Author: Dan Seeger

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Top Ten Movies of 2009 — Number Two

Dan Seeger

Jason Reitman’s third feature as a writer-director is perfectly positioned to tap into the dismal zeitgeist of economic hardship and jobs that are vanishing as fast as double scotches in a hotel bar. George Clooney doesn’t just play a businessman who spends most of his life jetting from city to city, entirely untethered from a settled life. He’s a hired hit man, taking up temporary residence in the conference rooms of failing firms to tell a morose parade of professionals that they are are loosing their livelihoods. It’s a bleakly comic reflection of the most downbeat pages of today’s newspaper. … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2009 — Number Two

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Gilbert, Psihoyos, Tarantino, Tyrnauer, West

Dan Seeger

Valentino: The Last Emperor (Matt Tyrnauer, 2009). This documentary tags along with the legendary designer as he prepares for a gala anniversary celebration, one that is rumored, correctly, as a precursor to retirement. Tyrnauer is given broad access to Valentino as he works, and the camera catches interactions that hint at his brilliance and volatility. The glimpse of the fashion industry at its most grand comes across as either rapturously glamorous or decadently wasteful, depending on the point of view that you tote into the viewing with you. I suppose predispositions will equally shape reactions to the understanding portrayal of … Continue reading Gilbert, Psihoyos, Tarantino, Tyrnauer, West

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One for Friday: Richard Barone, “Something Happens”

Dan Seeger

When I started with this One for Friday exercise just over a year ago, I decided that I was going to try to stick with songs that were out of print and, to the best of my determination, entirely unavailable for purchase. There have been some cheats and missteps regarding that principle over these many weeks, but for the most part I’ve stuck with it. As part of the process of determining what to feature next, I have a small mental list of albums that I check with some regularity thinking that they must have slipped from the lists of … Continue reading One for Friday: Richard Barone, “Something Happens”