Portland at the Movies

Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") and Ryan Kelley ("Teen Wolf") star in this existential family film that runs somewhere between "What Dreams May Come" and "Jacob's Ladder." Throw in some irritating mouth noises from Armin Mueller-Stahl and you've got yourself....well, something. Find out more on this month's episode.

This month we revisit PatM legend Phillip J. Roth, who brought us Total Reality and Fatal Revenge, for his 1990 movie "Red Snow." Shot at Timberline and Ski Bowl, this film takes the classic trope of skiers vs. snowboarders and amps it up with Uzis and murder. We're then joined by our friend Mark Landers, who was a production assistant for this movie, who dishes on the behind-the-scenes goings on.

You know you're heading into trauma when Michelle Williams shows up in a pixie cut. A story about several days in the life of a woman making her way across country with her dog, this movie is sparse, dialogue-light, and takes its time. But is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Let's head to a Walgreen's parking lot to find out.

With an all-star cast including Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'onofrio, and Benjamin Bratt, and music by Elliot Smith and The Polyphonic Spree, this mid-2000s coming-of-age movie is brimming with promise. Does it deliver, or does it, well, suck?

It's beginning to look a lot like...we're losing our minds. Much like celebrating Christmas with a hyperactive child cracked out on pixie sticks, "Christmas Freak" asks the bold question: "Can someone love Christmas too much?" and "Is there any way to stop this from happening to me?" Find out where your holiday spirit turns from "Goodwill to all people" to "For the love of Santa please make this stop" in this month's episode.

Definitely the most current movie we've ever covered...and maybe one of the best? If you haven't seen it, we recommend going in blind, but either way, it's a big recommend from us - it's available on Netflix. This episode is formatted a bit differently than normal, so if you want to follow how we did it, you can stop and listen at around the 25 minute mark, and the 1:04:00 mark. Enjoy!

A group of people wake up in an experimental facility hoping for a cure to a disease that is ravaging the world - but is that cure worse than the disease? And does this low-budget indie movie make the best out of what it has to work with? The hosts are split, much like the dog in this movie.

Would you believe me if I told you there was a TV movie filmed in Portland about the attack on the World Trade Center starring George Clooney and Fran Drescher? Of course you would - this is Portland at the Movies, after all (and it's the 1993 WTC bombing). It's also got the dad from "Fresh Price of Bel Air," so there's that too. And Andre Braugher. And the brother from "Blossom."

A movie so baffling that even after discussing it for an hour we're at a loss. So we'll just post Roger Ebert's review here: "Here is a movie that looks like a parody, sounds like a parody and plays like a parody, but isn't a parody -- because the genre it's making fun of doesn't exist. Maybe "Love at Large" is a satire on satire itself. It feels like a movie from another time-space continuum, another world where audiences would understand the jokes and respond to the references. It should play in a theater where the manager is Rod Serling." So, like, enjoy! The movie is free on YouTube.

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."

For our discussion of Zombie Cats from Mars, Mark once again surprises us with a mid-show phone call from one of the actors (and definite cast highlight) from this 2015 sci-fi/horror movie. Is there enough holy water to cleanse us after watching this movie? Find out on this month's episode.

The internet has dubbed this movie the "Christian 'Saw,'" and while that's not really accurate (or the filmmakers intentions), this faith-based film does share some of its premise with that movie. It's also the last film role of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Can God save this movie, or should the filmmakers repent? Find out in this month's episode.

50 years after it was made, and 30 years since Mystery Science Theater 3000 catapulted it into so-bad-it's-good movie legend, we have a sequel to the 1966 cult classic "Manos: The Hands of Fate," starring several of the original actors, and inexplicably filmed in River Falls, Oregon. Was it worth the half century it took to bring this movie back, or does it find new and interesting ways to fail outside of how its predecessor did?

We got to perform at Portland's FanExpo 2023, and we each ran down our Bests and Worsts, as well as gave out very special achievement awards as we look back on the 60+ movies we've covered on Portland at the Movies.

This month we return to larger, more mainstream studio movies with our review of "Zero Effect," about a wacky, quirky, zany private detective (played by the opposite of wacky, quirky, and zany: the human cardboard cutout known as Bill Pullman) and his assistant, Ben Stiller, who dive into a mysterious case of blackmail and murder.

