Tag: from the archive

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From the Archive: The Rookie

Dan Seeger

When we were doing the radio program The Reel Thing, we got press kits from a few studios and promotion house, but much of the time we had few supplemental resources (of course, there was also no internet to spill every piece of data we might need). So I distinctly remember sitting through the credits for The Rookie with an intense focus, trying to make certain I had Pepe Serna’s name correct for the review. I knew I’d made the right choice in singling the actor out when me colleague on the other side of the broadcast board laughed and nodded … Continue reading From the Archive: The Rookie

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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

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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

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From the Archive: Hudson Hawk

Dan Seeger

  When I wrote about critics attacking a film with malevolent glee earlier this week, I was reminded of an earlier instance when I employed the same term in a review of a similarly reviled film. If it seems odd that I so clearly recall two words from a review I penned nearly twenty-five years ago, the explanation is simple: I mispronounced the word “malevolent” on the air, spitting out something that sounded like “male-vahl-ent.” I had read the word many times over, but I don’t believe I’d ever heard it spoken. Luckily, my radio show partner corrected me in … Continue reading From the Archive: Hudson Hawk

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From the Archive: Born Yesterday

Dan Seeger

Melanie Griffith was one of the more trying performers during my time as a film reviewer in college. It’s not simply that she wasn’t a very strong actress. She also had the clout, coming off a flare to stardom and an Oscar nomination for 1988’s Working Girl, to get cast in a healthy number of movies that were high-profile enough to land in our little Midwestern town. So unlike some others whose work I found wanting, I couldn’t avoid Griffith through the early nineties. The weariness shows up towards the end of review when I list other recent affronts to … Continue reading From the Archive: Born Yesterday

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From the Archive: Desperate Hours

Dan Seeger

When I wrote this, I don’t think I realized the film was a remake (and also had earlier iterations as both a novel and a stage play). So, that’s embarrassing, especially when I make the observation that the makings for a good film are present, betraying no evident knowledge that maybe one already existed. I still haven’t seen the 1955 version, directed by William Wyler and starring Humphrey Bogart, so I can’t even weigh in on that now. This was the penultimate feature in the career of Michael Cimino, Academy Award winner for The Deer Hunter and Hollywood cautionary tale … Continue reading From the Archive: Desperate Hours

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From the Archive: The Rocketeer

Dan Seeger

With the Oscar nominations due to be announced this week, I thought about trying to find some old Academy Award speculation from the days of the radio show, but it was pretty rare that there was a script involved in discussion on that topic. The Academy Awards — the ceremony, the history, the politics of nominations — was our shared wheelhouse. We could fill a fairly polished-sounding hour with little more than a couple notes of reference. Instead, I’ll use the recent television premiere of Agent Carter as inspiration for this week’s retrospective selection. I like the show thus far (and … Continue reading From the Archive: The Rocketeer

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From the Archive: Beowulf

Dan Seeger

This is another review raided from my former online home. If nothing else, it’s a snapshot of a time when considering the relative value of a 3D viewing was still required when evaluating a film that has that option. By now, except in the rare occasions when it’s an enormous part of the intended experience, the technology is rarely brought up in reviews. I’ll also note that, following my habit of using song lyrics as the headlines to film reviews, this piece was original presented under the banner “The rain was there to wash away my tears, I wanted to … Continue reading From the Archive: Beowulf