d2jsp
Log InRegister
d2jsp Forums > Off-Topic > Entertainment Room > Movies & TV Shows > Woody Allen
Prev1891011Next
Add Reply New Topic New Poll
Views: 2463Replies: 102Track Topic
Member
Posts: 5,726
Joined: Jul 2 2009
Gold: 74.17
#91
Apr 7 2012 07:46am
He never comes to the oscar perfomance but i really dunno why probably he think its just crap event ^
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#92
Apr 9 2012 12:39am
Tonight's movie was Celebrity.

Another instance of Woody Allen casting someone to play himself and again I am not sure why he doesn't just play himself. For this particular example he might have found himself too old to play the part or maybe he just really liked the actor who got it, I'm not sure but I thought the actor tried to mimic Allen's mannerisms too much and I can't help but feel Allen himself would have made this movie a lot better.

Aside from that we have the typical aspects of an Allen film. All the characters are writers, producers, directors, etc. and the characters are, of course, extremely neurotic. The whole concept of having characters fall for each other in a very passionate and visually stylized manner only to have their affairs fall apart moments later is something I've noticed a bit in his films, as well. I think here he makes the point that those kinds of passionate affairs and attractions are like celebrities in that they are special because their unrealistic glamour but seldom last or end up meaning anything in the end. They tend to be shallow and Allen seems to prefer a more mature relationship -- like the one the two main characters had in the beginning -- than a fling.

The movie was mildly amusing and has some lines of dialogue I thought were funny and a couple of scenes stood out as being pretty good but overall I find this one to be very average. Best line, and I'm paraphrasing, *as the characters are watching a movie in black and white -- "he's one of those pretentious asshole directors who shoot all their films in black and white".

3.0 // 5.0
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#93
Apr 20 2012 05:37pm
Just watched The Front.

This film wasn't written or directed by Woody Allen and from the limited reading on the movie I've done he didn't seem to have much influence on the film overall, so that makes this one unique in that sense. The film deals with 50's-era blacklisting within the entertainment industry and was in fact created by several individuals who were themselves blacklisted during that time. Allen plays a lowdown bookie who is recruited by his blacklisted friend to "front" for him in order to sell his scripts. Eventually it is expanded so Allen is working for multiple blacklisted writers and eventually gets drawn into resistance against the forces behind the blacklisting, namely the Congressional committee.

This was probably among the most heavy handed movies I've seen with Woody Allen in it, with Interiors being the other that comes to mind. It was also the most political of all the films he's been in that I've seen to date, as the entire film boiled down to a personal statement from the filmmakers who were blacklisted to those who once antagonized them. Accordingly, I thought this film has a ceiling as to how good you can consider it. It is counter-propaganda through and through and I thought the story was interesting and it did a lot to expose what the blacklisted actors went through, particularly those who weren't rich and famous enough to withstand it and saw their lives ultimately destroyed as a result.

The film's pace was quite slow and it was rather one dimensional as far as meaning but I think it is worth watching if you are interested in McCarthy era blacklisting.

3.0 // 5.0.

It also gets knocked up a notch for Allen's statement at the end, which I won't disclose.
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#94
Apr 28 2012 01:28am
Just finished You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

The movie just goes to show how Woody Allen can make a cookie cutter movie like the rest of them. Features elite characters, as always, including a struggling writer and a wealthy old man struggling with loneliness who foolishly turns to a young woman who's goal it is to bleed him dry. As such the movie is extremely predictable, with a minor twist at the end which is kind of funny. Allen pokes fun at the occult, which honestly doesn't hold a lot of esteem anyway so it seems like wasted parody. The scenery and the overall "ambiance" of the movie, to use a word too awesome for this film, is similar to the characters themselves in that they seem too polished, extravagant, etc.

On the plus side, this movie does feature very good actors. Gemma Jones was awesome and played her character absolutely perfectly. Hopkins was good, as well, and Brolin did a decent job putting forth the "struggling artist" cliche although I found him too composed to be a drunk.

Meh. 2.5 // 5.0
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#95
May 1 2012 04:56pm
Just finished The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

EDIT -- The following contains some spoilers

I liked it a lot, actually. I really enjoyed the lack of pretension and this was better than some of his more cookie cutter films like the last couple I've seen. The plot was interesting and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. I thought he did a good job meshing his trademark one-liners into a primarily plot driven film. The romantic element of the film was fine although I think it can be considered extremely predictable.

