Café Society (2016)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Corey Stoll, Jeannie Berlin, Ken Scott, Anna Camp, Paul Schneider, Sheryl Lee, Tony Sirico, Stephen Kunken, Sari Lennick, Max Adler, Don Stark, Gregg Binkley, Woody Allen

Storyline

In the 1930s, a young Bronx native (Jesse Eisenberg) moves to Hollywood, where he falls in love with the secretary (Kristen Stewart) of his powerful uncle (Steve Carell), an agent to the stars. After returning to New York, he is swept up in the vibrant world of high society nightclub life.

Opinion

Just like almost every single year, Woody Allen once again assembled a very fine cast and made this film I was super excited to watch for months basically because he directed it and also because it was Cannes Film Festival's opening film this year. I'm happy to say that all the wait has paid off.

Arguably one of the most Allen pictures of recent years, "Café Society" is a very fun, bittersweet romantic comedy-drama.

If you like Allen then you're probably going to enjoy this film as well, because the plot to this film is basically a mix of various parts of old and successful films of his, It is the typical love triangle story, set in the 30s. But there's more to that. It eventually takes some unexpected (criminal) twists, and also it wonderfully portrays how people betray their own ideals only because they get older and afraid not to achieve anything in life.

Other than the engaging and intelligent plot, the film also features great, well developed characters that are worth of our attention. Despite being played by Jesse Eisenberg aka Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network", the protagonist, Bobby, a naive young man that tries to make his way into Hollywood, is very likable. And the supporting characters are very interesting as well, especially Bobby's brother Ben, the one that makes the film something more than just a romance.

Also, Allen's choice to be a non-screen narrator really adds to the film a gentle feeling of nostalgia, and if you are familiar with his voice, the film will feel incredibly warm and familiar. And finally the scripts features both Allen's light hearted humor and his witty, quirky dialogue.

At last but not least, the very fine cast that actually does a very fine job. First off Jesse Eisenberg who fits very well into his role, and for once he manages to not be annoying as hell. Kristen Stewart really does a good job as the lover, and her chemistry with Eisenberg is amazing. Probably because they've already played love interests twice before in "Adventureland" and "American Ultra". Steve Carell also does a good job, but the biggest surprise to me was Corey Stoll, who provides the film with a comedy I didn't even know he had in him.

Irrational Man (2015)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Jamie Blackley, Betsey Aidem, Ethan Phillips, Sophie Von Haselberg, Ben Rosenfield, Susan Pourfar

Storyline

A tormented philosophy professor (Joaquin Phoenix) finds a will to live when he commits an existential act.

Opinion

After the disappointing but still pretty good "Magic in the Moonlight", Woody Allen goes crime again, but the result isn't as good as the London trilogy was. In fact "Irrational Man" never quite takes off, and is basically nothing more than a wasted opportunity.

Why a wasted opportunity? Because of the story. Very appealing and interesting, it starts very promising, and it has a very interesting main character - Abe, a tormented philosopher with a distorted view of reality that will eventually find a meaning to his existence after a despicable act. And the first part is tremendously well done. It provides a background on the characters and shows how why a judge suddenly becomes Abe's target (and how the murder was carried out).

But something quickly goes wrong, and soon becomes a disaster. The psychological aspects of the plot evaporate, a potential plot twist is wasted, and the plot eventually becomes so surreal it will confuse you and so predictable it will make you lose any interest in the film.

Allen's direction isn't that good either. Unlike any other of his films, it is hard if not impossible to place the story in a specific period of time; the soundtrack, even though it's quite beautiful, is misplaced and most of the time it kills the drama; some scenes are beautifully shot and vibrant, some others are just poky; the pace is uneven; the dialogue not so smart.

