About us
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
8
Cult & Psychotronic Films Meet-Up: "Turkish Star Wars" (1982)
BREAKSIDE BREWERY - BEAVERTON, 12680 SW Farmington Road,, Beaverton, OR, USPortland Movie Club’s Cult & Psychotronic Films Meet-Up: "TURKISH STAR WARS" (1982)
Let's talk about movies! Join Movie Club Member and Special Guest Host Oktay, alongside Co-Hosts David J and Victoria G. for what will be the first ever PMC Meet-Up for an infamous Turkish knock-off of an even more famous Hollywood blockbuster.
We will, of course, be meeting to have an entertaining and yet provocative discussion about “Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam.” While the title more directly translates as “The Man Who Saved the World,” it is better known outside of Turkey as one of the country’s most memorable rip-offs, fearlessly borrowing story elements in addition to actual footage from George Lucas’ "Star Wars."Here's how the Portland Movie Club Meet-Ups work
- Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet. Try watching it even if you've already seen it before. You don't have to watch it to join us, but it'll be more fun that way. Also, you may want to take notes to help remember the most interesting parts and bring 'em along if you can!
- We’ll meet at Breakside Brewery in Beaverton at 2pm on the scheduled date. We typically have signs or relevant books or memorabilia at our table(s), and sometimes we even wear colorful antennae if the movie we are celebrating demands it (e.g. “Real Genius” or “Robot Monster”).
- We'll begin by going around and introducing ourselves. Typically, we will provide a quick summary of the film's development, suggest potential topics, then we'll dive into the group discussion from there.
- Please note that this is a different venue from many of our scheduled Sunday Meet-Up events. This location in Beaverton has a full-service bar and a quality assortment of food carts in the outdoor patio area. So, grab some food and drinks and spend some enjoyable time socializing and discussing these fondly recalled masterpieces with us.
A little more about “Turkish Star Wars”
Written by and starring Cineyet Arkin, his story follows a pair of astronauts who land on a planet ruled by a Ming-like villain (shades of “Flash Gordon,” too). The director, Cetin Inanc has claimed that the film, in fact, captures the struggles that shopkeepers from the business district of Istanbul had to endure while being terrorized by the Turkish mafia. Okay, then. Sure, it’s a serious socio-political allegory. Pete Tombs, writing in his foundational review of international genre films, “Mondo Macabro,” instead opined that it resembled nothing more than an episode of classic-era Doctor Who, but on a much, much, much reduced budget. If you can imagine that.Viewing Options
Sadly, there are no perfect options for viewing this rarity, as Turkey is notorious for not preserving its cinematic history. Any number of titles exist only because somebody (and maybe not the legitimate copyright owner) made sub-par transfers to VHS tape from scratchy, well-worn prints before they turned to dust. Oktay does recommend a particular option, which appears better than the other ones. You'll find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SASZaT7lI4Trigger Notes:
We tend to watch edgier stuff in the Cult Films Meet-Up than in other Meet-Up Events. Normally we would direct you to the “Does the Dog Die” website, but in this instance the movie is too obscure for even this site.About Cult and Psychotronic Films
Cult and Psychotronic films defy mainstream criticism and often exist at the borderline between art and exploitation. They can be any genre, and typically they’ve been dismissed by film critics and cineastes, mostly because they don’t follow the same rules that Made-In-Hollywood flicks adhere to. They speak in a different cinematic language, often unique to their makers, or even sometimes to just a single especially strange film. Some consider these titles to be Oppositional Cinema, always inhabiting a space outside of mainstream trends and popularity.It needs to be mentioned that “Psychotronic” was invented by Michael Weldon, who published a magazine under that name (and later a pair of groundbreaking books) out of his cramped NY City apartment. “Psychotronic” sweeps in any movie that may have at one time stretched the limits of what we call “Good Movies.” More often than not it is used to describe films in the SF and Horror genres. We are now sweeping this special term in with the pile of “Cult” films we love, to better define what we watch in this Meet-Up.
Previous titles viewed by our Cult Film Meet-up members for group discussion have included: Samurai Cop, Possession (1981), Born In Flames, Titane, Barbarella, Fantastic Planet, Eraserhead, Daisies (aka, Sedmikrásky), Jennifer’s Body, Another Day Another Man, The Human Tornado, The Love Witch, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Phantom of The Paradise, Takashi Miike's Audition, and David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Rabid.
Are you on Discord? Join the PMC Discord!
35 attendees
Political Films Meet-Up: No Other Land
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, USPolitical Films Meet-Up: No Other Land (2024)
Let’s talk about movies! Join movie club member Clay Vaughn for the next film in our Political Films series with the 2024 Academy Award winner for best documentary, No Other Land. A collective collaboration, the film has four credited directors, two Israelis and two Palestinians. The effective protagonists are two of the co-directors, Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra.
Here’s how The Portland Movie Club meet-ups work:
- Just like a book club, we watch the movie on our own time before we meet.
- We'll meet at Lucky Lab on SE Hawthorne at 4pm on the scheduled 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 to support our generous hosts and spend some time socializing and discussing this movie with us.
