auteur,” “Rid of Me”). Even in an era when there are more films being made in Portland than ever, the NFC remains a hub.)
Foster: “You used to feel like you knew everything that was going on in Portland. It was the biggest a town could be without being a truly metropolitan city. Now there are people from all over whom you’ve never heard of making all kinds of exciting things. People are living all over town, relatively stably and comfortably, finding their creative spaces and voices. It’s very fertile. You get people like Gus and (fellow directors) Todd Haynes and Lance Bangs, who live here and work all over. Artists can be out in the world but they continue to live here and stay infused with the Portland ambience and not lose their bearings or become overwhelmed with the struggle to survive. And all the time new people are popping up and doing premieres and I think, ‘I didn’t even know they existed.’ And that’s exactly what you hope for: nurturing a community that does its own creative thing. As an arts organization, we want to help people thrive. And it’s satisfying even if we didn’t have a part in it. People emerge here, and they stay here as part of the community, and they almost always want to give back and help the community thrive.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “Lights! Camera! Action! 40th Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser”
WHEN: Saturday, May 12, with red carpet starting at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1119 SW Park Ave.
TICKETS: starting at $150
For more information, visit the Northwest Film Center's web site.
And yet that’s just where the Northwest Film Center finds itself: at the dawn of a fifth decade and, in many ways, bigger and more robust than ever.
In February, the NFC’s Portland International Film Festival drew more than 37,000 ticket-holders to nearly 140 films at locations throughout the city and as far afield as Lake Oswego. The NFC’s tentpole exhibition programs (including the Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival, the Portland Jewish Film Festival, and the Reel Music and Top Down film series) roll on heartily, some of them decades into their lives, and one-off events, such as Ernest Borgnine’s recent visit to town, can be electric. The NFC continues to offer a full slate of classes for young people and college-aged (and older) filmmakers, to support independent filmmakers on their projects, and to form a nexus for filmmakers from throughout the Northwest, from Montana through British Columbia to Alaska.
It’s a whirling dervish of an institution even in years that aren’t marked by nice round numbers. But throughout this milestone 40th-anniversary year, the NFC has been pausing from its busy routine to celebrate itself, and there’s no bigger celebration in store than “Lights! Camera! Action!,” a gala party being held on Saturday, May 12, in celebration of the big birthday and raising money that will help fund the NFC’s various activities.
On tap is a full-fledged evening of celebration and celebrity (well, Portland-scale celebrity). The evening’s honorary chair is Cannes-winning and Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant, who was first heard from as a young filmmaker honing his chops in NFC programs. The evening’s entertainment will be provided by singer China Forbes and a big band orchestra, and there will be live and silent auctions, some special film programming, and other surprises to keep the evening buzzy. (For information about attending the event or donating to it, visit the web page for the event.)
Prior to the big night, Bill Foster, who has been director of the NFC since 1981, spoke with The Oregonian about some of the milestones and mainstays of the organization’s four decades. His comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival
(The NFC’s longest-running annual event, having just completed its thirty-eighth year (when it was redubbed after being known as the Northwest Film and Video Festival), it brings together new works from filmmakers throughout a massive geographical region for evaluation by an outside juror.)
Foster: “That was the event I actually started on: the first thing I actually did. It was supposed to be a three-month project. I’d worked for the museum (the Portland Art Museum, which operates the NFC) as a curatorial assistant and assistant registrar. I didn’t know anything about the Film Center, which wasn’t connected to the museum. I got involved by accident. The Film Center’s director, Bob Sitton, had come from California and didn’t know many people in town. I had left the museum and he called me up and asked if I’d be willing to help him with this project. The previous year, they had put on an Oregon filmmakers festival, so the local filmmaking community knew about the Film Center. There were about 60 or 70 entries, compared to about 450 nowadays, and we showed probably 15 or 20. The Film Center was never intended to be a film society, though it does serve that function. It was meant to be a community catalyst, a means of creating a viable media community in Portland. And this has become the flagship event that says to the filmmaking community and the larger community, ‘There are filmmakers in the Northwest, and movies don’t just come from Hollywood or France, and we should celebrate those voices.’”
(Since 1977, the NFC’s most visible and popular annual event, with a gala opening night, scores of local and regional premieres, visiting filmmakers, and a chain of downtown -- and, in recent years, outer-lying -- theaters choked with film buffs trying to take in dozens of movies in less than three weeks time.)
