Portland at the Movies

Like a moth to the flame, we’re back with another 90s made-for-TV legal thriller starring Annette O’Toole, Michael McKean, and CCH Pounder. Kidnapping, murder, dubious legal work, and the continual highlighting of the gay community and those who love them as dangerous monsters is really only table setting for what are two of the most egregious miscarriages of justice we’ve ever seen on film. Press “play” on the rap cd, we’re going to court!

Summer is just beginning, so let’s head to the Oregon coast for this family/adventure film about a teenager’s search for the legendary Tillamook gold left by Spanish sailors. Is it a jaunty kids action movie, or a frigid, bitter look at the disintegration of an American marriage? Find out on this month’s episode!

Is there anything more early-2000s than Ryan Philippe and Rachel Leigh Cook? This month we travel back to the Big Tech of 2000s for this thriller about a mega tech company who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of code with the perfect structure. Or something. The tech is a bit hazy. Does this movie get anything else right? Find out on this month’s episode.

Well, we’re finally reviewing the movie that spawned this whole podcast: Madonna’s 1993 throwback/thriller/noir/erotic courtroom drama that dares to ask the question: “Can you screw someone to death?” We dare to ask the question: “Is this movie as bad as its reputation holds? Is it that bad in comparison to the other Portland films we’ve been subjected to in the past?” Light your candles, bust out the light bulbs, and allow yourself to be seduced by the billowy curtains (and the Green Goblin) in this installment of Portland at the Movies. (Note: For the Madonna fans who found their way here, yes, I’m aware I accidentally said “Who’s That Girl” instead of “Shanghai Surprise” when talking about Madonna and Sean’s movie. We’re just going to have to be OK with that. Don’t come for me.)

Jumping on the bandwagon of “Single White Female,” this 1992 made-for-TV movie, starring Heather Locklear, takes a stab at being the sexy office place thriller that so may other movies of the time strived to be. Strap on your high heels and get ready for some busy business as we decide “does this have what it takes?”

This month we’re joined by Nicholas Beatty to unwrap this gay coming of age film/black box musical theater journey that spans 12 years of time and dares to ask the question “why does a movie that takes place over the span of 12 years have the singular word ‘summer’ in the title? And why did nobody’s clothing or hair style change in those 12 years?” Did we find a Christmas miracle, or did we get another lump of coal? Find out on this episode.

This month we’re joined by Eric Li and Mike Campbell from “The Scariest Things” horror podcast to talk about 2015’s “Green Room,” starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, and loads of punks and neo-Nazis. Can this movie defy the odds of not only being a good horror movie, but a good movie made in Portland? Find out on this episode.

Author and broadcaster Rick Emerson joins us to talk about the 1982 (or is it 1980? Or 1984?) made-for-TV movie “The Pigs vs. The Freaks” (or is it “Outsiders”?), starring Brian Dennehy, Patrick Swayze, Adam Baldwin, and Steven Furst, about a small town football game that will finally settle the age-old question: will you root for the cops, or for the hippies?

Find Rick Emerson’s newest book “Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries” wherever books are sold.

If you thought Portland was a post-apocalyptic hellscape now, just wait until you see what it looks like after nuclear war. This month we follow the sole survivor (or is she?) of nuclear annihilation, creeping around the shattered streets and tunnels of Portland finding a way to survive. The visuals in this low-budget movie are often arresting and incredibly well done, but does the story and dialogue follow suit, or does this fizzle out into a true bomb of a movie? Find out in this month’s episode.

Last month we reviewed “Zombie Cats From Mars,” and this month we dig into the man behind the cats: writer/director/producer/actor Montetré. We chat with him about ZCFM, as well as his one-take feature-length film “Marty in Transit.”