Page 12
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The
Portland Observer Black History Month
February 26. 2014
A rts
VfN TFD
l
ISIIIIAISHIM
10 Best
ov erestim ate the feat he carried o ff
in em b o d y in g the ag ony o f this
character, and L upita N yong d e
serves an O scar for the sam e rea
so n .
T h o m p so n d eserv ed to w in and
w asn't nom inated). M y full review is
at p o r tla n d o b s e r v e r .c o m /n e w s /
2013/dec/31/exactly-right.
scape, o r skin illu m in ated by light,
and then m oves to a street or a
w eathered face o utside, as if to sug
gest that one o f the m asters well
c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 10
4. H er, the last o f m y four best
m ight ch o o se this fo r his subject.
T his rem arkable film is w orth pictures, has the best and most origi
Like a B ruegel p ainting, the film
it), and is the best w ork o f director view ers' investm ent o f tim e and pres nal screenplay. W riter-director Spike
do esn 't tell you w here to look or
A lexander Payne, w ho m arshals a ence; to w atch it is to participate in Jones takes a science fiction prem ise
w hat to think in the w ay m ost m ov
cast o f underrated actors and o rd i a collective deepening o f conscious that was full o f pitfalls (a m an falling
ies do. If y ou let it, it w ill u sher you
nary folks to im part a story that feels ness that w e desperately need in in love w ith his operating system ),
into a sort o f m ind fu ln ess, coaxing
s o u lf u l a n d tru e . O n e o f th e o rd e r to m ake sense o f o u r present and creates a believable universe that
you to be p resen t w ith the beauty,
A cadem y's m ost glaring om issions circum stances. M y full review is is em otionally challenging and philo
and the din g in ess, and the cold, to
is M ark O rton's gorgeous original available at p o rtlan d o b serv er.co m / sophically engaging.
listen to the q u iet o f the m useum ,
score, w hich em bodies the film 's ne w s/2 0 13 /n o v /0 6 /12-years-slave.
The film offers som e perceptive
the sounds o f the street, the lo v eli
spirit and also stands beautifully on
3. A m erican H u stle is the m ost suggestions about w here our rela
ness o f the w om an singing. It's a
its ow n. Y ou can read m y full length * en tertain in g film on m y list. H ere, tionship w ith technology m ight well
brilliant, poetic film that w orks as a
review at p o rtlan d o b serv er.co m / D avid O. Russell finally pulls o ff the be headed - but w hat I loved m ost
kind o f g u id ed m editation. Y ou can
ne w s/2 0 13/dec/04/soulful-jou m ey . right com bination o f chaos and play was its insights about the nature o f
re a d
my
fu ll
r e v ie w
at
2 . 12 Years a S lave is by far the fulness and a story that strikes notes intim acy itself, about how and why PHOTO COURTESY F o x /
p o rtlan d o b serv er.co m /n e w s /2 0 13/
m ost im portant film on m y list and is that feel true even w hen the fun people connect and w hat causes re S earchlight
s e p /17 /lesso n -m in d fu ln ess.
Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as
a m asterclass in how film can enrich w ears off. It is a positively rollicking lationships to blossom and fade.
9. L e t th e F ire B u rn is the sec
Solomon North up in the film ‘12
and deepen understanding o f a n e blend o f com edy, outrageous c h ar
I expect that many will find, as I did,
o nd d ev astatin g d o cu m en tary on
g le c te d su b jec t. D ire c to r S tev e acters and fashions, an entertaining that this lovely and heartfelt film Years a Slave, ’ one o f the top
m y T o p 10 list. Its d irector, Jason
M cQ ueen (as deserving o f a d irect sort-of-true crim e story, and som e manages to hold a mirror up to longings films o f 2013.
O sder, spent a d ecade assem bling
ing O scar as is A lexander Payne) very astute observations ab o u t w hat and inner struggles that w e m ostly
ab o u t the p ro b lem o f evil rem ains fo o tag e that tells the story o f a
has the tem erity and steady hand to m o tiv a te s h u m a n b e h a v io r and keep to ourselves. You can read m y
co n tro v ersial, but p erm an en tly a l lo n g stan d in g feud b etw een the city
sustain the attention necessary to about A m erican society. It's one o f full review at portlandobserver.com /
tered public discoursel. R ead m y o f P h ilad elp h ia and a radical sep a
absorb the m agnitude o f suffering the few tim es a film has attained ne w s/2 0 14/jan/29/connecting-her.
full review at portlandobserver.com / ratist group o f m ostly A frican A m eri
and the m undaneness that ch arac nom inations in all the m ajo r acting
5. I n s id e L le w y n D a v is g o t n e w s/2 0 13 /d e c /l 8/courageous-dis- cans called M O V E , w hich cu lm i
terized A m erican slavery.
categories and each one is deserved. snubbed by the A cadem y, but d e co u rse.
n ated in a d ead ly stan d -o ff in 1985.