Foster: “When PIFF started, we were already showing lots of classic and foreign films, and this was the era when film festivals were really becoming a phenomenon in lots of cities around the country and the world. Seven Gables, who were based in Seattle, was the premiere art film exhibitor in the region, and they operated the Movie House theater here. We struck a partnership with them on a film festival, with Seven Gables using the Movie House the more commercial films, the ones that were likely to return for regular runs, and the Film Center showing the more recondite films. We collaborated on a balanced program. We had maybe 40 movies and maybe 8,000 people showed up. That was a big success. And then after a couple of years, Seven Gables contracted its operations and moved out of Portland, and we’ve been running it ever since.”
View full sizeGus Van Sant(No single filmmaker has been more associated with the NFC over the decades than the man who will serve as honorary chair for Saturday’s gala. The first public screenings of Van Sant’s films were held at the NFC, he has held local premieres of several of his best-known films as benefits for the NFC, and he continues to support the institution in a number of ways, some splashy and some quiet.)
Foster: “He’s been involved at every level you can think of, from making movies to teaching to making PSAs to starring in trailers for PIFF to letting us show his work to loaning us his equipment to serving as a juror for the Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival. He’s been a steady inspiration and force since the mid-‘70s. And he isn’t only supportive of the NFC but of the whole community. He’s accessible and willing and serves on committees and comes to screenings. He’s fascinating to watch. I really can’t say what he’ll do next. He can synthesize so many types of film and art; he’s really unique. He could go off in the world of commerce, but he doesn’t. And he certainly doesn’t flaunt his success. For one thing, he’s stayed here. Portland is a place that attracts people who want to shape their own lives, and if you’re in the film business in New York or Los Angeles, there are forces that shape you, no matter how big you are. Your career takes on a life of its own, and you can’t veer off and make little films or take months of and sit on Sauvie Island and do watercolors, like Gus has done.”
Visiting Filmmakers
(Gus Van Sant is a big name, yes, but the NFC has attracted some pretty remarkable folks to its programs.)
Foster: “We’ve had more than 3000 visiting filmmakers over the years -- maybe 60 or more every year. And, sure, they’re not all Ernie Borgnine, but we did have (legendary directors) Frank Capra and King Vidor. Werner Herzog has been here a few times, and that’s always memorable. And Oliver Stone was pretty wild to host, and Michael Moore in his heyday. One of the most palpably exciting events was when Pauline Kael was here: you can’t imagine such electricity being generated by a critic today. In PIFFs over the years, we’ve had people like Steven Soderbergh and M. Night Shyamalan. Those sorts of visits are the value-added that get people excited about the festival.”
"Coraline"(One of the ongoing themes of Portland film history has been the strength of the local animation community, with such pioneers as Will Vinton, Jim Blashfield and Joan Gratz paving the way for the big-budget work being done at Laika Entertainment, which held the world premiere of its acclaimed feature “Coraline” on opening night of the 2009 Portland International Film Festival.)
Foster: “Since day one the Film Center has taught animation, and we’ve had animators on our faculty like Joanna Priestley, Chel White, Jim Blashfield and Will Vinton. Portland has always had an amazing indigenous animation community. And Vinton built a substantial infrastructure that’s still thriving in the shape of Laika. That year, we had the perfect storm of “Coraline”’s premiere and the start of PIFF, and that was a huge event. It all gets back to the community idea and the idea of celebrating what goes on in Portland. Laika has an amazing talent base and resources. But like a lot of things in Portland, it takes being recognized outside of town for people here to acknowledge it. That’s one of the reasons it was so nice to be able to premiere that film here.”
The Portland arts and filmmaking scene today
(Several of the strains of contemporary Portland culture have their roots in the works of filmmakers whom the NFC has nurtured and supported over the years -- the likes of Aaron Katz (“Quiet City,” “Cold Weather”), Matt McCormick (“Some Days Are Better Than Others”) and James Westby (“The Auteur,” “Rid of Me”). Even in an era when there are more films being made in Portland than ever, the NFC remains a hub.)