The first "Trainmaster" movie was a surprise and a delight when we reviewed it two years ago. So does the sequel deliver the same great production work, directing, and wholesome wonderfulness the first one did? Find out in this month's episode.

This month we dissect this fascinating anthology film, featuring 6 different segments centered around, sadly, "spunk." And yes, the kind of "spunk" you're thinking of. But is it the straight garbage we anticipated based on the title and premise, or is there some real movie-making happening here? Or, inexplicably, both? Find out on this month's episode.

This month we look at a truly evil 2014 movie called "Exorcist: The Fallen," and if you think you've seen it all when it comes to exorcist movies.....you have. There is zero new things in this movie except some really wild hand-drawn, rotoscoped animation that makes no sense. It's free on YouTube, so check it out. For real, the rotoscoping is among the weirdest choices I've ever seen in filmmaking.

Despite the best effort of Catherine Hicks, this tepid spy thriller, which centers around a man getting a new face, doesn't seem to rise above it's inherent blandness. This month we dive into Spy, as well as the other made-for-TV movies in our history and ask, "Is it the movie, or the genre?" Bonus appearance by Ned Beatty!

After technical difficulties rendered the first 40 minutes of one of our best shows corrupted and lost forever to time, we still managed to salvage the show by having an equally hilarious second half of the show, which was recorded. All in service of the most forgettable and dull movie we've watched so far for the show -- and that's saying something. I mean, the title alone was too lazy to even have a question mark, so why take the effort in making the movie?

Always two, there are: a Child of Darkness, and a Child of Light. Or something. Things get kind of convoluted in this 1991 made-for-USA-television thriller starring Sela Ward and a very young Josh Lucas. And for a literal "blink and you'll miss it" moment, we bring you the very first appearance of Brenden Fraser on film - years before returning to Portland for "Extraordinary Measures." For literally a second-and-a-half in the background. We've all got to start somewhere.

TV's Patrick Duffy and William Devane star in this made-for-TV movie about a cop in search of a killer who commits serial murders and then starts blackmailing the families of the deceased, threatening to frame them for the murders he committed. Can TV's Patrick Duffy save the day? Or will his secret past catch up to him? Find out on this month's episode, with special guest host Michael Gibson from Video Is The Future.You can find more of Michael on Instagra @videoisthefuture, on FB @videofuture, or on the web at videoisthefuture.com

Portland at the Movies is at its best when the movies are at their worst. And nothing is worse than this vile, juvenile, offensive, horrifying, putrid -- and, worst of all, pathetically and unrelentingly unfunny -- "movie" filmed in Vancouver, Washington. The good news is that our episode discussing "Slapped! The Movie" is one of best, so at least some good came out of watching it.

Marlee Matlin returns Portland in this - her third! - movie filmed in Portland. Murder, scandal, affairs, politics, and lies take the front seat in the made-for-Lifetime movie co-starring Regina King and the guy who played Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat movie. Who could ask for anything more? Did we like it? Find out where the truth lies in this month's episode.

This month we take a look at 2017's "I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore," a wonderful-yet-hard-to-categorize movie starring Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey.

Was this the worst thing to happen in 2001? Probably not, but it's certainly not good. Aaron Durán from Geek in the City joins us to tell some behind-the-scenes stories from his time working on this film, which stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchette. Find out what went wrong on this month's episode.

Join us as we flee for our lives while discussing this 1991 made-for USA-network movie "Deadly Game," based partially on the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game," where a group of people are taken to an island and hunted by a mysterious stranger. Starring Roddy McDowall and Marc Singer of "V" and "Beastmaster" fame.

Who's ready for all their favorite Christmas characters? We have Santa, Poofer, Dermie, Dusty, Thooner... You know, everyone's favorites! Join us as we dive into the holiday season with "Best Christmas Ever!," the holiday entry in one of the most successful media exports Portland has ever had: The Wee Sing children's video series.

This film, starring Bruce Campbell and Lori Loughlin, tells the true-life crime story of a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. It also features more shots of Portland than any movie we've done -- but ironically the movie is set in Chicago. Strap on your fake beards!

