Here’s the set-up to Small Time Crooks: Some small time crooks devise a plan to open a bakery next door to a bank and tunnel underground into the bank’s vault. But the bakery does such good business that they make more money from the bakery then they would have from robbing the bank. That’s the first 30 minutes of the movie and it’s funny as hell. These guys are completely incompetent criminals. The scene where they first try to dig the tunnel with a jack hammer in the basement of the bakery had me howling. After that the story drags and becomes too serious. Individual scenes work on their own, and Tracy Ullman gives an excellent performance as the baker (and Woody Allen’s wife), but the comedy loses its momentum long before the final credits.
The King of Kong is a documentary about two guys going for a world record in Donkey Kong. One of them, Billy Mitchell, comes off as such a conceited jerk, you want punch him in the nose and knock him down in the mud. It may not be an important documentary, but it presents an engaging story of good vs. evil and it’s entertaining. The editor deserves an award for piecing together a compelling, exciting and entertaining story, just as good — if not better — than most dramatic feature films. I couldn’t believe the people in it are real. I wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that they’re all actors and the whole story was scripted. But it’s all real. And thus surreal.
I’ll probably watch Michel Gondry’s next movie without reading any reviews first, because even when he’s made a ho-hum movie like Be Kind Rewind, it’s still more interesting than 90% of the movies that play at my local multiplex throughout the year. That said, I’m disappointed to say I wasn’t too engaged by this one. Jack Black’s magnetized brain erases all the tapes in a video store. He and his buddy set out to re-shoot all the movies onto the original VHS tapes, which are then rented out to customers. The tapes are a big hit and business starts to boom. It’s good-natured wackiness — and I love the idea of it — but it’s more suited for a short film, not a feature. (The Be Kind Rewind website looks like fun.)
Waitress is a feel-good “dramedy” about a waitress with a talent for making pies who gets pregnant and falls for someone who isn’t her husband. It has a cute quirky quality that seems popular with shows like Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me, if you like that kind of thing. It’s sweet and harmless, something my mother-in-law would probably enjoy.
Judged as a comical zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead succeeds completely. I laughed all the way through it. The zombies are funny, not scary or gross, and the main characters are hilarious. It’s a clever, smartly-written comedy in a style similar to The Office (the UK original). It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen for a long time.
The plot to An American Werewolf in London is simple: a guy gets bit by a werewolf and becomes a werewolf and kills people. The 1980s special effects, although dated in places, hold up well. One of the first movies I saw on VHS, this comedy-horror movie has its scary moments, but mostly it’s just fun. Not a bad B-movie.
Juno is a a cute, quirky, clever and heart-warming film about a teenager who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. This year’s Little Miss Sunshine, though not nearly as sweet (which is a good thing). I didn’t love it, but I liked it.
Woody Allen cannot write for younger characters. His words sound wrong coming out of this guy’s mouth. I had to give up on Anything Else after the first 30 minutes.
The Hidden Fortress is a light-hearted adventure comedy about two losers trying to take the money and run, more or less. Add to it a warrior and a princess, some exciting chase scenes and a couple of fights — under the direction Akira Kurosawa, just about every frame of it is a work of art.
Some of the best films I’ve watched recently also happen to be the least conventional: The Science of Sleep, The Fisher King, The Fountain, and now Everything is Illuminated, a quirky, colourful, fantastic road trip movie that may surprise you with its poignancy. It’s funny, it’s touching and, yup, it’s illuminating. Another pleasant-surprise movie not many people have seen.
The Science of Sleep is the most fun I’ve had watching a movie is 2007. Written and directed by Michel Gondry, it’s a trip to just sit back and watch the stuff that pours out of this guy’s head. The same goes for the main character of the movie. At least half the movie consists of his dream life where everything is created from clay, yarn, cardboard, cellophane, dried macaroni — the kind of things kids create in art class, but fully animated and interactive. The movie shares much the same look and feel of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which Gondry co-wrote and directed), but leans more towards the comedic side due in large part to the extremely likeable, childish performance by Gael Garica Bernal. Some might think of it as a love story, but it’s more about the exploration of the inner world of a guy who has a lot of growing up to do. Sort of. (The DVD commentary is strange and funny, too.)
Nothing is a comedic science-fantasy story of two losers who, after having the worst day of their lives, manage to make the whole world disappear except for the house they’re living in. And that’s only the first 15 minutes. You have to be a little warped to appreciate this one. I watch it every couple years. It’s a hoot.
I’ve watched maybe two episodes of The Simpsons in the past 3 years, and I don’t think I laughed once. I laughed out loud all throughout The Simpsons Movie though. The secondary characters don’t have much to do, but it’s fun. If you like the TV show, you’ll like the movie.
Everyone Says I Love You is a musical by Woody Allen, and ya know, it ain’t that bad. People breaking out into song usually doesn’t work for me, but the acting is good, the story is entertaining and the songs are fun. It’s well done. I enjoyed it.
A departure from his NYC intellectual scene, Broadway Danny Rose may not be the best 4-star Woody Allen movie, but it’s funny without being stupid, something that can’t be said about most comedies made today. The more Woody Allen I watch, the more I appreciate him as a writer and director. He is one of the best.
Zelig is Woody Allen’s mockumentary about a man who goes to extraordinary lengths to fit in with the crowd is both funny and technically brilliant. It looks exactly like an old news reel documentary. Mixed with commentary from contemporary figures like Saul Bellow and Susan Sontag, it feels completely authentic. Weird.
Love and Death is recommended mostly for die-hard Wood Allen fans and viewers who’ve read their fair share of Russian literature. Some of the jokes and set-ups are funny, but the timing and the performances seem a bit off; I didn’t laugh much. Reminds me of Without Feathers and other Woody Allen books.
I laughed out loud all throughout this Woody Allen movie that is unapologetically nostalgic. Radio Days provides a glimpse of what life was like before television. Woody narrates but doesn’t act, and those who do act are so damn good — and funny — it’s a pleasure to watch them. (I’ve been on a Woody Allen kick for the past few months, and I’m loving it.)
Here’s the set-up to Small Time Crooks: Some small time crooks devise a plan to open a bakery next door to a bank and tunnel underground into the bank’s vault. But the bakery does such good business that they make more money from the bakery then they would have from robbing the bank. That’s the first 30 minutes of the movie and it’s funny as hell. These guys are completely incompetent criminals. The scene where they first try to dig the tunnel with a jack hammer in the basement of the bakery had me howling. After that the story drags and becomes too serious. Individual scenes work on their own, and Tracy Ullman gives an excellent performance as the baker (and Woody Allen’s wife), but the comedy loses its momentum long before the final credits.
I’ll probably watch