I can m ake ju s t as strong a case
C h ristian B ale is p articularly a served n o m inations fo r B est Picture
7. A lien B oy has not captured a
W hen the group's m em bers d e
for Chi w etel E jiofor to w in for best marvel, and I would give A m y A dams and B est D irector and includes a
national audience, but certainly de fied attem p ts to evict them from
actor as B ruce D em , though fo r the aw ard for best actress o f those b etter O riginal Song than any o f the
serves one. This film by Portland th eir hom e, p olice tear-g assed the
very different reasons; it is hard to w ho w ere nom inated (though E m m a n om inees ("F are T hee W ell"). T he
docum entarían Brian Lindstrom was group, fired in to a h ouse full o f
C oen brothers' m editation on the the best film I saw at last year's Port
w o m e n an d c h ild re n , an d th e n
folk m usic scene o f G reen w ich V il land International Film Festival. It d ro p p ed a bom b. T he resu lting fire
lage in 1961 is full o f glorious m usic tells the very com plex story o f Jam es left 61 m ostly A frican -A m erican
and w istful o b servations about the Chasse, a gentle m an with schizo w o rk in g fam ilies h om eless and 11
B E H A V IO R A L H E A L T H S E R V IC E S
thin line betw een artistic success phrenia w ho w as tackled by three people dead, including five children.
and artistic failure. O scar Isaac also police officers one day in the Pearl
O sder's careful com pilation o f this
deserves m ore credit than he has District, and suffered terrible injuries, history - so recen t and yet already
receiv ed fo r his portrayal o f a fre including 17 broken ribs and a punc so n eg lected - is an im portant lens
quently unlikable m usician w hose tured lung, and then died in police on h o w d ra s tic a lly g o v e rn m e n t
grim singleness o f purpose can m ake c u sto d y .
p o w er can assum e the ch aracteris
him insufferable but also appears to
L indstrom w isely begins by help tics it ascrib es to its erran t citizens.
be essential in a successful artist.
ing y ou u n d erstan d C hasse as a M y fu ll re v ie w is a v a ila b le at
435 NE 78th St., P ortland, O R 9 7 2 12
L eave it to the C o en s to b u ild a p erson b efo re turning to the events p o rtlan d o b serv er.co m /n e w s /2 0 13/
5 0 3 -9 7 5 -5 8 4 4
film around a person w ho is both that led to his death, w hich the film n o v /14 /police-po w er-run-am uck.
m ad d en ly flaw ed and g lo rio u sly unravels w ith p atien ce and care. As
10. B a rfi, strangely, n ev er had a
gifted, som etim es in the sam e m o som eone w ho has a fro n t seat to a theatrical release in Portland, though
m ent. W ith n o trace o f sentim ent, lot o f m an eu v erin g and politics, I I saw it at P IF F last y e ar and it is
they invite y ou to w o n d er ab o u t all kn o w how d ifficu lt it can be to tell a av ailab le on D V D and also stream
th e
ta l e n t
th a t
has
g o n e story like this and cap tu re its true ing on N etflix. T he film 's c o m p li
E N T E R P R I S E S .L L C
uncelebrated, and ab o u t w hat w e com plexity, so I w as blow n aw ay by cated p lo t in v o lv es a m isch ievous
ch o o se to celebrate. S ee m y full h o w su ccessfu lly the film m akers deaf-m ute m an and his relationships
rev iew at p o rtla n d o b se rv e r.c o m / acco m p lish ed that here, to d ev as w ith tw o w om en w ho co m e to love
n e w s / 2 0 13 /d e c / 2 4 /b e a u tif u l ly - tatin g effect. L in d stro m and his him . T h o u g h he is silent, his p h y si
crafted-m ovie.
m asterfu l ed ito r m ain tain such a cal co m ed y and b u o y an t spirit are
6. H an n ah A re n d t o ffers the e x steady to u ch th at all th e em otion p o sitiv ely elegant.
ceed in g ly rare o p p o rtu n ity to e x they stir up feels co m p letely g e n u
I ex p ect to hav e the o ccasion to
p lo re the life an d visionary thinking ine, and not the least b it m an ip u w rite a lo n g er rev iew soon, but for
D A N N Y CHAN
D U RAN BEASLEY
o f a m id d le-ag ed w om an w ith the lated.
now I'll ju s t say that w hat begins as
courage to rigorously ex am in e hard
8. M useu m H ou rs is a m editation a charm ing rom antic screw ball com
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