About at Funerals & Snakes

About

Dan Slevin is a New Zealand-based film writer. He has reviewed film for the Capital Times weekly newspaper since September 2006, seeing and reviewing every film commercially released in Wellington in that time (except, for some reason, Flicka). All those reviews (some ever-so brief) are archived here.

Prior to taking up the pen to critique cinema (and cinemas), Dan operated the Paramount, an ageing independent arthouse icon, in the centre of Wellington. He also has experience in arts and event management, ticketing, publicity and broadcasting.

Why Funerals & Snakes? In Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (Le Mépris; 1963), Fritz Lang said about CinemaScope: “It’s only good for funerals and snakes.” Well, this reviewer begs to differ.

While most of the entries here will be about cinema, Dan remains somewhat of a human being - and a Wellingtonian - and reserves the right to assert opinions on any subject he wants to; or direct attention to fine writing in other locations which he does in the Asides column to your right.

Asides

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The incomparable Elaine Stritch is doing Beckett’s Endgame in New York:

I always remember the story of the woman who understudied Lena Horne in some Broadway musical. And she was told she was going to go on that night because Lena had lost her voice. And the understudy said, “Oh, wonderful!” She said she just needed a certain kind of eye shadow she had to pick out herself. And she was going to go out to one of the drugstores on Eighth Avenue and she’d be right back. And she went to Philadelphia instead. Isn’t that a great story? And it’s true. I understand it perfectly. I love the fact that she went to Philadelphia. What a story. And that’s an example of Beckett’s unhappiness being the funniest thing in the world.

[via Gothamist]

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In New York there’s a Brazilian restaurant called Churrascaria Plataforma that specialises meat in all shapes and seizes:

At Churrascaria, diners signal their appetites with a dual-sided coaster resembling a poker chip: Green side up, more meat. Red side up, stop!

[From the New York Times]

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Gene Sobczak, executive director of Denver’s Arvada Centre on their 30% drop in attendance last year (follow-up quote from artistic director Rod Lansberry):

“In our line of work, everything we do loses money,” Sobczak said. “It’s the nature of professional theater and nonprofits.” Or, as Lansberry puts it: “If theaters made money, they would be on every corner, like Starbucks.”

So the more theater you do, Sobczak said, “The more money you lose. Part of our expense equation is we’re losing more money by doing more.”

[Denver Post online]

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Now Showing in Wellington

Music Within (2007)
2008-05-08 21:33
Not yet reviewed.
0.3
What Happens in Vegas... (2008)
2008-05-08 21:32
Not yet reviewed.
0.3
Made of Honor (2008) 2/5
2008-05-04 19:40

"... most annoying of all, director Paul Weiland gives himself the auteur credit of A Film By. In your dreams, pal."
0.3
How About You (2007) 2.5/5
2008-05-04 13:40

"I barely tolerated this but if you are over 70 you might get a kick out of it - the people behind me who talked all the way through certainly did."
0.3
Iron Man (2008) 3.5/5
2008-05-03 20:30

"... a highly entertaining action movie that is only let down by a not-quite-big-enough set-piece at the end."
0.3
Dan in Real Life (2007) 3.5/5
2008-04-29 18:00

"... really wins you over with smart writing and lovely, understated performances from a terrific ensemble."
0.3
Superhero Movie (2008) 2/5
2008-04-28 21:00

"Why bother parodying films that are essentially only parodies themselves?"
0.3
Vier Minuten (2006) 3/5
2008-04-28 18:30

"I wish I could have watched it with the subtitles turned off so that I could enjoy the music and art director Silke Buhr’s amazing sense of texture and architectural environment."
0.3
Sydney White (2007) 3/5
2008-04-28 16:00

"Strangely watchable."
0.3
The Painted Veil (2006) 3.5/5
2008-04-26 18:00

"... the images are ravishing, the performances are uniformly excellent and you could do a lot worse on a wet weekend."
0.3
Street Kings (2008) 2/5
2008-04-21 14:10

“... there’s nothing you won’t have seen before and you’ll pick the plot apart some reels before Keanu does.”
0.3
The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005) 3/5
2008-04-19 14:30