Foster: “You used to feel like you knew everything that was going on in Portland. It was the biggest a town could be without being a truly metropolitan city. Now there are people from all over whom you’ve never heard of making all kinds of exciting things. People are living all over town, relatively stably and comfortably, finding their creative spaces and voices. It’s very fertile. You get people like Gus and (fellow directors) Todd Haynes and Lance Bangs, who live here and work all over. Artists can be out in the world but they continue to live here and stay infused with the Portland ambience and not lose their bearings or become overwhelmed with the struggle to survive. And all the time new people are popping up and doing premieres and I think, ‘I didn’t even know they existed.’ And that’s exactly what you hope for: nurturing a community that does its own creative thing. As an arts organization, we want to help people thrive. And it’s satisfying even if we didn’t have a part in it. People emerge here, and they stay here as part of the community, and they almost always want to give back and help the community thrive.”
WHAT: “Lights! Camera! Action! 40th Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser”
WHEN: Saturday, May 12, with red carpet starting at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Portland Art Museum, 1119 SW Park Ave.
TICKETS: starting at $150
For more information, visit the Northwest Film Center's web site.
POPINSKI POPCAST #24:
barnaclebrian spent all night and morning mixing this POPCAST together in honor of MCA
I love The Swanky Modes!
Reviews of this week's new releases from today's A&E.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) in "The Avengers"The one big deal movie out there this weekend is, of course, "The Avengers," and I've got a review and a brief introduction to the characters. Other movies were mostly scared away from opening opposite such a blockbuster, but we review the Italian comedy "We Have a Pope" and a new retrospective of films from Japan's Studio Ghibli. And -- but you knew it, didn't you -- there's "Also Opening," "Indy/Arthouse," and "Levy's High Five."
New releases in Portland-area theaters not reviewed in this week's A&E.
from "The Devil's Carnival"“Invincible Shaolin” Classic 1978 martial arts film, in the only 35mm print known to exist. (Hollywood Theatre programmer Dan Halsted will also give a presentation on his museum-quality collection of martial arts films.) (Hollywood Theatre, Tuesday only)
“Kelley Baker” Portland’s one-and-only Angry Filmmaker, Baker will speak, show clips from his career, and sign copies of his new book, “The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide Part Two: Sound Conversations with (un)Sound People.” (Northwest Film Center, Wednesday only)
“Manhunter” Michael Mann’s 1986 drama, the first film to bring the immortal Hannibal Lecter to the big screen, presented in conjunction with the Portland State University film studies program. (Hollywood Theatre, Wednesday only)
In imitation of the traditional religious day of rest, an increasing number of people, including hard-core techies, are turning off their screens once a week.
View full sizePortland writer Tammy Strobel is dedicated to the simple life, including a weekly hiatus from her computer.We go online to check a weather report, a movie time, a sports score, and we slip into a rabbit hole, losing hours, chasing one urge to find out some new thing after another, answering the ever-growing piles of emails, private messages and texts, reading news (or, more often, newsy) stories, playing games, downloading apps, watching viral videos....Is it any wonder many of us feel that we have given our brains over to technology?
“The Internet is a vortex,” says Portland writer Tammy Strobel. “I can get lost in it for hours. And time is something we can never get back.”
Strobel, who shares her thoughts on keeping life simple on the blog rowdykittens.com, is one of a growing number of people who have committed themselves to dealing with the time-suck of the digital world by taking what we might call a Tech Sabbath, a regular day each week in which they turn off computers, TVs and cellphones and spend time doing the things we all did for fun before the Internet emerged.
Each Sunday, Strobel and her husband avoid computers and spend the day doing simple offline things: reading books, taking walks, visiting new neighborhoods, engaging in outdoor activities. She allows herself to work if an idea strikes, but she does it using pen and paper.
“Whenever I do it,” she declares, “I always feel recharged.”
An idea as old as the Web
The idea of spending a day or weekend or more without computers has been around at least as long as the World Wide Web. But it has become more alluring in the past few years as it becomes more portable, says Mark Glaser, editor of the MediaShift blog on PBS.org.
View full sizeMark Glaser, who edits a blog about the media, takes a day away from his screens each weekend.In March, thousands observed a National Day of Unplugging, organized loosely by a group known as Sabbath Manifesto, which has called for people to recognize a technology-free time dedicated to connecting with family, community and nature.
In some ways, the Tech Sabbath is, as the name implies, built along the model of traditional religious practices, such as those of Orthodox Jews, who refrain from the use of technology each week for 24 hours during Shabbat, or the Amish, who avoid modern technology altogether. Secularized, these practices offer a means to restore balance in a world increasingly cluttered by digital noise.
