Portland brewpub magnates the McMenamin brothers have a novel way to sell their craft ales--in movie pubs. Although it's often hard to concentrate on the screen, it's always a lot of fun to attend a show. The movies are usually recent releases that have played the main theaters but have not yet made it onto video. Theaters include the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. (tel. 503/236-9234), a restored classic Arabian Nights movie palace; the Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St. (tel. 503/223-4527), which was the first McMenamins theater pub; the Kennedy School Theater, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. (tel. 503/288-2192), in a former elementary school; and the Edgefield Theater, 2126 SW Halsey St., Troutdale (tel. 503/492-4686).

Located in the heart of downtown, the Fox Tower 10, SW Park Avenue and Taylor Street (tel. 503/225-5555, ext. 4604), is Portland's main theater for first-run foreign and independent films. Buy tickets early--most of the screening rooms here are small and often sell out.

Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. (tel. 503/223-4515), is a reliable art-film house screening more daring films than make it to the Fox Tower 10. This is also where you can catch animation festivals and the occasional revival of an obscure classic.

The Northwest Film Center, 1219 SW Park Ave. (tel. 503/221-1156; www.nwfilm.org), affiliated with the Portland Art Museum, is a repertory cinema that schedules an eclectic blend of classics, foreign films, daring avant-garde films, documentaries, visiting artist programs, and thematic series. There's no telling what might turn up on a given night. Some films are shown at the nearby Guild Theatre, SW Ninth Avenue and SW Taylor Street.