Category: Film

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Now Playing: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Dan Seeger

It will be very strange when the Guardians of the Galaxy show up, as promised, in the upcoming third Avengers film, tagged Infinity War. I offer that observation as acknowledgment of the uniqueness of writer-director James Gunn’s contribution to the swelling Marvel Cinematic Universe. The revolution of the Marvel movie model is the transference of the interconnectedness of comic book sagas to the big screen, and the studio has been hitting that hard in recent efforts. Each separate movie has its own strengths and weaknesses, but a significant part of what defines them is their placement in the bigger pictures. Individual … Continue reading Now Playing: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

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From the Archive: Mirrormask

Dan Seeger

The review, first posted in my former online home, is absolutely jam-packed with the affectations that I eagerly adopted when I started seriously writing for a digital platform, including an overturned Lego crate worth of hyperlinks and a correctly formatted trademark symbol. Almost every original link was now dead, but I did my best to rebuild them accordingly. I’m especially pleased to note that I’m fairly certain that I corrected determined the hideous comic book covers I opted for to accompany “other material sharing space.” It is perhaps easy to intuit that the reasoning behind plucking this particular review from … Continue reading From the Archive: Mirrormask

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One for Friday: Sister Carol, “Wild Thing”

Dan Seeger

I’ve written about Jonathan Demme quite a bit this week, but I’ve only briefly touched on one the most celebrated elements of his work: his use of music in his movies. While tagging him a strong director when it comes to music might seem obvious considering his oversight of Stop Making Sense, a film unlikely to ever be topped in the pantheon of concert films, Demme’s ability to integrate pop songs artfully into his fiction efforts was dazzling. Martin Scorsese arguably stood as Demme’s only real competition in this often underappreciated facet of filmmaking, but the latter’s far more esoteric … Continue reading One for Friday: Sister Carol, “Wild Thing”

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The Art of the Sell: “Stop Making Sense” trailer

Dan Seeger

These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art.  Jonathan Demme said he preferred to call Stop Making Sense a performance film rather than a concert film. The reasoning behind that is clear. He captured Talking Heads live on stage in a manner markedly different from most predecessor films in the genre. The film is dynamic and enthralling, intensely focused on the swerving rhythms of a band in sync with each other and the added visual trappings they brought to their show. Demme wasn’t trying to … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Stop Making Sense” trailer

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Jonathan Demme, 1944 – 2017

Dan Seeger

Among great film directors, there were none whose artistry was more humane than Jonathan Demme. Other filmmakers revel in the form, spinning visual wonders and engaging in dynamic editing in restless attempts to embed their personality on the screen. Demme wasn’t adverse to such creativity. His films were often striking in their novel use of technique, finessing the grammar of cinema until the shape of his storytelling was a another story itself, or at least another layer. But Demme didn’t employ such maneuvering to call attention to his personal creativity. Those choices weren’t about him. Instead, they were about the … Continue reading Jonathan Demme, 1944 – 2017

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From the Archive: Untamed Heart

Dan Seeger

Untamed Heart came out in theaters in mid-February of 1993, so roughly six weeks before Marisa Tomei officially became an Oscar-winning actress. This was just another minor release hoping to scratch up a few more dollars as forced date movie in conjunction with a Hallmark holiday. Clearly I committed to the Valentine’s Day angle in writing this review, including an incredibly labored metaphor at the close. The movie Untamed Heart seems perfectly suited for a release around Valentine’s Day. It stars two appealing, attractive young performers going through the rigors of romance in style designed to jerk tears. There’s a … Continue reading From the Archive: Untamed Heart

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Feist, Sandel, Singer, Stoller, West

Dan Seeger

In the Valley of Violence (Ti West, 2016). As an enthusiastic fan of Ti West’s early excursions into affectionately knowing spins on the horror genre, I had high hopes for his stab at the Western, the most venerable of Hollywood genres. In the Valley of Violence is serviceable, but it lacks the spark of vitality required to give it a true reason for being. Part of the problem is the hoariness of the premise, which West never manages to transcend with either reinvention of panache. A wandering, wounded soul (Ethan Hawke) seeks revenge in a dusty town presided over by a Marshal … Continue reading Feist, Sandel, Singer, Stoller, West

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The Unwatchables: Now You See Me 2

Dan Seeger

Like most erudite (or, if you prefer, snobbish) modern film fans, I’m always ready to spring forth to decry the practice of making all decisions about which projects see the light according to a strained equation about the likelihood of spinning the material into a myriad of interconnection ancillary series. There can’t just be new Star Wars films. There must be a robust Star Wars universe, exploring side avenues and hidden histories that previously piqued the curiosity of precisely no one. But maybe — just maybe — if studios are going to commit to films largely on the basis of repeatability, … Continue reading The Unwatchables: Now You See Me 2

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Laughing Matters: The Max Fischer Players

Dan Seeger

Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. “She’s the smartest person in the world, general. I think we ought to listen to her.” I love this with an intensity I’ll never be able to truly convey. Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Laughing Matters” tag. Continue reading Laughing Matters: The Max Fischer Players