Dinosaurs, Ghostfaces and Cocaine Bears, Oh My!

The Source takes on a triple feature

By Jared Rasic

origins and go somewhere truly scary and unpredictable.

planet where everything is trying to kill you. Imagine how intense “The Revenant” would have been with realistic and terrifying dinosaurs. That would make for one hell of a movie, but instead, “65” is content to coast on the very basic idea of shooting laser guns at T-Rexes while running around a generic look-ing forest. It’s a video game starring an Oscar nominee. We deserve better.

Cocaine Bear

all time. She carries that goofball tone over to “Cocaine Bear,” making it a riotously entertaining and violent comedy that still doesn’t elevate itself over what you imagine the movie is, based on the description… not that it needed to be anything other than a movie about a killer bear high on blow.

Next was “65,” a movie about a space Uber driver played by Adam Driver who crash lands on prehistoric Earth, 65 million years ago. Only one of his passengers survives, a young girl who doesn’t speak space English, so the two of them have to travel up a mountain to find an escape pod in order to flee Earth before the dinosaurs eat them. On paper, that sounds like an exciting movie and Adam Driver is an exceptional actor who should be able to sell something like that, but the film has no energy or momentum.

“65” should have been a grueling survival film about trying to make it off a

Finally, I saw “Cocaine Bear,” which somehow actually managed to be the best movie of the three. Everyone knows the premise at this point, which is just that a bear eats a bunch of cocaine and goes on a killing spree in a forest. Unlike “65,” the makers of “Cocaine Bear” understand its premise and are determined to have fun with it, logic and reason be damned. Not only is the bear high on cocaine, but is actively searching for more shneef because she really likes it.

So, we have a drug-addicted bear attacking a bunch of great character actors including Margo Martindale, Keri Russell, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Ray Liotta (in his final performance) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, while they spout ridiculous dialogue and look like they’re having the time of their lives.

I think the reason “Cocaine Bear” works so well is because director Elizabeth Banks started her career acting in “Wet Hot American Summer,” one of the funniest, most absurd comedies of

There are still a lot of movies I’m looking forward to in 2023, like Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” but those are still months away, so here’s hoping there are some genuine cinematic surprises this year, so the great ones aren’t so few and far between. I mean, how many times can we watch “Everything Everywhere All At Once” while we’re waiting for the next modern classic? Well, maybe just one more time.

“Scream VI”

Dir. Radio Silence

Grade: C

Now playing at Regal Old Mill and Odem Theater Pub

“65”

Dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

Grade: D+

Now playing at Regal Old Mill

“Cocaine Bear”

Dir. Elizabeth Banks

Grade: B

Now playing at Regal Old Mill

Growing up in Salem, Michael Boles wasn’t the stereotypical “Bend kid” who was on bikes, skis and kayaks before learning to walk. He got into snowboarding late in high school and wanted to explore his adventurous spirit in college, at Oregon State University-Cascades.

In 2016, his freshman year, Boles and his dorm hallmates created a bartering system. The thrifty outdoor-curious students passed snowboards, kayaks, climbing gear, shoes and bikes across the halls, trading gear to test out the various outdoor sports Bend has to offer. Boles had some snowboards he let people borrow, and in return, he got to try rock climbing, mountain biking and wave surfing at Bend’s Whitewater Park—sports he had always wanted to try.

“That's when I got to figure out which sports I was going to pick up as hobbies and be passionate about,” Boles said. “And I didn't really realize at the time, my freshman year of college, but that kind of set the groundwork for the vision of this app. It’s about giving people access to the outdoors and bringing the price to go outside a lot lower.”

Seekqua was born from a brainstorming session with Boles and his OSU-Cascades buddies, in spring 2020, on how to serve the tourist community around the world.

Boles graduated with a degree in business administration that spring, and after hours of planning, troubleshooting and creating, he founded and launched Seekqua in December 2022. The number of people using the app is growing every day.

Here’s how it works: Download the app, create an account, enter your location, explore gear to rent or post your gear to make money, offer affordable outdoor accessibility and add to the app’s options. The app categorizes gear by sport, including ski, surf, camp, mountain bike, snowboard, electric, kayak, paddle, golf and more.

Locals, tourists, part-timers and everyone in between can download Seekqua to rent and list outdoor gear. Have a kayak lying in your garage? List it and make some money. Visiting town and want to try out some snowshoe trails? Rent out a sweet pair from a local. Looking to enjoy the warm weather and get into mountain biking? Demo a listed bike through Seekqua.

Bend is the app’s home city, but the app reaches locations around the globe.