Category: Film

FilmLeave a comment

From the Archive: Indecent Proposal

Dan Seeger

This was one of the last reviews I wrote for my college newspaper. Indecent Proposal was released in the spring of 1993, when I was weeks from graduation. For some reason, my partner-in-all-things had a scanned copy of this nestled deep into the hard drive of one of her computers and passed it along to me this week. I’ve seen probably no more than a minute of this film since watching it for the review. I’ll bet all the material that I describe as “provocative” seems tame as can be now.  The new movie “Indecent Proposal” has a terrific beginning. Woody Harrelson … Continue reading From the Archive: Indecent Proposal

FilmLeave a comment

Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Forty-Six

Dan Seeger

#46 — Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946) Jean Cocteau’s presentation of the classic French fairy tale La Belle et la Bête begins with a plea. In a written introduction, Cocteau invokes the intertwined sense of ready belief and excited wonderment with which children meet stories. He then calls upon all viewers, regardless of age, to engage his film with a similar openness to enchantment: “I ask of you a little of this childlike sympathy.” Cocteau then introduces the story in only manner suitable: “let me speak four truly magic words, childhood’s ‘Open Sesame’: Once upon a time….” This entry into the … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Forty-Six

FilmLeave a comment

Burton, Limon, Melfi, Segal, Tyldum

Dan Seeger

The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014). One of the great frustrations of the Oscar season was watching Selma and, to a lesser degree, American Sniper battered by criticism over supposedly terrible transgressions in their depiction of historical record while The Imitation Game, the “true life” story receiving the phoniest treatment among the Oscar contenders, sailed along unperturbed. The story of Alan Turing’s secret, indispensable contributions to the Allied effort in World War II is fully deserving of big-screen veneration, just as his own government’s cruel retribution against him a decade later because his “lifestyle” was considered illegal is the stuff of … Continue reading Burton, Limon, Melfi, Segal, Tyldum

FilmLeave a comment

Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Forty-Seven

Dan Seeger

#47 — The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1948) Even though he was consistently billed as James Stewart, we call him Jimmy. He is one of the classic movie actors who represents a nostalgic view of America as a land of benevolent geniality. In the collective imagination he is stalwart and kind, always prone to doing the right thing, even when terrible beset by circumstance. It’s part of the reason his overtly twisted turn in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is heaped with praise; critics are eager to reward Stewart for playing against type. While Stewart’s placement on a pinnacle of … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Forty-Seven

Film, TelevisionLeave a comment

The Sound of Oscars

Dan Seeger

Those with whom I watch the Academy Awards, both virtually and sharing the same couch, were a little worried about me last night. My praise for the remarkable achievement of Boyhood has evidently been effusive enough that there were nationwide predictions of dire thoughts overtaking me when it became clear the night was turning against Richard Linklater’s film. But I like Birdman, too. (There are some critics out there this morning undoubtedly feeling far angrier about this outcome.) If it had been a night about venerating the dreadful The Imitation Game, exactly the sort of prestige pablum the Academy might have … Continue reading The Sound of Oscars

FilmLeave a comment

From the Archive: Goodfellas

Dan Seeger

Since I invoked Goodfellas as a comparison point for excellence in writing about my clear choice for the best film of 2014, it seems appropriately to reach back to when I wrote about Martin Scorsese’s masterful film for the edition of 90FM’s The Reel Thing that looked back at the top cinematic efforts of 1990. This was my first chance to write about the film (my cohort on the show drew Goodfellas when we originally reviewed it), but it wouldn’t be the last. Though I keep trying, I suspect I’ll never fully do it justice. This is a mediocre piece of … Continue reading From the Archive: Goodfellas

FilmLeave a comment

Twenty Performances, or The Unexpected Virtue of Birdman

Dan Seeger

As per usual, the capper to the staggered countdown of the best films of the year is a listing of the names I would have scratched into an Academy Award nominating ballot for the acting branch had it somehow landed in my hands. Obviously I think these are all terrific performances, but I feel a little less fervor for the acting this year than is typical for me. Interestingly, the film represented most across these four categories didn’t make my top ten for the year (though it was a strong runner-up). With resolute honesty — about opposed to giving in … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or The Unexpected Virtue of Birdman

Film4 Comments

Top Ten Movies of 2014 — Number One

Dan Seeger

I’m concerned that placing Richard Linklater’s Boyhood atop my list doesn’t truly convey just how impressive I find it. After all, in a tally such as this there’s no differentiating a close call from a blowout, no column of “Games Back” to illuminate the level of distance between the victor and the runner-up. So let me share a little mental exercise I’ve been performing almost from the moment Boyhood‘s closing credits start to roll. I’ve been trying to figure out the last movie that topped one of my year-end lists that I think might outrank Boyhood if chronology got jumbled … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2014 — Number One

Film2 Comments

Top Ten Movies of 2014 — Number Two

Dan Seeger

There are a multitude of reasons for the outrage that greeted the omission of Selma from key categories in this year’s Academy Award nominations. While some of the most compelling involve taking issue with the willful and arguably cowardly disregarding of its current political pertinence, my personal fierce disappointment is inspired by a far simpler reason: Ava DuVernay’s depiction of a seminal moment in the Civil Rights movement is one of the great filmmaking achievements of the year, joined in my mind with only a couple other of releases as a pure triumph of directing. DuVernay delves into a portion … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2014 — Number Two