Category: Film

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Auer, Bateman, Halperin, Nelson, Newley

Dan Seeger

Bad Words (Jason Bateman, 2014). The feature directorial debut of Bateman has a nifty story hook and an admirable nasty streak. It’s especially nice to see Bateman fully tap the vein of dark consternation that pulses through his best, smartest comedic work. Unfortunately, the screenplay by Andrew Dodge also relies on a adult-child friendship that feels patently phony and is also fairly hackneyed for this sort of dark comedy. That there are a few slightly more clever notes played between Bateman and Rohan Chand (playing a more appropriately-aged rival in a national spelling bee that Bateman’s disgruntled adult has pushed … Continue reading Auer, Bateman, Halperin, Nelson, Newley

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#OscarsSoWhat

Dan Seeger

At least the Oscars still have a capacity to surprise. Thankfully, those surprises sometimes mean they’re moving in the right direction, that there’s a prevailing need to try and get it right, to make certain that the sheen remains on the most prestigious award in film. Alicia Vikander has the kind of breakout year in which she can make the claim of providing exemplary support in a number of films, so she wins the award the corresponds with that achievement, the title etched on the base of the trophy far less significant than the four digits that place it in … Continue reading #OscarsSoWhat

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From the Archive: Capote

Dan Seeger

The Academy Awards ceremony that took place ten years ago was a mess of mixed emotions. It anointed Crash as Best Picture, which many consider to be one of the worst choices for the Academy’s top prize in recent decades (I maintain the real worst choice in my lifetime is A Beautiful Mind, though The Revenant seems primed to become my new choice for that dubious category) and strained to honor a couple movie stars in the acting categories by awarding George Clooney and Reese Witherspoon Oscars for mediocre work. But then, Ange Lee won his first directing Oscar, entirely … Continue reading From the Archive: Capote

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Twenty Performances, or Infinite Best

Dan Seeger

Following tradition, the epilogue to the countdown of the top films of the year brings me to a consideration of the most exemplary acting performances of the same span of time. If I’d been in possession of one of Actors Branch Academy Awards nominating ballots, knowing then what I know now, this is how I would have filled it out. BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE 1. Jason Segel, The End of the Tour 2. Michael B. Jordan, Creed 3. Matt Damon, The Martian 4. Steve Carell, The Big Short 5. Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight Besides Damon, I diverge pretty strongly … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or Infinite Best

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Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number One

Dan Seeger

As I twirled words around in my head, seeking the right opening sentence to efficiently establish why I think The End of the Tour is the best film of 2015, I landed on an introductory declaration that felt exactly on target. It also seemed familiar, though. To be safe, I revisited my original review of James Ponsoldt’s understated triumph only to discover that I was about to inadvertently repeat myself, right down to the use of the adverb “devilishly.” I prefer to think that this means there’s an admirable consistency to my connection to the film, rather than the far less agreeable … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number One

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Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Two

Dan Seeger

I take great pleasure in the notion that George Miller finds takes the opportunities of caution presented to him by the entertainment industry and transforms them into wildly audacious cinematic creations. He did it nearly two decades ago when he parlayed his screenwriting and producing credits on the gentle hit Babe into more creative control, including the directing role, on its more ambitious, decidedly darker, and markedly beautiful sequel (which, of course, didn’t fare nearly as well at the box office). Now, with the studios’ seemingly unstoppable hunger for any project that carries even a hint of brand recognition and the possibility … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Two

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Abrams, Benson and Moorhead, Fosse, Jones, Roach

Dan Seeger

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015). As a piece of nostalgic reclamation, the latest “Episode” of the Star Wars saga does its job so efficiently that its hard to get overly enthused about it as cinema. In a strangely fitting turnabout, the film series that fundamentally changed the business of U.S. moviemaking has turned into a follower, adhering closely to the mighty Marvel model. There’s little indication that The Force Awakens is laying the groundwork for vaster, interconnected stories, but it’s all introduction and reassurance, a tapping of the baton before commanding the symphony to life. The sense of … Continue reading Abrams, Benson and Moorhead, Fosse, Jones, Roach

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Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Three

Dan Seeger

Based on Colm Tóibín’s novel of the same name, Brooklyn demonstrates the reservoirs of emotional power that can be tapped by telling a quietly compelling story unadorned by pushy narrative tricks, by letting the particulars of wisely conceived drama stand as the prevailing voice of the film. Set in the nineteen-fifties, it tells the story of a young immigrant named Eilis (Saoirse Ronan). She settles into an existence of minor yet impactful unease after journeying from Ireland to find her place in the title borough. The relatively modest scale of her challenges serves to settle the film into an endearingly realistic space … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Three

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Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Four

Dan Seeger

Befitting his status as a filmmaker approaching his octogenarian years, Ridley Scott is something of a throwback. Until The Martian, I didn’t realize just how far in Hollywood’s history his creative instincts lie. Since he made his feature directorial debut in the latter half of the second, Scott was easy to plop into the categories of the other auteurs from around that era, deeply informed by the greater artistic latitude afforded to those behind the camera. That he truly made his name with a pair of films that combined harder science fiction elements with more audience-friendly directness (as if George … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Four