Tag: 2016 movies

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Now Playing: Doctor Strange

Dan Seeger

Doctor Strange is an especially odd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though not exactly for the reasons that would be expected from the perpetually trippy source material. Yes, the film sets itself apart by embracing the reality-bending possibilities inherent in the adapting the adventures of the master of the mystic arts to the big screen at a time of unparalleled CGI artistry, but that’s not precisely what I’m referring to. I don’t recall any other time when I’ve encountered a film that veers so dramatically in terms of its engagement. Doctor Strange is often dull, until the moments arrive, … Continue reading Now Playing: Doctor Strange

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Now Playing: Moonlight

Dan Seeger

In its particulars, the new film Moonlight comes perilously close to the sort of lurid fetishization of misery with the financially-downtrodden portions of the broader African-American community that makes films such as Precious into tedious slogs that simultaneously congratulate and exploit liberal empathy while compounding stereotypes. Within this story of a young black male who struggles with matter of identity as he grows into manhood there is a drug dealer with a heart of gold (Mahershala Ali), an addicted mother (Naomie Harris), a supposed intimate friend who delivers the ultimate betrayal (played by different actors at different ages, but by … Continue reading Now Playing: Moonlight

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Now Playing: 13th

Dan Seeger

Of late, watching Ava DuVernay emerge as a powerful, uncompromising voice has been one of the great pleasures of observing the filmmaking landscape. As recently as four years ago, DuVernay was largely unknown, though she certainly had some prominent champions. Selma justifiably changed all that, especially after DuVernay and her film were largely ignored when the Academy Award nominations were doled out. In a happy irony, exclusion dramatically increased her prominence, helping to put her in high demand and making her one of the creators sought out for her insights when various discussions roiled around the industry. DuVernay may not … Continue reading Now Playing: 13th

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Now Playing: The Birth of a Nation

Dan Seeger

There is boldness and defiance written into the DNA of Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation, beginning with the pointed abduction of the title from D.W. Griffith’s century-old epic that is equal parts groundbreaking and despicable. The new film is about Nat Turner (played by Parker), a Virginia slave who led an 1831 rebellion that was the bloodiest, most successful insurrection against the oppressing Southern gentry until the U.S. Civil War. Ultimately short-lived — it lasted approximately forty-eight hours — the rebellion left over fifty whites dead before it was over. A roughly equal number of enslaved blacks were arrested … Continue reading Now Playing: The Birth of a Nation

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Now Playing: Queen of Katwe

Dan Seeger

The story moves in familiar ways. With few exceptions, most moviegoers will be able to tick off the main narrative beats of Queen of Katwe in advance. The young, beset heroine Phiona Mutesi (newcomer Madina Nalwanga) finds some respite from the burdens of her hardscrabble life when she happens upon a group engaged in a competitive pursuit. Originally viewed by her new cohorts as a irritating neophyte, she quickly proves to be a prodigy, approaching the game she’s taken up with uncommon insight and sparkling inspiration. There will be highs. There will be lows. But surely there will be triumph in … Continue reading Now Playing: Queen of Katwe

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Branagh, Brooks, Leigh, McGrath, Trank

Dan Seeger

Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh, 2015). It’s grading on the most generous of curves, but as a crass attempt to develop a new revenue stream for a beloved Disney animated class, the live action Cinderella isn’t so bad. It’s certainly a damn sight better than the grotesque senses assault of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which basically established this type of cinematic tomb raiding. Similarly, Kenneth Branagh’s directing is more tightly controlled and snappily efficient than anything else he’s done in ages, the stricter corporate oversight perhaps taming his penchant for dragging indulgence. Most of the acting is merely perfunctory, save for … Continue reading Branagh, Brooks, Leigh, McGrath, Trank

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Bernstein with Hooker, Chaplin, Friedkin, Lowery, Taylor

Dan Seeger

Terminator: Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015). The reeling lesson of the just completed summer box office season is that the recycled repetition of brand-driven moviemaking may finally be sputtering its last. The ideal case study as to why arrived one year earlier. Arriving six years after the previous attempt at franchise revivification, Terminator: Genisys shows precisely how hollow the endeavor can be. The film trots out a procession of touchstones — familiar lines, restaged scenes, echoed character beats — without a hint of a central vision or an ounce of soul. Director Alan Taylor brings that same sluggish blandness that made … Continue reading Bernstein with Hooker, Chaplin, Friedkin, Lowery, Taylor

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Landis, McDonagh, Nichols, Parks, Trevorrow

Dan Seeger

The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980). I routinely think of this musical-action-comedy as the strongest film of the many that have been spun off from Saturday Night Live recurring characters, though we’re admittedly looking at a shallow, fetid pool. A recent fresh viewing suggests I might have been inflating in, undoubtedly on the basis of how freely I and my cohort of dopey high school friends quoted it, as if reciting a bar order of “three orange whips” at a purportedly clever moment would position us as comic geniuses. The movie is more slapdash than I remembered and spotted with … Continue reading Landis, McDonagh, Nichols, Parks, Trevorrow