Mud Songs

Cassandra’s Dream is Woody Allen trying to get back in form as a writer-director, but not quite making it. It’s the story of two brothers, Ewan McGregor and a mis-cast Colin Farrell (he sunk Terrence Malick’s The New World for me) who get tangled up in a criminal situation where people end up getting hurt. One brother struggles with his conscience; the other brother doesn’t. Certain scenes are well directed and affective, but there are too many elements of the movie that don’t work. Still, I admire Woody Allen for the attempt to present a story with both style and substance. I might like this one more if I get around to watching it again, but I’d rather just watch Crimes and Misdemeanors, which is pretty damn close to a masterpiece; same deal with Match Point. All three films deal with a similar subject manner, only the last two do it brilliantly.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is Woody Allen’s most satisfying movie since 2005’s Match Point. It’s an enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining story about two young women (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) on vacation in Barcelona who become involved with a local painter (Javier Bardem). The painter also has a love-hate relationship with his ex-wife (Penélope Cruz) that creates a dynamic tension within all their relationships. Scarlett Johansson plays a Barbie doll again, which is passable for her role. Rebecca Hall, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem (the psycho killer from No Country For Old Men) give performances that are solid, right on the mark, energized but nuanced in a manner makes their characters seem like real people. Well-acted and well-written, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is neither an outright comedy or drama. Neither is it a masterpiece, but it’s fun.

I tried watching Woody Allen’s Scoop last night but only managed to get through the first 30 minutes. The script has (had) potential: A reporter dies, meets someone in the afterlife who gives him the scoop on a great story, and then he comes back down to earth as a spirit to give the scoop to another reporter. Unfortunately, the other reporter is Scarlett Johansson, who is a painfully non-comedic actor. Woody Allen’s comedic acting isn’t getting much better with age either. I heard recently that he’s decided to only make dramatic films for now on. Good. He should also avoid acting in his movies himself, give up on trying to write dialogue for young characters and stop casting actresses who look like Barbie dolls.

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.

Crimes and Misdemeanors is one of several Woody Allen films that’s pretty damn close to a masterpiece. From Roger Ebert’s original review: Crimes and Misdemeanors “is a thriller about the dark nights of the soul. It shockingly answers the question most of us have asked ourselves from time to time: Could I live with the knowledge that I had murdered someone? Could I still get through the day and be close to my family and warm to my friends, knowing that because of my own cruel selfishness, someone who had loved me was lying dead in the grave? This is one of the central questions of human existence, and society is based on the fact that most of us are not willing to see ourselves as murderers. But in the world of this film, conventional piety is overturned and we see into the soul of a human monster… Actually, he seems like a pretty nice guy.”

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.

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.

Bananas is an early Woody Allen film of slapstick humour that is of most interest to Woody Allen fans. The Howard Cosell intro and ending are the funniest parts.

Another Woman is yet another Woody Allen film that could easily get lost in the mix of all his other New York intellectual films, but shouldn’t. This is a good stuff. It’s compelling, it’s funny and filled with real people. One of Woody Allen’s best films. I’ll expand on this at a later date when I have time.

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.

Hannah and Her Sisters is another Woody Allen movie that could easily get lost in the mix of all his other New York intellectual movies (they do tend to blend together for me), but so what? He makes the most of what he knows. It’s another story of marital infidelities with plenty of literary and philosophical references, and the performances are great, especially Michael Caine.

Match Point is a slowly unfolding thriller that’s likely to have you rooting for the most dislikeable character in the movie. You’d never know it was a Woody Allen film (don’t let his name turn you off). It takes place in London, England, and there are no neurotic New Yorkers. I don’t know what the big deal is about Scarlett Johansson, but the filmmaking is brilliant.

There’s one good laugh in Hollywood Ending: the scene where Woody falls. He falls and CRASHES. I rewound it and watched it about fives times and laughed until I cried every time. And it happens in the background of the scene. So if you’re not paying attention to the background you’ll miss it. The rest of the movie is completely forgettable. Rent Decontructing Harry instead. [Commentary originally from 2002.]