Despite all of that, the actors, the leading duo actually, Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, still manage to do a good job with their characters. That romance though.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA | Spain

Cast

Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, Naomi Watts, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ewen Bremmer, Neil Jackson, Celia Imrie, Pauline Collins, Anna Friel, Alex MacQueen, Meera Syal, Anupam Kher, Natalie Walter, Christian McKay, Philip Glenister, Theo James

Storyline

After Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) leaves Helena (Gemma Jones) to pursue his lost youth, Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller (Pauline Collins). Meanwhile their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) develops a crush on her boss (Antonio Banderas) and her husband (Josh Brolin) becomes moonstruck over a mystery woman (Freida Pinto).

Opinion

After a brief staying in New York City with "Whatever Works", Woody Allen probably thought that Europe worked better, so he went back to England, the land of three great films of him. What he did was proving it wasn't the country to bring him luck. Making it short, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" is a tedious, pointless dramedy.

Sex problems, unsuccessful writers and people in general, jokes about religion and spirituality, and psychoanalysis are most of Allen's recurring themes. Knowing that, one would have expected to see all those topics again, and/or maybe a leap in quality.

What he did instead was writing a terrible, boring story about a bunch of unhappy people, all trying to find love - in hopeless places, if I may add - that is somehow the same story of "Whatever Works". Only this time it goes on and on and on until it's over, and the film leaves you waiting for a twist, or anything interesting to happen. But nothing ever happens. Unless you consider ridiculing cartomancy and spirituality something. 

Another problem are the character. Other than being completely superficial, and showing no signs of depth, none of the character is likeable nor interesting and some of them having an utterly annoying storyline, like the romantic sub-plot involving Naomi Watt's character and the one involving Gemma Jones's character. 

Now the film's genre. It's a dramedy, but while there's definitely a lot of drama, the film is short in comedy. There are some funny lines, but that's it. Some of Allen's hilarious humour would have definitely helped here, especially to forget about the story that isn't going anywhere and bland characters.

However, the first class cast does a quite good job. I'm not saying the film is worth watching though. And trust me, I've seen it twice and my opinion hasn't changed. 

Whatever Works (2009)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Henry Cavill, Ed Begley Jr, Conleth Hill, Michael McKean, Christopher Evan Welch, John Gallagher Jr, Jessica Hecht, Carolyn McCormick, Olek Krupa

Storyline

Middle-aged, bitter and grumpy Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) surprisingly enters a fulfilling relationship with Melodie Saint Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood), a much younger and unsophisticated Southern girl.

Opinion

After filming for four consecutive years in Europe, Woody Allen went back to New York, and kind of brought the 70s back too as "Whatever Works" is a slightly funny film that unfortunately lacks of new, fresh ideas.

The story to this is very simple, it is literally whatever works. and the relationship/romance between the old, brilliant Jewish and the young, stupid girl - the age gap is so huge he could be her grandfather - actually works and it's not embarrassing at all as we don't witness to anything inappropriate, not even a kiss. Even though it is predictable, the story still is quite enjoyable. But the ending is weird. 

The problem with the film is that instead of looking forward, Allen took a step back and looked back to the 1970s, as the story has 1970s material written all over it. The same old religious rants, the same philosophizing, the same main character, Allen himself played by Larry David.

And instead of the charm of his old movies, "Whatever Works" can claim a bunch of stereotypes, from religious people - whether Jews or Christians - to people from the South.

But it's a comedy, so we should focus on something else. Is the film funny? Yes, a little. Only this time around instead of being the dialogue the main source of laughs, it is the weird situations the characters get themselves into.

As for the cast, I believe Larry David is better at improvising that playing someone else and doing that person's lines, in this case Allen's. Still he does a quite good job in the role and plays Allen in a very aggressive manner. Evan Rachel Wood does a good job and the evolution of the character is quite interesting to witness. But stealing the show are Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley, respectively playing Wood's mother and father.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Genre

Drama | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

Spain | USA

Cast

Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penélope Cruz, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn, Pablo Schreiber, Carrie Preston, Zak Orth, Julio Perillan, Christopher Evan Welch

Storyline

Two American friends, conventional Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and open-minded Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are spending the summer in Barcelona and become enamored with the same painter (Javier Bardem), unaware that his ex-wife (Penéleope Cruz) is about to re-enter the picture.

