6
In Other Words
October 21
2021
On The Shelves
By Brittanie Roberts
It is a custom in my family to
view certain films at specific times
during the year. For example, saved
for July 4 are Die Hard 4: Live Free
or Die Hard and Independence Day.
He’s Just not That Into You and Jane
Austen films are saved for Valentine’s
day. A Christmas Story and Die Hard
are saved for Christmas (and a new
addition to our Christmas list, Fatman,
starting 2021). For this particular time
of year, where summer is tapering off
and fall is coming full swing, there is a
trio of films that perfectly set the tone
for the upcoming months. Moreover,
they all happen to highlight the hor-
rors of suburban living. Thankfully,
this is one of those abstract horrors
that exists “out there”, beyond the
borders of our town; hence, the title.
So, if you would like some
seasonally appropriate entertain-
ment, read on fearless reader as I give
you my review of a trio of movies you
are sure to want to check out from
our Vernonia Public Library.
The Suburban Hell Trifecta
The ‘Burbs starring Tom Hanks, Carrie
Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Bruce Dern,
and Corey Feldman (1989): An end of
the ‘80s send-off, this dark comedy
pokes fun at suburban environments
and exaggerates their sometimes
eccentric dwellers. This film follows
Ray Peterson, played by Tom Hanks,
and his odd neighbors as they try to
determine if the new neighbors are
responsible for the disappearance
of the grumpy old man down the
block. After all, the new neighbors
are strange, to be sure! They never
come out during the day, they have
yet to introduce themselves to the
cul-de-sac, and Ray and Art have
seen someone peering out from
the curtains! While Ray’s wife insists
there is nothing wrong with the new
neighbors wanting their privacy, Ray
and the rest of the gang are appalled!
After all, who wouldn’t want to get to
know this window-peeking, binocular
spying, fence-climbing, noisy and
intrusive group! The ‘Burbs brings
hilarity and over-the top antics to
what is supposed to be a run-of the
mill, vanilla suburb. Don’t be afraid
to watch this film with children, as it
manages to pack fun and frights in
without breaking a PG rating.
Disturbia starring Shia LaBeouf and
David Morse (2007): This film high-
lights Shia LaBeouf’s abilities as a
young star. It also does a swell job of
taking the average and mundane and
making them suspenseful and sinis-
ter. This film’s pace was much inspired
by Hitchcock’s film, Rear Window, and
given the premise of the film, does an
excellent job keeping the viewer on
the edge of their seat despite the ma-
jority of the film occurring in a single
setting; the protagonist’s house.
Disturbia follows high school student
Kale Brecht (LaBeouf ) who becomes
somewhat detached and troubled
following the death of his father.
After assaulting a teacher at school,
he is placed on house arrest for the
duration of summer break, with the
promise of juvenile detention if he
breaks the conditions. Kale quickly
learns that being confined to your
own home for months on end is not
the vacation he thought it would be,
and begins taking note of his neigh-
bor’s comings and goings to entertain
himself. A bright spot occurs when a
new neighbor moves in next door, a
young female Kale’s age. An unlikely
friendship starts and Kale shares his
observations of the neighborhood
with Ashley (Sarah Roemer). There is
one neighbor, however, that Kale can-
not seem to figure out. And it’s really
killing him…
Suburbicon starring Matt Damon, Ju-
lianne Moore, and Noah Jupe (2017):
Suburbicon is certainly the darkest
film in this trio, and contains much
more mature content than The ‘Burbs
or Disturbia. Nevertheless, it is a an
intriguing film to watch, and while
nothing is laugh-out-loud funny
or chuckle inducing, it has numer-
ous bouts of irony, contains many
examples of humor found in cringe
worthy situations, and is a perfect ex-
ample of surreal humor, giving a very
nightmarish feel to the film’s progress.
Overall, I still very much enjoy the film
and am impressed with the storyline
and the surprise ending.
The film stars Matt Damon as
Gardener Lodge, a mild-mannered fa-
ther with a wheelchair confined wife,
and young son living in a quaint 1959
suburb. The Lodges endure a home
invasion that results in the death
of Gardener’s wife, Rose (played by
Moore). Friction takes place in the
home when Rose’s sister moves in to
help with Nicky, the son (Noah Jupe).
