Tag: spectrum review

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

This week, I reviewed a new film that stars John Hawkes as artist Stan Herd. Hawkes is good as always; the movie has some issues. I also contributed an entry to this week’s List Inconsequential, which focused on the best film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works. The super-secret, DVD commentary track backstory on this one is that it was initially intended to be the best and the worst of Shakespeare adaptations, but everyone wanted to write about their favorites. I’ve actually had a hard time thinking of a film bad enough to be singled out for the that sort of … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

This week, I tried to satisfy my household’s penchant for films that traffic in monsters and gore by reviewing Stake Land. As is often the case when dealing with this sort of genre fare, it was ultimately disappointing, the promising, inventive elements ultimately unable to outweigh the portions of the film that were pure retread. I’m still longing for that amazing discovery moment that comes from watching something Ti West’s The House of the Devil. I also reviewed the new album from Vivian Girls, which was a little odd having already worked with the band as performers who played at … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

This week, I fulfilled my primary film criticism duties by writing about a nice feature debut by Zeina Durra. It’s one of those films that’s good enough to immediately stir up interest over what she does next. On the other end of the film quality scale, I wrote about a favorite bad movie that is the pure definition of “Guilty Pleasure” to me. Everyone seemed to especially enjoy the opening paragraph. I also had a music review go up. I faced the always tricky challenge of writing about something that didn’t particular move me one way or the other. So … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

There was a time when Uma Thurman was an actress that demanded attention. If she was in a film, it merited at least some amount of consideration. Maybe the finished project was actually not very good (or even downright awful) but she alone made it something that at least went into the “maybe” pile when sorting out film-going options. Sadly, I’ve noticed lately that, as I spin the digital dial considering movies to add to our overstuffed DVR, the opposite is now true. Uma’s inclusion in the cast list–especially at the top of it–is a signal to stay away. I … Continue reading Spectrum Check

FilmLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

This week, I looked to current events to help explain why I find Barbara Kopple’s masterful 1990 documentary American Dream so damn powerful. Sometimes I feel a little sad that Kopple has largely concentrated on comparatively lightweight fare for the bulk of her career, but realistically the amazing quality of first two films are enough to make her the deserving recipient of boundless admiration. I also reviewed a new documentary about exotic animals like lions and elephants kept as pets. It’s a measure of how crazy my week has been that I kind of miffed the review initially and had … Continue reading Spectrum Check

FilmLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

While I abandoned the Interweb all this week, I still had a couple fingerprints show up here and there. My one contribution that landed at Spectrum Culture was a review of 3 Backyards, the long-gestating follow-up to the fine Judy Berlin from writer-director Eric Mendelsohn. Sadly, I didn’t have many kind things to share, but it did provide further proof for the theory that Edie Falco is always worth watching. I was supposed to contribute to the the feature on the country’s best microbreweries, but in my rush to leave last week, I goofed up in submitting my piece. It … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

When last we did this check, I was a meager contributor to the Spectrum Culture site. This week was a far different matter, with my words cropping up all over the place. First, there was my latest contribution to our WTF feature. My previous outing, I opted for horror films, but this time I went for one that was scary in an entirely different way: Otto Preminger’s 1968 disaster Skidoo. If only I could have watched it anew before writing, but the Preminger estate works overtime to keep this one as far from the public eye as possible. Another bit … Continue reading Spectrum Check

MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

Not much from me at Spectrum Culture this week, but I’m pretty fond of the one thing I did write. Specifically I wrote a review of the music compilation Those Shocking Shaking Days – Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk: 1970 – 1978. I’m not sure about the quality of my work–it’s still way to early for me to give it an honest assessment–but it was fun to tap into my Mojo reader muscle memory and try to come up with something that could run in their reissue section. On the basis of all the writing I need to … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

I’ve had a little more modest output over at Spectrum Culture the past couple of weeks. I reviewed a Russian film called How I Ended This Summer about a burgeoning conflict between a couple of technicians at a remote weather station. Unfortunately, the frigid terrain they moved through looked a little too much like what was outside of our Carolina windows at the time. Luckily, that’s changed. Then this past week, I tapped into that distant part of me that stared down the copy of Dry that we received at the campus radio station nearly twenty years ago and tried … Continue reading Spectrum Check