Opinion

Done with the London trilogy that revolved around romance, but mostly crime, Allen decided to stick around Europe and used Spain's magical location to make "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", a brilliant, and refreshing romantic drama.

Once again Woody Allen presented us with a quite simple story and he made it very intriguing and engaging thanks to a brilliant turn of events. 

And of course it is not just a romantic drama, but an exploration of the human mind and soul, if that makes any sense. The film is related to art, and freedom and loses oneself only to pursuit the real version of oneself. And to love, and passion. And it shows the benefits of going all in, even if that means getting burned. And it reaches a level of maturity that has been lacking in Allen films for decades.

The film is also a very interesting character study about relationships but I won't add anything else because I don't want to spoil the film for you if you haven't seen it yet. 

The film is also plenty of great and witty dialogue. And a narration which has received so much criticism but that, in my opinion, is very useful to depict complexity of relationships. And it also add that feeling of fate to the story which works pretty good for me.

And finally there's the cast. Those people blew me away. It is not Scarlett Johansson or Rebecca Hall respectively playing Cristina and Vicky, nor Javier Bardem playing the painter, even though they all give good performances, but Penélope Cruz playing Bardem's ex-wife. She is simply terrific as Maria Elena, and she is arguably the best part of the film. She is sexy and fierce and she has the biggest laughs, not because she is doing comedy but because she is just being crazy. But completely believable. And I almost forgot to mention the wonderful sexual tension between the main characters. 

Cassandra's Dream (2007)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA | UK | France

Cast

Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor, John Benfield, Clare Higgins, Ashley Madekwe, Andrew Howard, Hayley Atwell, Sally Hawkins, Tom Wilkinson, Phil Davis, Dan Carter, Richard Lintern, Jennifer Higham, Lee Whitlock

Storyline

The lives of Terry (Colin Farrell) and Ian (Ewan McGregor), two brothers with serious financial woes, change completely when the decide to kill a man (Phil Davis) to do a favour to their rich Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson).

Opinion

Woody Allen likes his criminals in London, and he shows that again with this final installment of his London trilogy. And what a good trilogy may I add. This little intro being made, let's talk about the film.

"Cassandra's Dream" is a suspenseful, and engaging tale of two brothers as well as a tragedy as the Greeks intended it.

And guess what's one of the best things about the film? That's right, the writing. It is just brilliant. The story is simple and quite predictable too - you kind of always know what's going to happen next - but it never gets boring and somehow manages to be extremely suspenseful, really keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole film.

It is a very sad story for those involved, the two brother that are alike only in that they cross that non-return line. As you can guess, the film deals with guilt and remorse and the two brothers are the perfect way to portray those two feelings in two such different ways: one losing his sleep and developing a mental anguish, the other shaking off what has been done and looking towards the future.

Other than the moral, the script also features great dialogue and interesting characters as well as character development.

The other great thing about the film is the acting. Mind blowing. The two brothers are wonderfully played by Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, and I do believe the first gives one of his best performances ever, if not the best. The supporting cast is also wonderful. Tom Wilkinson is brilliant as usual in the role of Uncle Howard, the rich man who puts the two brothers in such a situation. Also worth of a mention are Sally Hawkins and Hayley Atwell as the brothers girlfriends.

Scoop (2006)

Genre

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen, Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane, Charles Dance, Romola Garai, Kevin R. McNally, Julian Glover, Victoria Hamilton, Fenella Woolgar, Geoff Bell, Alexander Armstrong, Anthony Head, Peter Mastin

Storyline

Dead British journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) appears to the American student of journalism Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) during a magic show and tells her that aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman) is a serial killer. Dragging along Sid Waterman (Woody Allen), the magician, Sondra starts investigating and...