“I’ve been doing it for a year, and it’s changed my life,” says Tiffany Shlain, a Bay Area filmmaker who founded the Webby Awards in 1996 to recognize excellent design on the Internet.
Coinciding with the Jewish Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, Shlain and her family turn off all screens and cellphones in their home.
View full sizeBay Area filmmaker Tiffany Shlain has made two films -- "Unplugged" and "Yelp" (see below) -- about the human effects of excessive technology use. She and her family take weekly breaks from virtually all electronic devices.In fact, there is plenty of evidence to show that using digital technology affects the brain. For instance, a 2009 study in California demonstrated the revival of dormant areas of the brain in elderly people upon their initial exposure to the Internet. But a 2011 study of people in Britain who spend many hours online chronicled brain impairments similar to those found in people addicted to cocaine and alcohol.
For good or ill, the fact that using the Internet changes the way our minds work is undeniable. Unplugging, even for 24 hours, might be a way to stave off the ill effects. Shlain says that her Tech Sabbaths have refreshed her: “I have this beautiful, gloriously slow day every week, and I interact with my family and my own mind differently.”
She also feels that her regular time offline has helped her in her work.
“I don’t act on every impulse or idea the second I have it,” she explains. “There’s a value in letting things sit. And by Saturday night I’m refreshed and really energized to get back to work.”
How to make it work
Those who observe regular technology Sabbaths indicate that the practice is most successful when it’s built with a view toward practicality and flexibility. Portlander Strobel, who has gone entire weekends and, last year, a whole month offline, has made some exceptions. She checked email once a week during her monthlong hiatus, and she keeps her cellphone turned on during her Sunday breaks so she can stay in touch with family.
View full sizePortland writer Suzy Vitello-SouleBut, after a month, Vitello-Soule was drawn back to her online life. “The whole Sunday night getting-ready-for-the-week ritual demanded it,” she says. “The compulsion for that was bigger than my need to take a break.”
As Vitello-Soule’s story indicates, it’s not necessarily technology that’s the root of the problem for many people, but an addiction to work.
MediaShift’s Glaser practices a variation of the Tech Sabbath that’s keyed to avoiding the never-ending work that has arisen as the workplace has become portable.
“Some of the things that other people do for fun — Facebook, Twitter, blogs — are really connected to work for me,” he says. “And that means that my work is with me all the time, wherever I go.”
For Glaser, the Tech Sabbath (which he observes in the Jewish Friday-night-to-Saturday-night pattern) is a break from the computer, principally.
“I still use my phone for personal calls, I use a tablet to read books, I watch TV,” he says. “Those things don’t feel all-consuming. There’s a difference between being entertained and something that feels like an obsession.”
The benefits of a Tech Sabbath seem to speak for themselves: a day to unclutter the mind, to slow down the world, to reconnect with the outdoors, to commune with family and friends, to re-encounter simple.
But there’s a bonus, too, for those of us tethered to computers for the rest of our wired weeks: “By sundown on Saturday,” says Tiffany Shlain, “I’m completely refreshed and I can’t wait to get back online and put my new energy to good use.”
Some helpful steps in planning a digital Sabbath:
Set realistic parameters: Don’t swear off every electronic device absolutely. If watching a movie with the family is old-fashioned leisure to you, allow yourself to use the TV and make it a centerpiece of your day off-line. If you don’t have a landline, allow yourself use of a cellphone for important calls but don’t use it to text.
Choose the day that suits you best: Being off-line every Sunday may not suit your life. A number of people recommend using the Jewish Sabbath as a guideline because 1) it comes at the very end of the work week and seems truly celebratory as a result, and 2) it allows you to be online for at least part of every day.
Ramp Up Slowly: If you can’t see dedicating a day each and every week to a Tech Sabbath, start, perhaps, with dedicating one day -- or one weekend -- a month. Build the practice gradually until you’re comfortable with making something more regular of it.
Don't Rely on Randomness: Plan activities designed to keep you from being reminded of what you’re not doing. If you’re skiing or hiking or taking a long bike ride, that day offline will feel shorter. If you’re sitting around the house bored, chances are you’ll lapse and turn on your computer.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Portland writer Tammy Strobel describes her “Digital Sabbaticals.”
