Marc Mohan

Marc Mohan moved to Portland from Wisconsin in 1991, and has been exploring and contributing to the city’s film culture almost ever since, as the manager of the landmark independent video store Trilogy, the owner of Portland’s first DVD-only rental spot, Video Vérité; and as a freelance film critic for The Oregonian for nearly twenty years. Once it became apparent that “newspaper film critic” was no longer a sustainable career option, he pursued a new path, enrolling in the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College in the fall of 2017 and graduating cum laude in 2020 with a specialization in Intellectual Property. He now splits his time between his practice with Nine Muses Law and his continuing efforts to spread the word about great (and not-so-great) movies, which include a weekly column at Oregon ArtsWatch.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘The Life of Chuck,’ ‘Materialists,’ and more

June 12, 2025Marc Mohan

This week at the movies: an existential Stephen King adaptation, Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in a romcom from "Past Lives" director Celine Song, plus the Western "The Unholy Trinity" and the Portland Horror Film Festival.

FilmWatch Weekly: Jia Zhangke’s ‘Caught by the Tides,’ John Wick’s ‘Ballerina,’ Kevin Smith’s ‘Dogma,’ and more

June 5, 2025Marc Mohan

Plus: The Ozploitation flick "Dangerous Animals," and "Bleak Week" comes to Portland with a roster of depressing films on 35mm.

‘Beth + Jeremy and Steve’: Portland director Daniel Hill discusses his first feature

May 29, 2025Marc Mohan

Set in Portland and shot at a number of local landmarks, the film has its Portland theatrical premiere Friday, May 30, at PSU's 5th Avenue Cinema.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,’ ‘Sister Midnight,’ and ‘Pee-wee as Himself’

May 29, 2025Marc Mohan

Plus: Samurai action in "Tornado," Charles Burnett's "Killer of Sheep" restored in 4K, and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Pavements’ rocks, while ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ rolls right along; plus much more

May 22, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: the Korean drama "A Normal Family," "Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted," and "The Cinema Within," a documentary about the psychology of film editing.

FilmWatch Weekly: Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd form a ‘Friendship,’ James Earl Jones in the rediscovered ‘The Annihilation of Fish,’ and more

May 15, 2025Marc Mohan

Plus: the documentary "Deaf President Now!" on Apple TV+, Portland's 22nd annual Filmed by Bike festival, and battling Bigfeet in "The Siege of Ape Canyon" at the Kiggins Theatre.

FilmWatch Weekly: Under-the-radar action in ‘Fight or Flight’ and ‘Sharp Corner,’ plus ‘Secret Mall Apartment,’ Log Lady doc, and more

May 8, 2025Marc Mohan

Two modest releases from Vertical Entertainment offer a welcome break from the standard big-budget studio fare.

FilmWatch Weekly: Seaside settings in Nicolas Cage’s ‘The Surfer,’ a remade ‘Bonjour Tristesse,’ and the sequel ‘Another Simple Favor’

May 1, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: the 1960 B-movie "College Confidential" on Blu-ray, bloody folk horror, trippy animation, and more.

‘Metropolitan’ at 35: Director Whit Stillman talks about his phenomenal debut in advance of Portland visit

April 29, 2025Marc Mohan

The film screens Thursday, May 1, at Cinema 21, with Stillman in attendance for a post-film discussion and Q&A.

FilmWatch Weekly: David Cronenberg’s ‘The Shrouds,’ Miguel Gomes’s ‘Grand Tour,’ and more

April 24, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: the Sirkian melodrama "On Swift Horses," the Korean crime thriller "Yadang: The Snitch," plus documentaries, a tribute to David Lynch at the Hollywood Theatre, and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Wedding Banquet’ redux, ‘Gazer,’ and ‘The Ugly Stepsister’

April 17, 2025Marc Mohan

This week at the movies: a reimagining of Ang Lee's 1993 comedy "The Wedding Banquet", a microbudget indie triumph, plus some thoughts on the latest Marvel slop.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Misericordia,’ ‘When Fall Is Coming,’ Alex Garland’s ‘Warfare,’ and much more

April 10, 2025Marc Mohan

This week at the movies: in two noirish dramas, dangerous secrets lurk behind the French countryside's picturesque facade. Plus: the buddy comedy "Sacramento," "The World Will Tremble," and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: Pedro Pascal in ‘Freaky Tales,’ plus Matt Dillon as Marlon Brando in ‘Being Maria,’ and Naomi Watts loves a dog in ‘The Friend’

April 3, 2025Marc Mohan

The Tarantinoesque "Freaky Tales" from directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck tells four interconnected stories set on a single day in 1987 Oakland, California.

