Tag: new movie review

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Now Playing: Ghostbusters

Dan Seeger

The idiotic braying of misogynistic, righteous anger that has nipped aggressively and constantly at that ankles of the new reworking of Ghostbusters necessitates an opening statement of opinion on its merits simply as a concept. As a resolute admirer of Ivan Reitman’s original film, I think swapping the genders of the characters donning jumpsuits and bearing proton packs is an inspired hook. If we’re going to continue to grope and stumble through the misty morass of a popular culture that values brand recognition over originality, then at least this simple yet significant twist gives the new Ghostbusters a reason for … Continue reading Now Playing: Ghostbusters

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Now Playing: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Dan Seeger

10 Cloverfield Lane is the feature directorial debut of Dan Trachtenberg, and it credits John Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Whiplash filmmaker Damien Chazelle as crafters of the story and screenplay. And yet the name that looms over it is that of producer J.J. Abrams. This could be understandably explained by the studio’s enthusiasm to the film to the contributing creator who presided over the all-time top grossing film at the domestic box office, even if he achieved that particular inside-the-park home run after starting on third base. Instead, 10 Cloverfield Lane feels like it belongs to Abrams because it adheres to his … Continue reading Now Playing: 10 Cloverfield Lane

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Now Playing: Hail, Caesar!

Dan Seeger

Much as I’m a devoted disciple of the work of the Coen brothers, I can admit there are all sorts of forecastable reasons to expect that a new film they’ve made might not quite work. The susceptibility to recurring flaws isn’t an automatic outcome of having such clear cinematic voices, but Joel and Ethan Coen have committed themselves so thoroughly to a bleakly comic outlook tinged with ironic detachment, a quality often conveyed with self-consciously rambunctious visuals, that certain predictable troubles can easily reoccur. Most noticeably, their viewpoint can manifest as a lack of sincerity that sets a narrative slamming into a … Continue reading Now Playing: Hail, Caesar!

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Now Playing: The Revenant

Dan Seeger

It is probably my own fault, believing on the scantest of evidence that director Alejandro González Iñárritu had found a new avenue for his artistic expression. As problematic as Birdman might be as the reigning Academy Award winner for Best Picture, particularly over Richard Linklater’s remarkable Boyhood, it signaled a useful shift in the filmmaker’s blindingly self-satisfied march through ever-mounting misery. The film still trafficked in overt nihilism, but couching it in the wryest comedy gave it just enough of a tinge of enlightenment to make it devilishly engaging rather than redundantly soul-deadening. If The Revenant is an accurate example … Continue reading Now Playing: The Revenant