What we’re about
It's like book club, but for Movies!
Want to talk about movies with other movie nerds? Saw a great movie you gotta tell others about?
The Portland Movie Club meets regularly to talk about a movie we all watched, recommend great movies to each other, and decide on what to watch for the next discussion. We're open to all fans of film.
Membership is free, just join us for a beer or two and hang out!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Political Films Meet-Up: HARLAN COUNTY USALucky Labrador Brew Pub, Portland, OR
Political Films Meet-Up: HARLAN COUNTY USA
Let’s talk about movies! Join movie club member Clay V. for the next film in our Political Films series with "HARLAN COUNTY USA" (1976). Cited by many as one of the greatest American documentary films, winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary, it covers the 1973 strike by as many as 180 coal miners and their spouses against the Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant.
Here's how The Portland Movie Club Meet-Ups work:
- Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet.
- We'll meet at Lucky Lab at 4pm (map) on the scheduled day & date. We'll typically have a sign at our table(s) but at least we'll try to be obvious and identifiable.
- Grab some food and drinks and spend some time socializing and discussing this movie with us.
Directed and produced by filmmaker Barbara Kopple, a former VISTA volunteer, who had worked on other documentaries and had earned a reputation as an advocate of workers' rights. She had originally planned on chronicling the Kenzie Miners for Democracy and their attempt to unseat the head of the UMWA. But the concurrent strike in Harlan County provided her with the opportunity to assist the miners in organizing and offered a more vital subject for her in-the-works documentary.
She ultimately spent four years completing the film, living with the families of the miners and following them to picket in front of the Stock Exchange in New York City, filming interviews with people affected by black lung disease, depicting the dire conditions they worked and lived in, and capturing on film the miners being shot at while striking.
Viewing Options for “Harlan County USA”
Streaming options are currently reported to include Amazon Prime, Max, The Roku Channel, Hulu and The Criterion Collection app. The film has been made available on DVD as part of The Criterion Collection and is still readily available. This should be an easy title to locate and view.
About Political Films
This series is based on the New Republic article, "The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time" published in June 2023 and is a comprehensive list of films that speak to our relationships with government, war, bureaucracy, politics and politicians, crime, propaganda, classism, and more. The list is not intended to be a collection of the 'best' films, but the most significant (although many of them are also very good). Some of these films can be a challenging watch, I'd suggest www.doesthedogdie.com for content warnings.
Tips:
- Haven't seen the movie in a while? You're in for a treat - try to watch the movie sometime before we meet. Just like a book club we don't watch the movie at our meetup, we just discuss it after we’ve seen it. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you can.
- I usually take a few notes while I watch to keep from forgetting the most interesting stuff. If you think of some interesting discussion topics while you watch, bring 'em with you!
- Typically, at the Meet-Up we'll decide on our next political film to watch! Take a look at the list linked above for options to consider for the next film.
Previous films viewed by “Political Films” Meet-up members for group discussion have included “Judas And The Black Messiah,” "Medium Cool," “The President’s Analyst,” “Marat / Sade,” “On The Waterfront,” “The Great McGinty,” “Seven Days In May,” “The Candidate,” “The Act of Killing,” “The Battle Of Algiers,” “All The President’s Men,” “How To Blow Up A Pipeline,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Malcolm X,” “A Face In The Crowd,” and “Dr. Strangelove.”
- Japanese cinema: "Onibaba"Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, Portland, OR
Let's talk about movies! Join Movie Club Member Jennifer K to kick off her new series on Japanese Cinema with Onibaba.
Here's how it works:
- Watch the movie on your own before we discuss, streaming links below.
- Then, we'll all meet at Lucky Lab on SE Hawthorne at 4pm (map), there will be a sign at our table.
- Grab some food and drinks and we'll spend some time discussing this masterpiece.
Movie Spotlight: Onibaba
Onibaba is a 1964 historical horror film directed by Kaneto Shindō about two women forced to survive war torn Japan by robbing and killing wandering samurai. When a former neighbor returns from the war, he disturbs their bleak and desperate existence and causes sexual jealousy that upends the formerly strong bond between the women with disastrous consequences.A classic of Japanese cinema, Onibaba is known for its fantastic visuals, chilling horror, eroticism, and social commentary. The film won cinematographer Kiyoma Kuroda and actor Jitsuko Yoshimura awards at the 1965 Blue Ribbon Awards.
Tips:
- Haven't seen the movie in a while? You're in for a treat—try to watch the movie sometime before we meet (Streaming Options). Just like a book club we do not watch the movie at our meetup, we just discuss it. You do not have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you can.
- I usually take a few notes while I watch to keep from forgetting the most interesting stuff. If you think of some interesting discussion topics while you watch, bring them with you!
Resources:
- Cult Films Meet-Up: FANTASTIC PLANETLucky Labrador Brew Pub, Portland, OR
Portland Movie Club Meet-Up - Spotlight on "FANTASTIC PLANET"
Let's talk about movies! Join Movie Club Member David J. for the next discussion in our cult film series with our first fully animated film selection, the surreal and visionary “Fantastic Planet” (“La Planete Sauvage,”1973). It’s one of the few animated films to be accepted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize, and went on to win the International Jury Prize at the prestigious Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival.Here's how it works:
1. Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet.
2. We'll meet at Lucky Lab at 4pm (map), there will be a sign at our table, or at the least we will make it as obvious as we can who we are (watch for that rowdy bunch waving hands and wearing movie themed T-Shirts) and where we are saving tables and chairs.
