Right at Your Door
Film review by: Witney Seibold
With a title like “Right at Your Door,” and the copious use of words like “dirty bomb” and “chemical attack,” this new thriller from writer/director Chris Gorak (art director for “Fight Club” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”) aims to be edgy and topical; a film that wants to trade on the national paranoia about Terrorists on Our Doorstep. Read more »
Blood Diamond
Film review by: Witney Seibold
Director Edward Zwick, that master of the dreamily-shot, brassy period piece (He’s made “Glory,” and “Legends of the Fall,”), has made some pretty obviously political thudders in his day (He’s also made “Courage Under Fire,” “The Last Samurai,” and the terrorist thriller “The Siege”). Read more »
The Oh in Ohio
Film review by: Witney Seibold
It starts out kind of wry and kind of biting and kind of dirty, and slowly and adeptly turns its way into an enjoyable and modestly sweet romantic comedy. Read more »
You, Me, and Dupree
Film review by: Witney Seibold
You, Me, and Dupree is made well enough, and the cast is talented enough, and I guess the idea behind it is good enough, but there’s something just plain bland about the film. Read more »
Miami Vice
Film review by: Witney Seibold
It may be yet another unnecessary adaptation of a lame 1980s television program, but director Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral), finally managed to do this kind of movie right. Read more »
Scoop
Film review by: Witney Seibold
Woody Allen is one of the most prolific filmmakers working today; at age 70, the man has made 40 films, eight of them in the last five years. Read more »
The Queen
A film review by Witney Seibold
Why did Princess Diana’s death in 1997 affect us so? Read more »
The Last King of Scotland
Film review by: Witney Seibold
As Ugandan dictator/maniac Idi Amin, Forrest Whitaker gives one of the best performances of the year, as well as of his own varied career. Read more »
Subtitle Poetry
A found poem by: Witney Seibold’s DVD player
My DVD player has a glitch. I think it may be trying to tell me something.
For Your Consideration
Film review by: Witney Seibold
Christopher Guest had a mild indie hit in 1996 with his local theater mockumentary “Waiting for Guffman.” It was one of the funniest films I had seen in a while, and remains a classic in my eyes. He has since returned to the mockumentary well two more times making “Best in Show” (about dog show competitors, and “A Mighty Wind,” about a public TV folk concert. A good way to go for a member of Spiňal Tap.
When Witney Seibold was about 10 years old, he got in trouble for spitting on a new car. Witney wants his teachers and classmates to know that he was not a mean-spirited or unhappy child, and only did this to make his fellow classmates laugh. His classmates were, you see all merely pretending to spit on the line of new cars they were walking by, and Witney thought he could do them one better by actually doing it.
When thinking back on it, he realizes that some poor schmo working at the new car lot would have had to clean his spit off of the car. He apologizes to his classmates (who probably were more shocked than amused), his teacher (who was certainly not at all amused), and especially the unseen car lot attendant, armed with the Windex and paper towels, who was probably cursing his job as he had to lean over and touch a stranger’s saliva. I’m very sorry.