Opinion

After showing he still is a great director with the brilliant "Match Point", Woody Allen returned an year later with "Scoop", a delightful "detective" film that you will have you laughing like Allen's earlier silly movies.

Once again Allen shows what a writer he is with a story that is sure simple, yet very interesting and engaging. This time the compelling storyline is a blend of comedy, noir, thriller and fantasy - as if making a comedy-noir-thriller film wasn't hard enough already.

So yeah, the story is interesting and the way it unfolds it's great, but the best part of the script has yet to come. That would be the witty dialogue and the highly likable characters - from Woody Allen's usual neurotic character, to Scarlett Johansson's naive girl, to Hugh Jackman's suspected serial killer.

Like I mentioned before, this film is also very funny. It is arguably the most funny of Woody's comedies in years. There are a lot of jokes, some of which don't work well, but the majority is pretty solid and so are the gags.

However the thing that impressed me the most is the acting. I wouldn't have expected Scarlett Johansson to play such a character - a not-sexy, kinda clumsy girl - in a bazillion years, but most important, I would have never expected her to rock such a role. She really is breathtaking, and she also has a great chemistry with Allen - who by the way is hilarious as always. Hugh Jackman also does a good job as the supposed serial killer as well as Ian McShane as the dead journalist.

Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn, Josh Brolin, Vinessa Shaw, Steve Carell, Arija Bareikis, Matt Servitto, Zak Orth, Brooke Smith, Daniel Sunjata, Larry Pine, Andy Borowitz

Storyline

A girl, Melinda (Radha Mitchell) arrives unannounced at a dinner party, and two alternative stories unfold, one comic and tragic.

Opinion

Right when I started to think Woody Allen's 21st century stuff was good, he had to make something to prove me wrong with "Melinda and Melinda", a slow, dull and a bit confusing comedy-drama that doesn't really work neither as a comedy nor as a drama. 

Shouldn't one wait until he/she have a story before bother making a film? Well, it looks like Allen forgot about it when he decided to make this film. He just put together two alternatives to a given situation, and it looks more like improvisation than a proper plot. 

Maybe it's because I was a little tired when I watched it, or maybe it's the way the film is made, but the two storylines get a bit confusing, and at times it takes time to realize which story you are in. Not to mention that is almost impossible to say which one is supposed to be tragic and which one is supposed to be funny, because they are both bland.

Allen's narrative choice is interesting - a group of people are telling the two stories - but it's nothing new, he did that already ages ago in "Broadway Danny Rose". And I really shouldn't mention that film, because it is on a whole different level.

The only thing that made me laugh about "Melinda and Melinda" is the script. It is so bad, it's laughable. The dialogue is horrible, and the characters are so not interesting.

Part of the cast was a bit of a surprise considering everything else. In spite of the script, Radha Mitchell somehow managed to carry the film, and Amanda Peet managed to give a good performance - even though she didn't have enough screen time in my opinion. Unfortunately Will Ferrell wasn't able to make the film funny with his attempt at impersonating Woody Allen. And Chloë Sevigny was just annoying.

Anything Else (2003)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci,Woody Allen, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Fallon, Erica Leerhsen, KaDee Strickland, Adrian Grenier, David Conrad

Storyline

Aspiring New Yorker writer Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs) learns a lesson the hard way when he falls in love with a beautiful but flighty girl, Amanda (Christina Ricci).

Opinion

I admit I am a Woody Allen fan, so my opinion may not be completely impartial, but I don't understand why some people - critics mostly - have been so harsh with it. Sure, "Anything Else" is nothing if compared to "Annie Hall", but isn't it about time people stop comparing Allen movies to his best movies? I think that's the reason many cannot enjoy films like this one.

I agree that "Anything Else" doesn't bring anything new to the table. It is just another typical Allen comedy having a neurotic, Jewish New Yorker as a main character once again having a troubled romantic life both because he is clumsy and paranoic, and because he can't help but fall in love with the wrong woman.