Bay Area filmmaker Tiffany Shlain describes her “Technology Shabbats”
The blog Tech Sabbath Habit offers many articles about the ill effects of excessive exposure to digital media and ways to combat them.
WATCH "YELP," FILMMAKER TIFFANY SHLAIN'S PAEAN TO UNPLUGGING:
“That’s bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Rail.”
The five films playing in Portland-area theaters that I'd soonest see again.
Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Weisz in "The Deep Blue Sea"2) “The Raid: Redemption” An ultra-violent, wildly kinetic martial arts film that virtually strips itself of the narrative conventions of plot, theme and characterization to create a white-knuckle thrill ride. Writer-director Gareth Evans, a Welshman living in Indonesia, takes the simplest story -- a squad of cops attacks a Jakarta apartment house where a crime lord is ensconced -- and uses it to string together wild action sequences that leave the viewer as exhausted as if he or she had fought them. His stars -- Iko Uwais as a baby-faced cop and Yayan Ruhian (who also choreographed) as a stringy-haired bad guy -- are dazzling. The whole thing is pure cinema: the human body rendered as a machine capable of mayhem, daring, and, yes, grace. Academy, Laurelhurst
3) “Bully” An emotionally overwhelming documentary about threads of violence in our social fabric. Focusing on five or children who’ve been tormented and abused by schoolmates, two so relentlessly that they took their own lives, documentarian Lee Hirsch advocates without the use of any talking heads, statistics or editorial posturing. Rather, his film actually depicts everyday acts of bullying and -- worse -- the ineffective and even hurtful responses of school authorities. At times, the pity, outrage and empathy the evokes threaten to drown you. But there’s a hint of light, too. At moments you might feel slightly manipulated. But when you look into the eyes of two fathers whose sons killed themselves rather than continue to be bullied, quibbles about journalist practice vanish from your mind. Fox Tower
4) “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” Jiro Ono is the owner of a Tokyo sushi bar with 10 seats and 3 Michelin stars, and David Gelb’s gorgeous and intimate documentary about the man and his obsession gives you an idea of how that can not only be so but be fitting. Jiro and his two sons (bound to the chef’s apron strings, almost literally) devote untold hours of work and thought to the perfection of sushi-making, turning a sometimes makework form of cookery into indisputably high art. At 85, the old master still works virtually every day, and the fruit of his focus is in servings of raw fish and warm rice photographed so lusciously that you can almost taste them. A mouthwatering film: literally. Hollywood Theatre, Living Room Theaters
5) "The Cabin in the Woods"
A slasher movie inside a horror movie of another sort inside yet
another narrative, one which looks out and the audience and asks why
they (that is, we) keep lining up to watch other people get
slaughtered. A group of college students head to the titular location
for a weekend’s bacchanal, only to be preyed upon and killed in grisly
fashion, as per the familiar genre rules. At the same time, a group of
bureaucrats/scientists in a control room manipulate the victims and
their killers in the service of...something. Director Drew Goddard and
his co-writer Joss Whedon have fun in the vein of “Scream” and in
the vein of “The Truman Show” -- and they come up with an intriguing
theory to explain the allure of horror films as well as a (literal) hell
of a climax. Bloody, funny, clever. multiple locations
Joss Whedon's film manages the hard part of building a team of superheroes but is a bit puzzled trying to figure out what to do with them
View full sizeAvengers assembled: Thor, Iron Man and Captain America (from l.)Certain characters, plots, phrases, even props must be handled just so or the director risks losing the good will of those who know a thing or two about it all. Yes, there must be enough in the final product to appeal to non-initiates. But if the core audience is lost -- as it was, say, with “Hulk” (2003) and “The Incredible Hulk” (2008), to pick two loaded examples -- then the filmmakers might as well have stayed home with their comic collections, because they’ll find little love from outside the target crowd.
The happy news, then, about “The Avengers” is that the screenwriters (director Joss Whedon and Zak Penn), have done a splendid job of bringing an entire universe of characters together and to life with fidelity to the letter and the spirit of the source material. Gathering threads from a string of franchise-type films featuring Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, resurrecting the Hulk convincingly after two botched films in less than a decade, adding new characters and an overarching plot that intertwines it all, “The Avengers” pretty much offers up anything a fanboy (or -girl) would want from such a film.
