Tag: 2006 movies

FilmLeave a comment

Bier, Brooks, Galkin, Jarmusch, Karlson

Dan Seeger

Kevorkian (Matthew Galkin, 2010). This documentary is about the Michigan physician who gained notoriety and, in some quarters, infamy by advocating for the right of terminally ill patients to end their lives on their own terms and providing the mechanized means to do so in the most humane fashion possible. The relative lack of voices arguing against the very premise of Kevorkian’s actions makes it fairly clear where Galkin’s sympathies lie, but the film is no hagiography. He gives a full airing to the combativeness, unpleasantness and self-defeating egotism of the man, leaving a strong impression that Kevorkian may be … Continue reading Bier, Brooks, Galkin, Jarmusch, Karlson

Everything ElseLeave a comment

Argento, Daves, Joffe, Judge, Moses

Dan Seeger

Dark Passage (Delmar Daves, 1947). This passable film noir is probably most notable for a storytelling gimmick that keeps the face of star Humphrey Bogart obscured for a good chunk of the film’s running time. He’s plays a man who claims he was wrongfully accused of murdering his wife. He escapes from prison and hides out in San Francisco, eventually getting some backroom plastic surgery to change his appearance. That’s when he starts to look like Bogart, so the lead up puts the star in shadows, covers his face in bandages, and, for significant stretches, employs a subjective camera technique … Continue reading Argento, Daves, Joffe, Judge, Moses

FilmLeave a comment

Assayas, Berg, Cassavetes, Chressanthis, Derrickson

Dan Seeger

Deliver Us From Evil (Amy Berg, 2006). Amy Berg’s challenging, often painful documentary tracks the damage done by a Catholic priest who was quietly shuttled to different churches in the same general region of California whenever accusations of sexual assault emerged, an occurrence that was tragically commonplace from the late nineteen-seventies through to the early nineties. With a methodical, thoughtful approach, Berg illustrates the ways in which the priest exploited the automatic trust his parishioners gave him, and, more damningly, the craven indifference the church leadership had to confronting the problem in any meaningful way. Berg’s portrait of the priest, … Continue reading Assayas, Berg, Cassavetes, Chressanthis, Derrickson

Film4 Comments

Here comes the movies with dialogue so cool — why did they never tell me to speak like that in primary school?

Dan Seeger

Breaking and Entering (Anthony Minghella, 2006). Unexpectedly standing as the last feature film from Minghella, Breaking is evidence that we’ve lost someone from the dwindling population of directors interested in crafting films for grown-ups. With its tricky plot, its examination of delicate matters such as the growing chasm between economic classes and its unapologetic willingness to let the messiness of life seep into its framework, it’s hard to imagine that anyone ever expected this to become a substantial earner at the box office. Yet there it is, playing out with delicate insight and unfussy emotion. There’s a quiet ache to … Continue reading Here comes the movies with dialogue so cool — why did they never tell me to speak like that in primary school?

FilmLeave a comment

Outside it’s a bright night, there’s an opera at Lincoln Center, movie stars arrive by limousine

Dan Seeger

Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981). De Palma is a fascinating figure to me. He emerged with the film school generation of the seventies, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Scorsese, Coppola and Spielberg, indeed earning the most rapturous reviews bestowed upon any of them by the grand doyenne film critic of the era. To this day, there are a fleet of people who will proudly stand up and talk about every scrap of his output as if it were the needs to be studied with the unwavering attention usually reserved for the peak offerings of Welles or … Continue reading Outside it’s a bright night, there’s an opera at Lincoln Center, movie stars arrive by limousine

FilmLeave a comment

Smile like they do in movies

Dan Seeger

12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957). Lumet’s feature debut is a master class in shot construction. Contained almost entirely within a tight jury room as twelve men engage in deliberations over a murder case that grow increasingly heated, Lumet manages to make the visuals dynamic without resorting to trick shots. Instead, the film is filled with expertly staged and blocked sequences. The camera slyly follows a character as he moves about the room, catching the quiet reactions of everyone else, the facial expressions of those in deep consideration telling as full of a story as the words they share. Henry … Continue reading Smile like they do in movies