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| Marj |
 Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:43 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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I doubt I could list my favorite Woody Allen films. Only because I've seen them so many times. When on does this they begin to fade into the the background and take on an almost middle of the road quality.
Generally speaking I think I agree with Billy's list. However I am a sucker for Manhattan Murder Mystery. I admit it. My love of this film comes from my Nancy Drew days. I stand by my choice!
Syd--I love your list too. But Crimes and Misdemeanors is way way up in my top tier. I've also added Match Point to my middle tier. The only reason it's not higher is because the theme is sneakingly similar to Crimes. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:10 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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[quote="billyweeds"]Joe Vitus wrote:
On a related note, Ghost World starred two young ladies, one of whom (Thora Birch) was brilliant and the other (Scarlett Johansson) was okay. Go figure.
and she is still just okay - another way overpraised actress whose continued popularity has been mainly due to her physical "assets"
poor Thora Birch so great in both Ghost world and American Beauty |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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[quote="Trish"]billyweeds wrote: Joe Vitus wrote:
On a related note, Ghost World starred two young ladies, one of whom (Thora Birch) was brilliant and the other (Scarlett Johansson) was okay. Go figure.
and she is still just okay - another way overpraised actress whose continued popularity has been mainly due to her physical "assets"
poor Thora Birch so great in both Ghost world and American Beauty
Johansson is, to boot, sometimes (i.e., Match Point) not quite even okay. She's a very lucky young lady. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:09 pm |
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"...And she's very funny in My Super Ex-Girlfriend."
When I was reading your post I thought, "I'm going to mention My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and then you mentioned it. I got a great kick out of that movie and I don't know why it sunk like it did. When I saw it at the cheap theatre I was preparing for a decent enough time in the theatre and what a nice surprise I got. I loved it. Very funny. And like you wrote, Uma was excellent in that role. She should do more comic stuff. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:16 pm |
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| I'm glad someone mentioned Sweet and Lowdown. I thought it was an excellent outing and Penn's performance was memorable as was Samantha Morton. I loved Penn's last line. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:38 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Morton was great, but Penn abysmal. His weird exaggerated acting style was like something out of silent German cinema, and totally out of place in that movie. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:51 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Joe Vitus wrote: Morton was great, but Penn abysmal. His weird exaggerated acting style was like something out of silent German cinema, and totally out of place in that movie.
I agree, and I think Uma and he seemed to be engaged in a contest as to who could give the worse performance. Disliked the film quite intensely, but, yes, Morton was very good. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| So that's the one Uma was in! Yes, she was so weirdly wrong in every choices, so far from any representation of any human being. Strange, and yet sadly not fun. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:55 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Quote: I am a sucker for Manhattan Murder Mystery. I admit it. My love of this film comes from my Nancy Drew days. I stand by my choice!
Nancy Drew fan........I can relate! |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:52 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 9:25 am |
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| I found Manhattan Murder Mystery too frenetic. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:00 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| I enjoyed Manhattan Murder Mystery, too. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:17 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I liked Manhattan Murder Mystery very much indeed as long as it stuck with the two leading characters. Allen and Keaton still had that old chemistry, and it was a lot of fun to see in action. When the plot featuring Jerry Adler and Alan Alda (two actors I happen to love, btw) kicked in, I agree with Gary that it got too much for the traffic to bear. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:57 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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Bab'Aziz (2005) is the film that The Fall (2006) was trying to be. It's a slow walk through the desert, as a blind old man is led by his young granddaughter, and vice versa. A few characters tell stories, somewhat fantastic, of their experiences. The film tries to recreate the sensation of being a dervish -- wandering, begging, having no concern for possessions -- even an elliptical narrative to mimic the whirling. The desert scenes are beautiful, while the mosques, oases and ruined cities are all visually impressive.
This is the third part of Nacer Khemir's Desert Trilogy, made over a 20 year time frame. I hope I can find the other two films. Khemir comes from a small enough country -- Tunisia -- that intellectuals like him feel the duty to identify the soul of their people, and to rigorously examine their flaws, their history and the possible paths forward.
The full title of the film is Bab'Aziz - The Prince That Contemplated His Soul. Worth your eye time. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:23 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Everything that was lousy about the awful movie of Sex and the City goes right with the fizzy and cute (in the best sense of the word) He's Just Not That Into You, which makes for a delightful two-hour watch. I frankly didn't expect to like this very much. The critics had been ho-hum about it and it looked banal from a distance. And if I'd seen it in a theater I might not have been so tolerant of its easy plot points and somewhat twice-told characterizations of dating/married/living together couples in a city I'm suddenly aware I'm don't know. But as a DVD rental you could (and if you're me, invariably do) do infinitely worse. This is, in fact, like a top-notch two-hour episode of Sex and the City with slightly-to-much younger women.
Director Ken Kwapis borrows from Woody Allen, Darren Star, and Nora Ephron/Rob Reiner, but does it with a modicum of originality, and there are quite a few throwaway lines that made me chuckle, giggle, and snort, if never exactly double over or slap my knee.
Oh, sorry, yes, there is one speech by Drew Barrymore that caused me to bust a gut. It's about the various ways we communicate in today's electronic age. Barrymore longs for the days when all we had was one phone and one answering machine and you didn't have to check Facebook, email, Twitter, etc., etc., etc., to find out whether some guy had called you or not. The speech is brilliant and Barrymore delivers it superbly.
The cast mixes "stars" like Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, and the Jennifers Aniston and Connelly with non-household names (Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin--excellent in the sort-of leading role, Kevin Connolly, and Justin Long). They're all likeable, easy on the eyes, and professional to their fingertips. It's a surprisingly entertaining ride. |
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