I had a few issues with it, however, and the primary one had to do with the woman who is crazy for Allen's character. She is introduced seemingly infatuated with him from the start and she goes on to help his character a lot and then seems to drop off the face of the Earth. I thought this was strange at best and completely unbelievable/absurd at worst. The other issue I had was that Allen's character was able to move around the town so effortlessly despite being the most wanted man in the city at the point.

The romance between Allen's boss (Akroyd) and the lead female character was confusing, as well. For example, the movie builds her up to be a strong, independent woman and yet she finds herself so dependent on this man that she considers life not worth living without him. I also thought she bounced back from the brink of suicide rather quickly and it never came up again; not even in the form of mild depression or anything.

Overall I liked this one. I consider it a strong B movie, worth seeing even if you aren't a fan of Allen. 4.0 // 5.0

This post was edited by Kamahl16 on May 1 2012 04:57pm
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#96
May 8 2012 03:58am
Finished Don't Drink the Water.

I thought this was a pretty funny movie with a good idea behind it. Allen plays the father of a family who is believed to be a spy in Cold War Russia and has to spend a period of time at a U.S. embassy while they wait for their government to send them back to the States and while there they meet various characters such as a magic-loving priest who's been in asylum for 6 years and the ambassador's bumbling son.

There were a handful of scenes I thought were hilarious and the interactions Woody Allen's character had with some of the characters, mainly the embassy's cook, were just awesome. Michael J. Fox fit the bill of a fuck up perfectly and I thought he had real charisma here. The relationship that develops between his character and the daughter of the family was a bit weak, in my opinion, but charming none the less and led to a nice zinger at the end.

My main complaint with this one would have to be the camera angles which were all over the place. I wonder if they just did a poor job in general or if Allen aimed for this intentionally to create a sort of disorientation in the viewer, which would make sense considering the opening scenes. Now that I think about it, I didn't notice this as much during the middle and ending part of the movie, so either I simply got used to it and didn't notice or Allen did as I said and used them for a calculated effect and then dropped it once the film got going.

Worth watching even if you aren't a Woody Allen fan.

And, with that, I have seen every film that Woody Allen has directed besides a handful of shorts that are listed on IMDB.
Member
Posts: 11,960
Joined: Aug 4 2008
Gold: 0.80
#97
May 8 2012 04:01am
Quote (Kamahl16 @ May 8 2012 09:58am)
Finished Don't Drink the Water.

I thought this was a pretty funny movie with a good idea behind it. Allen plays the father of a family who is believed to be a spy in Cold War Russia and has to spend a period of time at a U.S. embassy while they wait for their government to send them back to the States and while there they meet various characters such as a magic-loving priest who's been in asylum for 6 years and the ambassador's bumbling son.

There were a handful of scenes I thought were hilarious and the interactions Woody Allen's character had with some of the characters, mainly the embassy's cook, were just awesome. Michael J. Fox fit the bill of a fuck up perfectly and I thought he had real charisma here. The relationship that develops between his character and the daughter of the family was a bit weak, in my opinion, but charming none the less and led to a nice zinger at the end.

My main complaint with this one would have to be the camera angles which were all over the place. I wonder if they just did a poor job in general or if Allen aimed for this intentionally to create a sort of disorientation in the viewer, which would make sense considering the opening scenes. Now that I think about it, I didn't notice this as much during the middle and ending part of the movie, so either I simply got used to it and didn't notice or Allen did as I said and used them for a calculated effect and then dropped it once the film got going.

Worth watching even if you aren't a Woody Allen fan.

And, with that, I have seen every film that Woody Allen has directed besides a handful of shorts that are listed on IMDB.



cg :)
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#98
Jun 14 2012 03:12pm
Bumping so this won't expire.

I believe his new film comes out on the 22nd of this month. I found a download for it but it was horrible quality and in Italian, so I'll just wait.
Member
Posts: 50,617
Joined: Oct 15 2008
Gold: 5,640.00
#99
Jun 15 2012 12:22am
Quote (snowslider @ Apr 7 2012 08:46am)
He never comes to the oscar perfomance but i really dunno why probably he think its just crap event ^


Hipster.
Member
Posts: 58,281
Joined: Jul 10 2006
Gold: 2,900.49
#100
Jun 15 2012 12:33am
Quote (672 @ Jun 15 2012 06:22am)
Hipster.


Got the glasses down.
Go Back To Movies & TV Shows Topic List
Prev1891011Next
Add Reply New Topic New Poll

© 2003-2026 d2jsp  Contact