Long (Drive to) Division
Just when you think you've gone way too far, there it is: the Division 13. As if they needed a new cineplex out in the sticks. The mega-hyped center located at Southeast 164th Avenue and Division Street (the one with all those desperately wacky, Generation X-asperating ads) is the missing link between your basic generic sticky-floored movie mall and a pseudo-Omnimax theme-park experience. With its utilitarian confines slathered in garish chromatic conflict, the theater's ambience reminds one of a rave club by way of Clackamas Town Center. Aesthetics be damned, though--the complex boasts superior auditoriums designed to leech the most from the latest blockbuster. What good are Dolby, DTS, SDDS, THX, EIEIO, OU812 and all those other techno acronyms if the theater's speakers sound like a blown hi-fi? The Division has incredible sound that will have you darting your head to and fro and, at times, clutching your ears to stop your cochlea from rattling. Stadium-riser seating guarantees that your Hollywood memories won't be indelibly stamped with a silhouette of some guy's big fat head.till, dspite a design engineered to ensure no "bad seats" in the house, in the first several rows only the hopelessly myopic or those unfortunates born with severe neck curvature will not be driven mad by such an intimate relationship with the screen. If the powers-that-be could hitch this complex to a massive trailer and drag it to a more central location (the Division 13 is the farthest I've traveled out of Portland without benefit of a plane), this superior facility would truly be a cinephile's delight.
--Dale E. Basye
Brighter Still
Christmas, for all its rumored joys, is the nadir of drama production, where every theater strives to outdo the others by trundling out some creaking piece of holiday furniture. The only bright spot of the season has been Luke Heyerman's new play at Stark Raving. What makes his Brightest Thing in the Dark Tonighteven more exciting is that it's a work in progress. Heyerman and director Barry Hunt met this week to rewrite some of the scenes, which is brave considering that the play is in its final week. For those who saw the piece early on, a second viewing should prove to be more rewarding than the predictable pantos elsewhere. --Steffen Silvis
10 POINTS OF LIGHT
The most prevalent trend at holiday parties this year isn't red dresses, Santa hats, Auld Lang Syne choruses or even black dresses, but it will catch your eye. You'll be dazzled by sparkle and shimmer of every shade and medium: a wash of iridescence on the collarbone, silvery eyelids, glittery nails and opalescent streaks sparkling hair. Everyone looks good with a little hueless shimmer. Here's a guide to the best for both the teen-age rebel and her mom. Bold 5. Revlon Iced Silver eye shadow ($3.75 at PayLess Drug) is potently metallic, so reserve this one for nighttime only. It's a cheap gamble if you're scared of looking like human tinsel. 4. Manic Panic body glitter ($5 at Big Bang Warehouse) is chunky and one of the pioneers of all-over shimmer. 3. At $28 (Nordstrom), Stila body shimmer requires a commitment to serious shine. The stars on the small silver tube give little indication of the aggressive color inside. The shades range from one to four, with one being the lightest and prettiest. This product will look like scary cream rouge from the '70s if not applied correctly. 2. Hard Candy Gold Digger lipstick is worth the $16 (Nordstrom), because it really works on any part of the body. It's the best gold of the season. 1. Urban Decay Body Haze ($18 at Nordstrom) is the coolest must-have cosmetic of the winter. It comes in creamy stick form. "Litter," "Snow" and "Shattered" roll out actual flakes of craft glitter that adheres well without any glue. "Exhaust," "UV-B," "Vapor" and "Smog" provide sexy shimmer that's long-wearing but not overbearing. Exhaust is the hands-down favorite. Subtle 5. In addition to $3 million bras, Victoria's Secret also makes nail polish, and it makes a pretty good one for $5. "Stellar" and "tinsel" look like glitter glue, but they're not goopy, and they can be worn over colors to add sparkle. "24 K" is a swirly gold that should be worn alone. 4. $35 may seem spendy for a bottle of lotion, but Pheromone Fluid Gold (Saks Fifth Avenue) smells good and supplies soft skin highlights. You may be tempted by Victoria's Secret $10 Golden Dreams, but it doesn't glisten in even the dimmest candlelight. 3. Even the sterile Gap has gotten in the swing of things with its tidy Holiday Shine gift set for $9.50. Peachy gold lip gloss and nail enamel come with a handy lip brush. 2. Be a bargain-basement ice princess with Sally Hansen's Snowdrift Frost lipstick ($4.79 at PayLess Drug). Just don't wear it on plain lips; it's best over a matte pinkish red, or alone on eyelids. 1. Finally, MAC makes a great loose powder that sparkles and stays on, no matter where you brush it. Silver Dusk iridescent powder can even be mixed with a little hair gel to add unexpected beams of light. Prescriptives makes an equally good powder, but it's only a quarter of the size at the same price ($18 at Nordstrom). --Christina Melander
Spurned Thumbs
Critics are considered the bottom feeders of the arts pond: bitter never-weres who keep their water warm by pissing on the works of bigger, more talented fish. Thanks to the likes of Pauline Kael, Anthony Lane, Janet Maslin and Siskel and Ebert, the film critic has achieved a degree of notoriety, but a new study by Wharton business school professors Jehoshua Eliashberg and Steven Shugan questions the purpose of film critics. Conventional wisdom suggests that critics would wield the most influence upon box-office revenues when a new film emerges, before word-of-mouth has had time to develop. But, after examining what 181 critics said about 35 films released in 1991 and 1992, the professors suggest that reviews have little impact upon ticket sales. As cited in the Nov. 24 issue of Business Week, a major example is Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; critics greeted it as if they were finding a forgotten dairy product in the back of the refrigerator, but the film made $165 million. A recent example is the wildly praised film L.A. Confidential, which--despite a slot in most every critic's year-end top 10--has only generated $33 million. The study did find that critical reviews are related to late box-office revenue, as well as cumulative receipts. But the authors note that critics could be less prominent than other factors--such as TV advertising, trailers and talk shows--in moviegoer motivation. The report makes no claims as to whether the public reads movie reviews at all; reads them but ignores a film critic's opinion; or waits to read the review until after having seen the film. "Executives in the entertainment industry may wish to reevaluate their perspective on the role, importance and impact of critics as a result of our research," Eliashberg concludes in the report. Not what I would suggest--but no one listens to me anyway. --Dale E. Basye |
