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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2018)
March 21, 2018 The Skanner Seattle Page 5 Arts & Entertainment Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, March 23 BIG BUDGET FILMS Midnight Sun (PG-13 for partying and sensual- ity) Bittersweet romance about a sickly teen (Bella Thorna) who is allergic to sunlight and whose sweet soulmate (Patrick Schwarzenegger) doesn’t mind that she can’t go on a date before dark. Fea- turing Rob Riggle, Quinn Shephard and Ken Trem- blett. Pacific Rim Uprising (PG-13 for action, vio- lence and some profani- ty) Sci-fi sequel finds Jake (John Boyega) and Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) joining forces with a new gener- ation of Jaeger pilots to save humanity from an- other invasion of alien sea monsters. With Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Tian Jing and Adria Ar- jona. Paul, Apostle of Christ (PG-13 for disturbing im- ages and some violence) James Faulkner handles gie Smith, Michael Caine, Mary J. Blige and Ozzy Osbourne. Kam Williams Kam’s Kapsules Movie Reviews Unsane (R for profan- ity, violence, sexual ref- erences and disturbing behavior) Psychological thriller, directed by Ste- ven Soderbergh, about a young businesswom- an (Claire Foy) forced to confront her greatest fear after accidentally committing herself to a mental institution while trying to escape her stalker (Joshua Leonard). With Jay Pharoah, Amy Irving and Juno Temple. the title role in this faith -based biopic chroni- cling the evolution of St. Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a pious disciple of Jesus. Cast includes Jim Caviezel, Joanne Whalley and Ol- ivier Martinez. Sherlock Gnomes (PG for some rude and sug- gestive humor) John- ny Depp plays the title character in this animat- ed sequel which finds Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) recruiting a legendary sleuth and his sidekick (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to in- vestigate the mysterious disappearance of Lon- don’s lawn ornaments. Voice cast includes Mag- INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS A Bag of Marbles (Un- rated) Adaptation of Jo- seph Joffo’s World War II memoir, set in 1941, about a couple of Jew- ish brothers’ (Dorian Le Clech and Batyste Fleur- ial) attempt to survive during the Nazi occupa- tion of Paris. With Kev Adams, Patrick Bruel ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ and Elsa Zylberstein. (In French, German, Yiddish and Russian with subti- tles) Final Portrait (R for profanity, sexual refer- ences and nudity) Buddy biopic, set in 1964, chron- icling the reunion in Paris of Swiss painter Al- berto Giacometti (Geof- frey Rush) and his good friend, American art critic James Lord (Armie Hammer). Supporting cast includes Tony Shal- houb, James Faulkner and Clemence Poesy. (In English, French and Ital- ian with subtitles) Hichki (Unrated) Bol- lywood coming-of-age drama about a young woman (Rani Mukerji) with Tourette syndrome who turns her weakness into a strength en route to landing a teaching position at an elite prep school. With Supriya Pilgaonkar and Ivan Ro- drigues. (In Hindi with subtitles) Roxanne Roxanne (Un- rated) Chante’ Adams plays the title character in this hip-hop drama, set in Queens in the early ‘80s, about a 14 year-old- girl well on her way to becoming a rap legend. Support cast includes Nia Long, Mahersha- la Ali and Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. What We Started (Un- rated) The electronic mu- sic craze is the subject of this documentary featur- ing commentary by Ed Sheeran, Louie Vega and Usher Raymond. PHOTO BY KYRA SANFORD Play’s ‘I Want My Ham’ is More Of A Deeper Message Than A Menu Item James Dixon (Sterling), Jerry Foster (West), Cycerli Ash (Risa), and Wrick Jones (Memphis) perform a scene in August Wilson’s ‘Two Trains Running’ on stage in Portland now through April 1. By Anna Grace I t isn’t only on stage in the dialogue of the characters that the themes of August Wilson’s award-winning play, “Two Trains Run- ning,” get explored. The ideals of determination, persistence and resil- ience also revealed them- selves in the capricious process of getting this production ready for its month-long run at the Interstate Firehouse Cul- tural Center. Four-hour weekday rehearsals, which began Jan. 30, stretched to eight hours on Saturdays and six on Sundays. Passi- nArt: A Theatre Compa- ny recruited from Texas the play’s director, Wil- liam Earl Ray--who has been directing and per- forming on stage for 40 years. During rehears- als, Ray was brutally honest and relentless in making sure the actors met his expectations. “You need to count- er her,” Ray instructed Portland-based actor James Dixon, who plays Sterling, who was just released from prison on a bank robbery con- viction. Throughout the play, Dixon’s character clumsily tries to woo the belittled waitress, Risa, masterly performed by experienced film and stage actress Cycerli Ash of Atlanta. Ray continued: “You need to move quicker when she says, ‘Go on, Sterling’ ...and then I need you to stop fid- geting. This ping pong shuffling, you need to get over that.” The play, with its pro- found metaphors and in- tense language, was writ- ten to reflect a slice of life in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. At that time, racial tensions were high. Urban renew- al programs were forc- ing black people and the black-owned businesses that depended on them out of their neighbor- hoods. And, hastily or- ganized rallies brought people into the streets to send up a call for justice to the new president in the White House. And, then there’s now: 2018 and America has a relatively new president. Black Lives Matter ral- lies across the country are demanding justice for marginalized com- munities. And Portland, where city policies have endorsed the razing of hundreds of Black homes since the 1950s, is now one of the top U.S. cit- ies pushing Black and low-income people out- side of its core neighbor- hoods and into the mar- gins. “Ain’t nothing gonna be left around here,” noted the play’s central character, self-made businessman Memphis Lee, portrayed by stage veteran Wrick Jones. “Supermarket gone. Two drug stores. The five and 10. Doctor done moved out. Dentist done moved out. Ain’t nothing gonna be left but these (folks) killing one another. That don’t never go out of style.” The deeper meaning of the play’s title “Two Trains Running” refers to the tracks of life and death, and how we all, at one point, ride them both. One of the characters, West, is a funeral direc- tor and land owner, por- trayed by Jerry Foster, artistic director of Pas- sinArt. “We talk about gentrification and how it displaces families, “ Fos- ter said. “but, it also dis- places businesses, which impact the overall health and sense of community.” Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com
