Friday, April 3, 2026

Movies for May: The Way we Speak and Little Wing

      Bill Graves will host our May 6 meeting at noon at his home with a zoom option. We will have Scott Bernard Nelson, a Portland actor, join us to describe his work on the local film scene. And we will discuss two independent feature films made in Portland:


The Way We Speak (2024)

     An up-and-coming writer refuses to leave the spotlight when his best friend and debate opponent suffers cardiac arrest, leading to a rift between the writer and his ailing wife, and to the writer's obsession over his new opponent -- a bestselling author.

     Director: Ian Ebright
     Writer: Ian Ebright
     Stars: Patrick Fabian, Diana Coconubo and Kailey Rhodes

Little Wing (2024)

     A 13-year-old girl is dragged into the world of pigeon racing as she deals with her parents' divorce and the impending loss of her home.

     Director: Dean Israelite
     Writers: John Gatins and Susan Orlean
     Stars: Brooklynn Prince, Che Tafari and Brian Cox


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Scores for April 2026 movies:

Alien (1979) 7.9 (8 vjotes)


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Thursday, March 5, 2026

Movies for April: Project Hail Mary and Alien

       Don Nugent will host our April 1 meeting at noon at Bethany's Table, and we will discuss two science fiction movies: 


Project Hail Mary (2026)

     Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing the sun and thus save Earth. 

     Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
     Writers: Drew Goddard and Andy Weir
     Stars: Ryan Gosling, Milana Vayntrub and Ken Leung


Alien (1979)

      After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.

     Director: Ridley Scott
     Writers: Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
     Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt


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Saturday, February 7, 2026

Movies for March: It Was Just an Accident and The Life of Chuck

      Jon Lee will host our March 4 meeting at noon at his home with a Zoom option, and we will discuss:


 It Was Just an Accident (2025)

     An unassuming mechanic is reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he encounters a man he suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, he rounds up a few of his fellow ex-prisoners to confirm the man's identity.

     Director: Jafar Panahi
     Writers: Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar and Shadmehr Rastin
     Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari and Ebrahim Azizi

 The Life of Chuck (2024)


     A life-affirming, genre-bending story about three chapters in the life an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.  

     Director: Mike Flanagan
     Writers: Mike Flanagan and Stephen King
      Stars:  Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay and Benjamin Pajak

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Scores for February 2026 movies:

Misery (1990)   7.2 (9 votes)

      

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Saturday, January 10, 2026

Movies for February: This is Spinal Tap and Misery

      John Cleary will host our Feb. 4 meeting at noon in his home with a Zoom option if necessary and we will discuss:


     This is Spinal Tap (1984)

       Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.

    
     Director: Rob Reiner
     Writers: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer
     Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest


     Misery (1990)

     After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.

 
     Director: Rob Reiner
     Writers: Stephen King and William Goldman
     Stars: James Caan, Kathy Bates and Richard Farnsworth


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Scores for January 2026 movies:


Hamnet (2025)   8.6 (8 votes)
Train Dreams (2025)  7.8 (9 votes)


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Thursday, December 4, 2025

Movies for January 2026: Train Dreams and Hamnet

      Bill Triest will host our Jan. 7, 2026, meeting at noon in his home with a Zoom option if necessary, and we will discuss:


Train Dreams (2025)

     Based on Denis Johnson's beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century.

     Director: Clint Bentley
     Writers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar and Denis Johnson
     Stars: Joel Edgerton, Clifton Collins Jr., and Felicity Jones

Hamnet (2025)

     An imagined powerful story of love and loss that could have inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.

     Director: Chloe Zhao
     Writers: Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell
     Stars: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Zac Wishart


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Saturday, November 15, 2025

Movies for December 2025: One Battle After Another and A Little Prayer

      Nic Bentley will host our Dec. 3, 2025 meeting at noon in his home with a Zoom option if necessary, and we will discuss:


One Battle After Another (2025)

     When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own.

    Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
    Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon
    Stars: Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio and Regina Hall


A Little Prayer (2023)

     A man tries to protect his daughter-in-law when he finds out that his son is having an affair.
    
     Director: Angus MacLachlan
     Writer: Angus MacLachlan
     Stars: Jane Levy, Will Pullen and David Strathairn


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Monday, September 8, 2025

Movies for November 2025: Freud's Last Session and A Million Miles Away

      Our October meeting was canceled so Dean Hiser will host our Nov. 5, 2025, noon meeting at his home with a zoom option, and we will discuss:

Freud's Last Session (2023)


     Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud invites professor C.S. Lewis to debate the existence of God, Freud's unique relationship with his daughter, and Lewis' unconventional relationship with his best friend's mother. 
     
     Director: Matt Brown
     Writers: Mark St. Germain, Matt Brown and Armand M. Nicholi Jr.
      Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode and Liv Lisa Fries

A Million Miles Away (2023)

     A biopic about Jose Hernandez and his path from a farm worker to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. A tale of perseverance, community and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible dream. 

      Director: Alejandra Marquez Abella
      Writers: Bettina Gilois, Hernan Jimenez and Alejandra Marquez Abella
      Stars:  Michael Pena, Rosa Salazar and Julio Cesar Cedillo


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Scores for September 2025 movies:

The Naked Gun (2025) 4.5 (6 votes)
Last Breath (2025) 7.8 (8 votes)

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