“He seems never to have done anything without someone beside him with a motion picture camera which adds considerable visual flavour to an interesting life story.”
0.3
Nim's Island (2008) 3/5
2008-04-19 12:30

“I liked Nim’s Island and I know one person who is likely to get the DVD for Christmas.”
0.3
I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life &... 3.5/5
2008-04-18 14:05

“... powerful and humanitarian ...”
0.3
St. Trinian's (2007) 1/5
2008-04-18 11:15

“... a certifiable laugh-free zone.”
0.3
U2 3D (2007) 4.5/5
2008-04-17 20:15

“Even if you are not a U2 fan this film deserves to be seen as an example of the potential of 3D to transform the medium.”
0.3
The War on Democracy (2007) 3.5/5
2008-04-14 20:00

“It’s not great cinema – that’s not Pilger’s bag – but it is essential viewing.”
0.3
Semi-Pro (2008) 2/5
2008-04-14 14:30

“... a cross between Anchorman and Talladega Nights featuring the strengths of neither and the rampant self-indulgence of both ...”
0.3
Horton Hears a Who! (2008) 4.5/5
2008-04-13 13:45

“Like the forgotten poor in Pilger’s Caracas barrio or the displaced in Darfur, the power to proclaim our existence in the face of ignorant or malevolent authority isn’t just a right, it’s an obligation, and I’m certain that the good Dr. Seuss wouldn’t have missed the connection.”
0.3
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) 3/5
2008-04-12 14:20

“I was growing increasingly frustrated with the plodding story-telling, and the over-reliance on the well-designed digi-creatures, before a great moment at the climax restored my faith that a proper screenwriter was on board after all.”
0.3
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 4.5/5
2008-04-07 20:15

“Gosling’s performance is a thing of wonder but it wouldn’t be half as successful without great work from Paul Schneider, Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson to play off. Kudos to them all. Not to be missed.”
0.3
I'm Not There. (2007) 4.5/5
2008-03-29 20:15

"I think the key to Dylan is that he is less complicated (and at the same time more complex) than the world would have you believe and he fully deserves a work of art as fine as this one in his name.
0.3
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) 3/5
2008-03-22 22:00

“Despite many pleasures, the film is sadly uninvolving for three reasons: the plot keeps the protagonists apart for nearly two hours thus generating very little heat; the mix of accents on offer (Spanish, Italian, Colombian, Brazilian) means it can be hard work following the dialogue and at least one of Señor Bardem’s moustaches makes him look like Groucho Marx.”
0.3
2 Days in Paris (2007) 4/5
2008-03-21 18:15

“Goldberg is particularly funny as the grumpy American struggling to appreciate French culture, French cuisine and (particularly) perplexing French attitudes to l’amour.”
0.3
Ensemble, c'est tout (2007) 4/5
2008-03-19 00:37

“Earlier this year I said that delightful French rom-com Hunting & Gathering was “too good for the Penthouse”. I wish to unreservedly withdraw that frivolous wisecrack and apologise to the Penthouse as, by definition, it can’t be too good for them if they’re actually playing it. It’s heaps better than anything French they played last year, though.”
0.3
There Will Be Blood (2007) 5/5
2008-02-16 13:50

“... a heavy-weight Western-style epic pouring oil on the myth of the American dream and then dropping a match on it.”
0.3
No Country for Old Men (2007) 5/5
2008-02-01 20:30

“All the performances are wonderful but the heart of the film is Tommy Lee Jones’ Sheriff Ed Bell. Always (aggravatingly) a couple of steps behind he is a good man ill-at-ease with the sheer, inexplicable, evil he is confronted with. A masterpiece.”
0.3
Juno (2007) 4.5/5
2008-01-30 19:14

“... an easy film to love and I can see people going back to it again and again.”
0.3
The Kite Runner (2007) 3/5
2007-12-27 14:50

“Affecting but manipulative ...”
0.3
Once (2006) 4/5
2007-12-09 17:30

“... a little gem, like a perfect short story, sweet and funny and then gone in a heartbeat.”
0.3
Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále... 3.5/5
2007-07-28 20:09

“Menzel’s direction is as assured and as witty as you might expect and the lessons among the laughs are happily subtle.”
0.3

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