The sister appears to be a replace-
ment for Nicky’s dead mother as
she begins wearing Rose’s clothes,
bleaching her hair like Rose, and shar-
ing Gardner’s bed. All of this occurs
amidst racial tensions rising after an
African American family moves in to
the previously all-white neighbor-
hood, just across the street from
the Lodges. I have never seen Matt
Damon so unlikable, yet intriguing,
and Julianne Moore pulls off a double
whammy as her own twin. The story
is suspenseful, intricate, and original,
and the different threads that may
or may not intertwine make for one
heck of a guessing game of how this
film will end.
Don’t try and watch one of
these films alone; they are a trio of
fun and thrills, and should be binge
watched together. You can watch
them in any order, chronologically
by release date (The ‘Burbs, Disturbia,
Suburbicon), or chronologically by the
time-period in the film (Suburbicon,
The ‘Burbs, Disturbia), it won’t matter,
so long as you make a night (or three)
of it! So once again, don’t miss your
chance to catch the Suburban Hell
Trifecta here at our Vernonia Public
Library, and be grateful we live far
from the horrors of suburbia.
Current Hours & Contact Info:
Mon, Wed, Fri: 10 am - 5 pm
Tues, Thurs: 12 pm - 7 pm
Saturday: 12 pm - 5 pm
Sunday: Closed
Phone: (503) 429-1818
E-mail: library@vernonia-or.gov
Website: www.vernonia-or.gov/
departments/library/
Online catalog: https://vernonia.
biblionix.com/catalog/
Senator Johnson Announces Run for Governor continued from front page
Capital Construction. She has been an
outspoken critic of the management at
the Oregon Department of Forestry, cur-
rent Governor Kate Brown in general,
and more recently of Democratic House
Speaker Tina Kotek’s handling of the
redistricting process; Kotek has also an-
nounced her plans to run for Governor
next year.
“I will be a no-nonsense leader
with the backbone and life experience to
tame the partisan excesses and with the
humility to know that delivering results
matters more than who gets credit,”
wrote Johnson in her announcement.
“As Governor, I will force the two par-
ties to work together to put Oregon
ahead of narrow partisan politics.”
As an unaffiliated candidate,
Johnson will avoid the primary elec-
tion in May, and will need to collect
just 23,750 valid signatures to place her
name on the November 2022 ballot.
She will also be required by law
to give up her Democratic Party regis-
tration. “Rest assured, my bedrock val-
ues will not change,” she wrote. “I was
raised in a moderate Republican family
and became a Democrat because the Re-
publican Party had moved too far to the
right. For twenty years, I’ve been an in-
dependent-minded, pro-choice, pro-jobs
Democrat proudly serving the people of
Northwest Oregon. This is who I am.”
Johnson, who lives in Scap-
poose, is a licensed commercial pilot,
who operates Transwestern Aviation,
Inc, which is managed by her husband,
John Helm. She earned an undergradu-
ate degree in History from Carleton Col-
lege in Northfield, Minnesota, and a law
degree from Lewis and Clark College in
Portland. Her father, the late Sam John-
son, served in the Oregon House as a
Representative from Redmond.
Johnson joins what is certainly
shaping up to be one of the most in-
teresting races for Governor in recent
Oregon history. With current Governor
Kate Brown’s contentious rule coming
to an end due to term limits, the race is
wide open and already growing crowd-
ed. On the Democratic side, Yamhill
County Commissioner Casey Kulla and
State Treasurer Tobias Read, along with
Kotek and six others have all announced
their candidacy. Former New York Times
columnist, Yamhill resident, and author
of the book Tighrope, Nicholas Kristof
announced last week he has formed an
Exploratory Committee for the Demo-
cratic nomination. Other prominent
names considering a run on the Demo-
cratic ticket are current Multnomah
County Commissioner Chair Deborah
Kafoury, Oregon Attorney General El-
len Rosenblum, and Portland Mayor
Ted Wheeler. For the Republicans, for-
mer nominee Bud Pierce of Salem and
City of Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam are
among 14 candidates who have all an-
nounced they will seek the state’s high-
est office.
Johnson hitched her campaign
to another former dark horse candidate
for Oregon Governor in making her an-
nouncement. “Governor Tom McCall,
in his first inaugural address, urged Or-
egonians to ‘put aside the temptations to
be guided by regionalism, factionalism,
or anything which fragments the public
interest.’ Tom McCall was a maverick
Governor the likes of which we have not
seen since. I believe we need leadership
that reaches beyond partisan labels and
geographic boundaries and that unites
Oregonians around our shared values.”
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