Portland writer-director-star Anna Campbell discusses her impressive debut film ‘Nora’

April 3, 2025Marc Mohan

After its world premiere last month at a San Jose festival, the new musical film now comes to Campbell's hometown for a weeklong run at Portland's Living Room Theaters.

FilmWatch Weekly: Andy Kaufman doc ‘Thank You Very Much,’ plus penguin lessons and unicorn deaths

March 27, 2025Marc Mohan

Four decades after his (presumed) death, Andy Kaufman at last gets the feature-length documentary treatment. Plus: the feel-good "Bob Trevino Likes It," and a new Blu-ray release of the 1999 sharksploitation flick "Deep Blue Sea."

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,’ ‘Magazine Dreams,’ and more

March 20, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: a strange dystopia in "The Assessment," plus the sci-fi flick "Ash" and the baseball film "Eephus."

Keeping it reel: The Nyback film archive finds a new home and a community of caretakers

March 15, 2025Marc Mohan

The analog film collection of the late Dennis Nyback moves to the basement of a Southeast Portland community center, where a crew of dedicated cinephiles takes on the monumental task of cataloguing its over 5,000 titles.

FilmWatch Weekly: Lame comedies ‘Opus’ and ‘The Parenting’ lead a lackluster week

March 13, 2025Marc Mohan

An uneventful week for new releases is led by two star-studded but pointless comedies, but a Blu-ray collection of unheralded films noir from Kino Lorber offers a silver lining.

FilmWatch Weekly: Bong Joon-ho returns with ‘Mickey 17,’ plus ‘Universal Language,’ ‘Rainier: A Beer Odyssey,’ and much more

March 6, 2025Marc Mohan

The "Parasite" director follows his 2019 Best Picture win with a big-budget sci-fi satire starring Robert Pattinson.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘No Other Land’ exposes West Bank brutality, Oregon-shot ‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ tackles military PTSD, and much more

February 27, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: the star-studded "Riff Raff," Italian filmmaker Maura Delpero's Alpine drama "Vermiglio," and the crypto-thriller "Cold Wallet."

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘The Monkey’ shines, Daisy Ridley is a ‘Cleaner,’ and ‘The Cell’ rocks on disc

February 20, 2025Marc Mohan

Horror meets slapstick comedy in a new adaptation of a story by Stephen King about a homicidal toy monkey.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Armand,’ Oscar-nominated shorts, and Blu-rays from the 1950s

February 13, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa at the Cascade Festival of African Films, the underwhelming "You, Me & Her," and the straight-to-streaming embarrassment "The Gorge."

Art Center East in La Grande: Bringing art opportunities and access to Eastern Oregon

February 7, 2025Marc Mohan

The nonprofit center serves a 10-county swath of the state with exhibitions, classes, and annual events, often engaging with the past in ways that speak to the present.

FilmWatch Weekly: Where to see Oscar nominees, plus an Irish feud in ‘Bring Them Down’ and the inept ‘Love Hurts’

February 6, 2025Marc Mohan

This year's Best Picture contenders return to theaters this month, while most other nominees are available to stream or rent on demand.

FilmWatch Weekly: Brazil’s ‘I’m Still Here,’ India’s ‘Santosh,’ and Hong Kong’s ‘The Prosecutor,’ plus more

January 30, 2025Marc Mohan

Three newly released international features grapple with themes of corruption and the rule of law. Also this week: the sci-fi fable "Love Me," the 35th Cascade Festival of African Films, and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘Nickel Boys’ and ‘September 5’ count on Oscar buzz

January 23, 2025Marc Mohan

Director RaMell Ross's adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winning novel is ambitious and effective; plus, Portland documentarian Jan Haaken's "The Palestine Exception," the anime film "The Colors Within," and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig,’ ‘Hard Truths,’ ‘Wolf Man,’ and more

January 16, 2025Marc Mohan

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof's "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" is Germany's submission for Best International Feature Film. Also this week: Mike Leigh's first film in six years, a singing simian, and more.

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘The Brutalist,’ Almodóvar’s ‘The Room Next Door,’ Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl,’ and much more

January 8, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: The Sonics get the documentary treatment, plus Godardian musings in "It's Not Me," and Pablo Escobar's hippos roam the Colombian jungles in "Pepe."

FilmWatch Weekly: ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ ‘The Damned,’ and Gaza’s ‘From Ground Zero’

January 2, 2025Marc Mohan

This week at the movies: a new, three-hour adaptation of the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas, plus supernatural hauntings in "The Damned," and Palestine's submission for Best International Feature Film.

FilmWatch Yearly: The Top Ten Films of 2024

December 29, 2024Marc Mohan

Marc Mohan shares his picks for this year's ten best films.