3. Grab some food and drinks and spend some enjoyable time discussing this cult movie masterpiece with us.A little about FANTASTIC PLANET
Benefitting from a wide release to American cinemas in 1974 from none other than Roger Corman and his New World Pictures, this unique French film has acquired a reputation for its surreal beauty, dreamlike imagery, and a story infused with astute social-political observations about the relationship between a dominant species of extraterrestrials and their human pets.Its concerns are really not that far removed from a more famous French novel of the same era, “Monkey Planet” by Pierre Boulle, which became the basis for the “Planet of The Apes” films. But “Fantastic Planet” is wildly different in its cinematic execution, and for the sense of wonder evoked by its imaginative visuals.
A truly otherworldly experience, the film's animation was realized by a team of gifted Czechoslovakian animators – though it was inspired by a French novel (“Oms En Serie,” written by Stefan Wul, 1957) - and its cinematic adaptation directed, scripted and designed by a former woodcarver, puppeteer and counselor at a psychiatric clinic (!), Rene Laloux, and cartoonist and cofounder of the surrealist Panic Movement (alongside Fernando Arrabal and Alejandro Jodorowski), Roland Topor.
With a pedigree like this you can expect an unusual and provocative work of art and entertainment. There’s no other film quite like “Fantastic Planet.”
Viewing Options
Streaming options are reported to include Plex (for free), Max, Apple TV, Hulu, Sling, Amazon Prime, Fandango, YouTube and Google Play. You may also be able to stream “Fantastic Planet” on the Criterion Collection app, as it has been released by Criterion on both Blu-ray and DVD, and you may find earlier releases on both LaserDisc and VHS.About Cult Films
Sometimes good, almost always interesting, and only somewhat definable (to hijack a phrase from a certain former Supreme Court Justice* when he was talking about a different genre of film, "I know a Cult Film when I see one!"), this very special genre of film can be known for its dedicated fanbases, high-camp kitsch, transgressive ideas, counterculture attitude, polarized reception, and sometimes for artfulness, but far more often for obscurity.While Cult Films typically defy mainstream criticism, they are rich candidates for open-minded entertainment and interpretation, viewed through a lens that emphasizes their unique perspectives regardless of their financial success or failure.
To be sure, there are many sub-groups of Cult Films including Midnight Movies, Z Movies, and overlooked arthouse cinema. Many cult films exist at the borderline between art and exploitation.
Some of Portland Movie Club Organizer Nick’s favorites are The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Big Lebowski, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Birdemic and Office Space. There's a great writeup of the genre on Wikipedia.
Tips
- Haven't seen the movie in a while? You're in for a treat - try to watch the movie sometime before we meet. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you can
- I usually take a few notes while I watch to keep from forgetting the most interesting stuff. If you think of some interesting discussion topics while you watch, bring 'em with you!
Previous films viewed by “Cult Film” Meet-up members for group discussion have included a double feature of “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” with “The Man With Two Brains,” Takashi Miike's "Audition," “Daisies,” “Jennifer’s Body,” “The Human Tornado,” David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” and "The Brood," David Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” “Switchblade Sisters,” “The Love Witch,” Ed Wood's “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” and Brian DePalma’s “Phantom of The Paradise.”
Coming soon, but not necessarily in this order: Jane Fonda in space, Godard, Jess Franco, Doris Wishman, Italian films that are not giallo, more Cronenberg & Lynch, Hong Kong cinema and many surprises!
*Former SC Justice Potter Stewart is who I am referring to, if you were wondering. - Giallo Spotlight: "The House That Screamed"Dot's Cafe, Portland, OR
Join Movie Club Member Kyle C. for the next movie in his giallo series.
Here's how it works:- We will be meeting at Dot's Cafe, 2521 SE Clinton St., on Sunday, June 1 from 4-6pm
- Grab some food and drinks and we'll spend some time discussing this masterpiece. (NOTE: Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet, streaming links below).
Movie Spotlight:
The House That Screamed (1969), also known as La residencia, is a Spanish horror film directed by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador. Set in a strict boarding school for young women in 19th-century France, the story follows Señora Fourneau, the authoritarian headmistress who enforces rigid discipline among her students.
As new student Teresa arrives, she quickly senses that something is off—students mysteriously disappear, tensions rise, and the oppressive atmosphere becomes suffocating. Meanwhile, Luis, the headmistress’s son, is kept isolated from the girls, with his mother insisting that none of them are good enough for him.
The film is a slow-burning Gothic thriller, blending psychological horror with eerie suspense. Its haunting atmosphere, unsettling themes, and methodical pacing make it a precursor to later slasher films, influencing works like Suspiria and Pieces.
Tips:
- Haven't seen the movie in a while? You're in for a treat - try to watch the movie sometime before we meet (Streaming Options). Just like a book club we don't watch the movie at our meetup, just discuss it. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you can.
- I usually take a few notes while I watch to keep from forgetting the most interesting stuff. If you think of some interesting discussion topics while you watch, bring 'em with you!
- We'll decide on our next giallo movie to watch! Come with suggestions.
Are you not that familiar with the giallo genre? Read the Wikipedia entry to learn more. Is there a giallo you'd like to propose the group watch and discuss next? Here's a comprehensive list of Italian giallos along with films influenced by the genre. Maybe there's a film you've heard about but needed an excuse to see--come join us for discussion & make a suggestion!
Coming to the group for the first time, but interested in movies previously watched & discussed? Here's a list of all previous giallos watched and discussed by the group (with group rating)!
On Discord? Join the Portland Movie Club!