A Few Notes about the film:
The film contains unflinching footage of real, deadly violence. Viewer discretion is advised. Released just 5 months after the October 7th attacks put the world's attention on Gaza, the film's focus is settler and IDF violence in the West Bank, where the problems depicted have only worsened since the film's release.Viewing Options for the film:
The film is available to rent via YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and others.About Political Films:
This series started out focusing on the New Republic article "The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time" published in June 2023, but we've since expanded well beyond the list. Both the documentaries and narrative fiction films we discuss tend to include difficult imagery and subject matter, we suggest the website "Does the Dog Die?" for content warnings.Tips:
Once again, we do not watch the movie at the meet-up. All members watch the movie on their own time before we meet to discuss it. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll make more sense if you do. Feel free to bring along any notes, books, or articles you'd like to share with the group.At the end of the discussion we'll pass around a ballot and vote on a slate of options for the next discussion. We typically alternate between documentaries and fiction films. So if you come to a meet-up to discuss a documentary, you'll vote on a ballot of fiction films for next time, and vice versa.
Films previously discussed in the political group
The Portland Movie Club is on Discord!
Are you on Discord? Join the Portland Movie Club!21 attendees
Giallo spotlight: "Don't Look Now"
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, USJoin Movie Club Members Kyle C. & Oktay K. for the next movie in the giallo discussion group.
Here's how it works:- We will be meeting at Lucky Lab, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd., on Sunday, August 9th 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:
In Nicolas Roeg's 1973 film "Don't Look Now," John and Laura Baxter, grieving the recent death of their young daughter, travel to Venice where John has been hired to restore an old church. While there, Laura meets two elderly sisters — one of whom claims to be a psychic — who insists their daughter is reaching out from beyond the grave.
John dismisses the idea, but he begins experiencing strange, fragmented visions around the city: fleeting glimpses of a small figure in a red coat, unsettling coincidences, and a growing sense that Venice itself is watching him. As the couple navigates their grief, their marriage, and the city’s labyrinthine canals, the boundary between perception and reality starts to blur.
The film builds its tension through atmosphere, editing, and emotional disorientation rather than traditional scares. Venice becomes a maze of memory, loss, and misdirection — and the final act is one of the most famous in 1970s cinema.
Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now earns its place in a giallo discussion because it shares the genre’s core psychological and stylistic DNA: a grieving protagonist navigating a maze‑like European city, fragmented and color‑coded visual motifs, and a mounting sense of dread built through perception rather than plot mechanics. While not Italian, the film’s disorienting editing, emphasis on subjective reality, and use of Venice as an atmospheric trap directly influenced later giallo and neo‑giallo filmmakers. It’s a perfect bridge between classic giallo thrillers and the more art‑house, psychologically fractured works that followed.
Tips:
- Haven't seen the movie before? You're in for a treat - try to watch the movie sometime before we meet (Streaming Options include Amazon Prime and AppleTV.) 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 watch--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!24 attendees
The Camera Eye discussion: VERTIGO (1958)
Breakside Brewery, 12675 SW 1st Street Beaverton OR 97005, Beaverton, OR, USThe Camera Eye discussion: Vertigo (1958)
Join Movie Club member Jake Brown for the next film in his series highlighting great cinematography in motion pictures: 1958's whirlwind conspiracy thriller, Vertigo. Directed by legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, it was written by Alec Coppel & Samuel Taylor, from the 1954 novel, D'entre les morts, by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The film stars frequent Hitchcock player James Stewart and the scene-stealing Kim Novak, while incorporating the cinematography talents of favored Hitchcock collaborator Robert Burks, who captured every moment on the stunning large format VistaVision 35mm in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.About Vertigo
From Letterboxd: "A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend’s wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her."Viewing Options for Vertigo
Streaming options include for-purchase/rental outlets Apple TV and Prime Video, with physical copies available at Movie Madness, including the Blu-ray Masterpiece Edition.“The Camera Eye” Portland Movie Club Meet-Up Series
Whether 35mm film, 70mm, 16, Super 8, or digital, we want to celebrate the greatest shots in cinema history. This isn’t just about cameras and lenses, though. It’s framing, lighting, blocking, acting, makeup, costumes, location, set design, and so much more. Of course, cinematography is just a jumping-off point. What about editing, sound design, characters, and most important of all, the story? Let’s discuss!Here's how the Portland Movie Club Meet-Ups work
- Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet. (Try watching it even if you've already seen it before. You don't have to watch one to join us, but it'll be more fun that way. Also, try taking notes to help remember the most interesting parts, and bring 'em with you if you can!)
- We'll meet at Breakside Brewery in Beaverton at 2pm on the scheduled date. We'll have signs at our tables, but we'll also try to be obvious and identifiable.
- Grab some food, some drinks, and spend time socializing/discussing this movie with us! We'll begin by going around and introducing ourselves. Then, we'll kick off a fun 5-question trivia round on the film (with a custom prize for the winner). Finally, I'll give a quick summary of the film's development, and we'll dive into the group discussion from there.
Are you on Discord? Join the Portland Movie Club!
17 attendees
Past events
182
Group links
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