And neutrals are likely to go for it as well, I reckon, for its wit, its pace, and its bang, even if it does expend itself on a third act that doesn’t add much to the drama. Save for that showy finale -- which endures quite a while, although not without some highlights and pizzazz -- it’s a pip.
The fulcrum of “The Avengers” is Nick Fury, the eyepatch-sporting spymaster who has been played by Samuel L. Jackson in a number of teasers leading up to this film. Fury and his organization, S. H. I. E. L. D., serve as a liaison between military-slash-political powers and various superheroes scattered around the world. In the course of his work, Fury has thawed Captain America from decades of icy sleep, worked with Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) on developing weapons, served as a contact with the Norse god Thor during his time on Earth, and employed the assassins Black Widow and Hawkeye in various shadowy missions.
When “The Avengers” starts, Fury is in possession of the tesseract, a mysterious and powerful cube which Captain America prised away from the Nazis long ago. Fury’s scientists are attempting to turn the mysterious whatsits into a source of clean, cheap energy -- among other things -- when it’s stolen from them by Loki, Thor’s evil brother, who wishes to rule mankind as a tyrant. Loki plans to use the tesseract to open a gateway through space and facilitate an alien invasion of Earth, and Fury must roundup all his superhero buddies to stop him.
And so, as in “Seven Samurai” and “Mystery Men” and other films about gaggles of do-gooders, a team is gathered. Captain America (Chris Evans) is, of course, on board from the get-go, as is Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who is in mid-mission when she’s summoned. Stark/Iron Man is recruited with relative ease, but it takes real delicacy to bring in Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk, played as a man by Mark Ruffalo and as a CGI beast with the voice of TV’s Hulk, Lou Ferrigno). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) appears out of thin air, ready to help, but Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), has been brainwashed into badness by Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and must regain his senses to round out the classic Avengers lineup.
This portion of the film -- the assembling of the team -- is the best part of “The Avengers.” There’s real humor in the byplay of altruistic Captain America and cynical Iron Man, and real wit, mystery and tension as Banner tries to control his inner behemoth. (If nothing else, this is easily the best Hulk on film: Ruffalo’s slightly twitchy chagrin is a perfect vessel for such a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality.) Johansson brings a pleasant heft to her role; Hemsworth, achieving the impossible, makes Thor both human and funny; and Hiddleston relishes the chance to play a classic upper-crust English-accented villain with a sneer worthy of Alan Rickman.
Once they’re all in place, though, the film falters -- although, to be fair, it never exactly stalls or gets dull. There’s a long sequence of plot exposition and fighting aboard Fury’s impressive flying fortress, followed by a long sequence of plot exposition and fighting in midtown Manhattan. Some of this is spectacular and some of it is funny (two sight gags involving the Hulk and the Norse gods are priceless). But it isn’t exactly novel or inspired. And there’s a lot of it.
For the most part, Whedon has made a light and spry film out of humongous, cumbersome parts, and that’s to be lauded. But he’s not a natural director of action sequences, and perhaps this is why he builds them bigger than they need to be -- as if to compensate for their lack of sharpness. Writer Whedon is clever enough to add moments of levity even to the gigantic action sequences, but director Whedon is sufficiently pedestrian to require them, and the latter fellow’s sensibility too often blunts that of the other, brighter fellow.
Perhaps this is too much attention to the film’s weaknesses, because even with the flaws of the final half, “The Avengers” is grand, brisk fun. It comes tantalizingly close to reaching the level of the very best comic book films of the current generation: Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, Sam Raimi’s first two “Spider-Man” films, and the debuts of Iron Man and Captain America. That “The Avengers” is as good as it is should be celebrated, by fans and noobs alike. But that it might have been better can’t be denied, even by zealots.
(140 min., PG-13, multiple locations) Grade: B
Overwhelmed by the thought of his new position, a would-be-Pope flees the Vatican -- and silliness ensues
Michel Piccoli in "We Have a Pope"At the start, a Pope has died, and the College of Cardinals is united in the Vatican to elect a successor. After a few days of balloting, a dark horse is chosen, Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli), and just as he is to be presented to the waiting world he suffers a crisis of nerve, bellowing “I can’t do it!” and fleeing into the privacy of the papal apartments.