It's telling that this supposedly sexy thriller is just bland enough that we kept referring to the star as "William Hurt" instead of the actual star Timothy Hutton. In any case, "The Temp" was released in the wake of the Basic Instinct and several other grabs at the erotic mystery such as Body of Evidence, Sliver, and Disclosure. So will "The Temp" earn a permanent spot in our list of good movies made in Portland, or will it see itself through the door once we're done with it?

Who would have guessed after all the movies we've reviewed that there would not only be a good movie filmed in Portland, but that the good film would star Nicholas Cage? Well here we are. The first 10 or so minutes are spoiler free review of the film, then we give a spoiler warning for those that still want to see the film - which we recommend you do. I don't know that we've ever non-ironically recommended one of our movies before (usually there's at least a b-movie element to the movies we've enjoyed), so we truly are in the weirdest timeline.

Is it a sequel? Is it a remake? Is it a tax shelter? We jump in the river to find out just what is going on with this 2009 movie, which has an opening credit of "Based on the movie 'Without a Paddle.'" Oregon looks gorgeous, but does it reach the same level of "almost mildly amusing" as its 2004 predecessor, which starred Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepherd? Find out on this month's show!

This month we travel to the Ilwaco Lighthouse with Dee Wallace, a playwright haunted by the reflections of her dead fiancee, and pursued by her would-be brother-in-law. Is the movie the psychological thriller it's trying to be, or will you want to throw yourself off a lighthouse after you watch? Find out on this episode.

Mark surprises Todd and Brian mid-show with a phone call from Sean McGrath, the main star of 2015's "Deep Dark," a psychological thriller about an artist who finds his muse in the form of a sentient hole in the wall. He was an amazing guest, and he talks about the filming, the cast and crew, and how a director sells an actor on taking the role of a character who has sex with a wall.

This month we indulge ourselves by taking a long, hard look back at what has become of our lives as we discuss the best and the worst of the 50 Portland-filmed movies we've reviewed so far.

This 1993 made-for-USA TV movie is surprisingly watchable (and available for free on YouTube), although it features only a couple blink-and-you'll-miss-it Portland locations. A sci-fi/detective thriller, this movie dares to ask the question Wonder Woman 1984 didn't: what are the ethical ramifications of hijacking someone else's body?

A post-Brat Pack Mare Winningham meets a pre-"Happy Gilmore" Shooter McGavin in this 1991 made-for-USA-TV-network movie "Fatal Exposure." Oddly, this is probably the most intriguingly in-depth discussion of a plot of any movie we've done so far. If you love clothes made from reams upon reams of billowy, pleated fabrics, this is the movie for you! Does it rise above its generic title, or does it sink under the weight of its own silky blouses?

We ride the rails back to 2008 for this movie filmed around West Linn, Willamette, Canby, and more! It's a delightful kids movie that's cornball and low-budget enough to thoroughly enjoy, and well made enough that it goes down surprisingly well. Join us as we hop the train for 2008's "Train Master."

Ed Asner and Mary Tyler Moore reunite for the first time since "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in this made-for-TV thriller about a rogue cop who harasses Moore and her family after she testifies against him in court. So is it a worthy vehicle for the reunion of these two beloved actors? Find out on this month's episode.

Join us for this Halloween episode as we take a look at the 1981 horror slasher flick "Just Before Dawn," which is not only shockingly competent, but actually pretty good -- and includes a truly insane final kill. Watch the movie on YouTube (or heck - buy the Blu-Ray!), start a campfire, and head down to Silver Falls for this sadly forgotten genre film.

We travel back to 1993 for this movie about real-life events that happened in 1975, which contain some of the most gripping and interesting alien abduction scenes out there. Filmed in Roseburg and Oakland, Oregon, this film takes place in a small logging town of northern Arizona, and follows the story of a man who was (supposedly) abducted by aliens in front of his friends, and who returns 5 days later.

A zany late-90s stoner comedy with an incredible cast including Luke Wilson, Alicia Witt, Jack Black, Jamie Kennedy, and more sounds like a sure-fire hit. Let's unroll this joint and find out if there's any solid nuggets, or if it's all just stems and seeds.