Edel, Farrow, Hitchcock, Jordan, Siegel

August 4, 2010 Dan Seeger

His Kind of Woman (John Farrow, 1951). How many other actors completely own a genre of film the way that Robert Mitchum does film noir? It’s like he was born into a delivery room filled with murky shadows and cigarette smoke, the doctor instructing the nurse to slap his bottom by growling, “Give him what’s comin’ to him, and make him sing when you do it.” He moves through this story of scheming and duplicity at a Mexican resort as if he’s walking through his own front door, tossing of aloof wisecracks with the ease of a guy who’s already … Continue reading Edel, Farrow, Hitchcock, Jordan, Siegel

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Control yourself, take only what you need from it

August 2, 2010April 30, 2019 Dan Seeger

The thing about out-of-the-ordinary family structures is that they’re typically not odd to the people existing within them. Certainly being outside the norm of society’s rigid (but loosening) definition of what makes a family can cause some dismay and feelings … Continue reading Control yourself, take only what you need from it

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Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Twenty-Two

July 31, 2010May 14, 2019 Dan Seeger

#22 — Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997) Paul Thomas Anderson builds Boogie Nights with the exuberant fervor of someone who may never again be given access to a movie camera. From the extended tracking shot that opens the film–a … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Twenty-Two

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Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Three

July 24, 2010May 23, 2019 Dan Seeger

#23 — When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996) In 1974, Leon Gast went to Zaire to make a concert film. Heavyweight champion George Foreman was scheduled to defend his belt in a bout billed excitedly as “The Rumble in … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Three

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I’ve been licked, washed up for years and I merely survive because of my pride

July 22, 2010April 30, 2019 Dan Seeger

There’s no shortage of material out there designed to pry into the personal lives of famous figures. There’s even a whole battalion of individuals who are famous for no other reason than their willingness, even needy enthusiasm, to have cameras … Continue reading I’ve been licked, washed up for years and I merely survive because of my pride

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Anderson, Charles, Krasinski, Miller, Moeller

July 21, 2010 Dan Seeger

Break of Hearts (Philip Moeller, 1935). Katherine Hepburn was a mere twenty-eight when this thin romance was released, just a few films into her storied career. She already had an Oscar and at least one solid hit to her credit, but doubters were plentiful. This was one of the string of flops that famously got her labeled “box office poison.” If nothing else, the film is evidence that Hollywood didn’t really know what to do with her yet, shoving the camera into her face to capture a dewy glisten that may have been the standard of the day for leading … Continue reading Anderson, Charles, Krasinski, Miller, Moeller

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I had too much to dream last night

July 20, 2010August 3, 2017 Dan Seeger

The word “inception” actually means the beginning of something, that start of a journey, the first part of a major undertaking. In Christopher Nolan’s new film, Inception, the word has an additional definition in its role as a bit of … Continue reading I had too much to dream last night

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Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Four

July 17, 2010August 16, 2022 Dan Seeger

#24 — Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton, 1996) Before he was a tabloid fixture as Angelina Jolie’s second husband, before he was the go-to actor for mildly befuddled raunchy comedy heroes, before he was just another movieland refugee pursuing a … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Four

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To them ghosts in the train yard, all them ghosts in my drink

July 15, 2010April 30, 2019 Dan Seeger

The more fantastical a movie is, the more likely it will be heaped with praise for the vivid realization of its setting. Whether it’s Peter Jackson’s J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations, the Wachowski brothers’ plunge through payphone lines to reach the Matrix, … Continue reading To them ghosts in the train yard, all them ghosts in my drink

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Claudel, Hou, Towne, Truffaut, Truffaut

July 14, 2010July 14, 2010 Dan Seeger

The Flight of the Red Balloon (Hsiao-hsien Hou, 2007). Taking its inspiration from the acclaimed 1956 short film by Albert Lamorisse, Hou’s feature is ravishing in its sedate patience. It captures the little struggles in a normal life–the squabbles with a tenant neighbor, the jockeying with family members over needs and expectations, the juggling of responsibilities that comes with being a single parent–with a watchful, concerned eye. He structures scenes so that they play out without an edit. The camera slowly tilts or pans, taking it all in like a languid, quizzical animal. Occasionally, a strangely resolute and ubiquitous red … Continue reading Claudel, Hou, Towne, Truffaut, Truffaut

Coffee for Two

Category: Film

Edel, Farrow, Hitchcock, Jordan, Siegel

Control yourself, take only what you need from it

Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Twenty-Two

Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Three

I’ve been licked, washed up for years and I merely survive because of my pride

Anderson, Charles, Krasinski, Miller, Moeller

I had too much to dream last night

Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Four

To them ghosts in the train yard, all them ghosts in my drink

Claudel, Hou, Towne, Truffaut, Truffaut