His colleagues can’t budge the new Pope into service, so a psychiatrist (Moretti) is called in to help, which becomes impossible with so many prying eyes at the Vatican. A lay official (Jerzy Stuhr) has the idea to take the Pope out to see a therapist who doesn’t know his true identity, but the slippery pontiff escapes his handlers and vanishes into greater Rome.
The premise is truly inspired, the settings are handsome, and the 86-year-old Piccoli is superb in the role of a reluctant Vicar of Christ, his doubts and hopes and fears playing across his face like clouds (and recalling his role in Manoel de Oliveira’s 2001 film “I’m Going Home”).
But Moretti fritters away his star’s fine performance amid side plots about a theatrical troupe among whom the Pope hides and a volleyball tournament which the psychiatrist organizes for the cardinals, and the human and religious drama is lost in grating frivolity. “We Have a Pope” didn’t need to be a stone-serious film, but little is served by turning it into a farce.
(105 min., unrated, probably PG, Living Room Theaters) Grade: B-minus
A new service lets you and your friends book a film in a local theater -- kind of like Kickstarter meets movies-on-demand, but on the big screen.
from "#ReGeneration"That may or may not be newsy, depending on your interest in the film or the subject matter. What is newsy, though, is the means through which the screening was arranged. By using a new service called Tugg, Portlanders who wanted to see "#ReGeneration" paid for their tickets in advance, in a Kickstarter-style model, and guaranteed sufficient interest to get the theater to promise to book the film.
Tugg allows you, your friends, and people who share your interests to pick a movie, pick a theater, pick a date and time, and watch a movie together, on the big screen. Currently, there's a campaign in progress on Tugg to bring the film "El Bulli," a documentary about the revolutionary Spanish restaurant, to Living Room Theaters on May 17.
Have a look at that screening -- or at the Tugg model in general -- and share your thoughts about whether it sounds like something you can imagine pursuing.
Being a brief introduction to the key characters in the mega-superhero movie
Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow in "The Avengers"Alter-ego of: Natasha Romanoff (aka Natasha Rushman)
Played by: Scarlett Johansson
First appeared in comics: as an enemy of Iron Man in "Tales of Suspense," April, 1964
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes” animated show, 1966
First appeared in movies: supporting role in “Iron Man 2” (2010)
Who and what: One of a series of women, all using the same code name, who were trained from childhood in Soviet-era Russia as assassins with expertise in weapons, martial arts and the techniques of spycraft. She has been an enemy of various of the Avengers over the years, but in the incarnation presented in this film she’s on the side of good. She is romantically linked with Hawkeye, who has also been (or been perceived to be) on both sides of the law.
Matt Salinger in "Captain America" (1990)CAPTAIN AMERICA
Alter ego of: Steve Rogers
Played by: Chris Evans
First appeared in comics: “Captain America Comics,” March, 1941
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes”
First appeared in movies: chapter serial (1944); two made-for-TV films (both 1979); “Captain America” (played by Matt Salinger, son of J. D. Salinger); “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
Who and what: A decent, patriotic fellow who was deemed too scrawny for military service but was then transformed into a super-soldier in a scientific experiment. He battled the Nazis but was presumed dead in a plane crash during the war, only to be discovered frozen but still alive and then thawed in the modern era. A stalwart, brave and true fellow with impressive abilities to fling a shield and take a punch, his most recent big-screen incarnation was a rousing success, both critically and commercially, and helped make “The Avengers” an event to anticipate.
David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury (1998)Alter ego of: um, Nick Fury
Played by: Samuel L. Jackson
First appeared in comics: “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos,” May, 1963
First appeared on TV: bit parts and supporting roles in various Marvel Comics-inspired animated series from 1994 onward
First appeared in movies: made-for-TV feature (played by David Hasselhoff!) (1998); cameos and supporting roles in “Iron Man” (2008), “Iron Man 2,” “Thor” (2011) and “Captain America: The First Avenger”
Who and what: A World War II hero recruited after the end of the war into the CIA and then into S.H.I.E.L.D. (currently an acronym for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), which he runs as a super-secret espionage and paramilitary organization with special ties to the superhero community. He has barely aged over the decades, thanks to some special use of pharmacology, and he sports an eye patch related to an old war wound. As head of S.H.I.E.L.D., he answers to a committee of superiors from around the world, but they seem to have no practical influence over him.
Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in "The Avengers"Alter ego of: Clint Barton
Played by: Jeremy Renner
First appeared in comics: “Tales of Suspense,” September, 1964
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes”
First appeared in movies: cameo in “Thor”
Who and what: A master marksman (bow-and-arrow division) and martial artist who chose to emulate Iron Man as a superhero but was taken, at first, as a bad guy, a reputation that was enhanced when he fell under the spell of Black Widow in her pre-good guy phase. Now on the side of the right and the true, he still has a moody aspect and can seem a bit wobbly in his allegiances.
Lou Ferrigno as The HulkAlter ego of: Dr. Bruce Banner
Played by: Mark Ruffalo (with the voice of Lou Ferrigno)
First appeared in comics: “The Incredible Hulk,” May, 1962
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes”; and, more memorably, in “The Incredible Hulk” live-action series (played by Bruce Bixby and Ferrigno) from 1977 to 1982
First appeared in movies: three made-for-TV movies starring Bixby and Ferrigno (1988, 1989, 1990); “Hulk” (played by Eric Bana), (2003); “The Incredible Hulk” (played by Edward Norton, with Ferrigno’s voice), (2008)
Who and what: While attempting to weaponize gamma rays, Banner was dosed by radiation, causing a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like condition which transforms him, whenever his anger or sense of self-preservation rises, from a mild-mannered scientist into a super-powered, raging, incoherent green behemoth. The Hulk possesses none of Banner’s intelligence or rationality and is a serious danger even to those friendly to him. In that light, it’s rather ironic that two big-budget efforts to build a movie franchise around him have been unsatisfying critical and commercial disasters, necessitating a third incarnation in nine years. The good news for Hulk-heads is that they’ve got the character right -- perhaps because he’s not the lead -- this time around.
Iron Man from "The Marvel Super Heroes" (1966)Alter ego of: Tony Stark
Played by: Robert Downey Jr.
First appeared in comics: “Tales of Suspense,” March, 1963
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes”
First appeared in movies: “Iron Man” and a cameo in “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008; then “Iron Man 2”
Who and what: A feckless but brilliant billionaire playboy whose father, Howard Stark, was a Howard Hughes-style inventor with ties to the military, espionage and superhero communities. The younger Stark is cursed with a weak heart, but has the technological genius to have crafted a source of power that not only keeps him alive but fuels a suit of armor that gives him stupendous abilities. The success of director Jon Favreau’s 2008 “Iron Man,” with a tremendously witty performance by Downey, was surely a key in encouraging Marvel and its movie partners to go ahead with “The Avengers,” meaning that Stark’s influence is pervasive not only in the fictional universe of the film but in the behind-the-scenes story of how it was made, as well.
The classic Marvel Comics ThorAlter ego of: on Earth, the Norse god Thor sometimes uses the identity Dr. Donald Blake
Played by: Chris Hemsworth
First appeared in comics: “Journey into Mystery,” August, 1962
First appeared on TV: “The Marvel Super Heroes”
First appeared in movies: “Thor”
Who and what: Son of Odin, the ruler of Asgard, and brother of the malicious Loki, with whom he perpetually struggles for the favor of their father and for domain over the Earth. Powered by a supernatural hammer (named Mjolnir), the thoughtful and honest (and, in this film, surprisingly quippy) Thor defends the Earth, which he has come to love, from the machinations of Loki (played here, as last year, by Tom Hiddleston in classic English upper-class villain mode). A god would be tough to best in any fight, of course, but Hulk does pretty good against Thor in a tussle, and Asgard and other off-planet locales have some impressive muscle of their own to throw at him. So despite immortality and divinity, he does, sometimes, have his hands full.
Soundtrack for a glum, wet day….
MM
Gathering of the Gods II: Pele and Ali, date unknown
Giorgio Chinaglia, lighting up Seattle at Portland’s Civic Stadium. (Soccer Bowl, 1977)
How can this not be a GREAT album?
El rey
Good for one ride on some awesome beats
A 26-year-old actor, 1915
Kool kat
Shawn Levy's books include the best-sellers The Castle on Sunset, Rat Pack Confidential, Paul Newman: A Life, King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, and Dolce Vita Confidential.
He also wrote and narrated the podcast Glitter & Might. The former film critic of The Oregonian and KGW-TV, he has written for Sight and Sound, Film Comment, American Film, Interview, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Black Rock Beacon. He jumps and claps and sings for victory in Portland, Oregon.