And there are also many elements recycled from some of Allen best movies - and I gotta admit he seems to be throwing in references just to make sure the film is "Woody" enough - but, in spite of that, the film still manages to be enjoyable and funny.

This time Allen is not the main character, which is played by Jason Biggs, but he is more like a mentor to him, and that allows him to throw in some good, very Allen dialogue. And if the jokes heard over and over again doesn't amuse you anymore, there still are some scenes that will make you laugh, like when Christina Ricci's character is so scared to have sex she has a panic attack, and yet being totally fine with the (good-looking) doctor touching her all over. 

The cast was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting anything from Jason Biggs, but he actually does a quite good job as a young Allen, even though he looks a little lacking in confidence at times. Christina Ricci also does a good job as the romantic interest, and Woody Allen finally plays a role that is more appropriate to his age, an eccentric old man.

Once again, I'm not saying this is Allen at his best, but the film is great to have some laughs.

Hollywood Ending (2002)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Téa Leoni Teat Williams, George Hamilton, Debra Messing, Mark Rydell, Mark Webber, Tiffani Thiessen, Aaron Stanford, Bob Dorian, Barney Cheng

Storyline

Forced to work with his ex-wife (Téa Leoni), director Val Waxman (Woody Allen) develops a case of psychosomatic blindness, and tries to cover up his disability by directing the film blind. 

Opinion

Over the past months I've come to the conclusion that Woody Allen is a comedic genius, and "Hollywood Ending" only reinforced that belief of mine.

It may not be as good as his older, earlier films, the hysterically hilarious silly comedies he used to make for a while, but it certainly is a funny, charming and well acted film that deserves more love.

Once again what makes the film funny is Allen's lack of good manners. I'm not saying he is offensive, but it takes the guts to do such a thing as making fun of blind people. Anyway, the plot is very interesting - and ridiculous -, especially the reason behind Val Waxman's temporarily blindness.

Like other movies he has done in the past, "Hollywood Ending" also is an account of Allen's own life. He was big in the 70s and 80s and now he is trying to win back the success he had. Unlike the character though, he still is popular, but his films are nothing like before.

And just like most of Allen's films, the cast is an ensemble of talented actors and Woody Allen. I love his self-casting in romantic comedies lead roles - mostly because I can't stand when other actors try to play Allen -, and this time he is perfectly cast as Val Waxman. Téa Leoni is perfect for the role of the suffering ex-wife and is as hilarious as Allen. The supporting cast also does a good job. 

Mention-Worthy Quotes

Val: You know, I would kill for this job, but the people I want to kill are the people offering me the job.

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Markinson, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Barkley, Peter Gerety, John Schuck

Storyline

An insurance investigator (Woody Allen) and an efficiency expert (Helen Hunt) who hate each other are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist (Dan Aykroyd) with a jade scorpion into stealing jewels.

Opinion

I don't care what the critics said, Woody Allen knows his way around comedy and he proves it again with "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion", a delightful screwball comedy with a great cast.

Very simple but entertaining, the plot is some kind of homage to the comedy/mystery films of the early forties - the same time period in which this film is set by the way. Even though the story goes on a bit too long and at times feels a little dragged, overall it keeps your interest. Also it is clichéd and quite predictable, but is the story really the reason someone would want to watch Allen movies? I don't think so.

People - or at least me - look for well written dialogue that suits each character and that is well delivered by each of them. And that's exactly what you get with "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion". Neat and clever dialogue that makes up for the story's flaws.

Then there is Allen typical wacky humour. If you don't like it, you should probably stay away from this film, but if you do like it, well, you'll have an amazing time and many, many laughs.

And at last the cast. I absolutely love when Woody Allen plays his typical character, and he does it again as nebbish insurance investigator CW Briggs. Charlize Theron does a good job as sexy and rich socialite Laura Kensington who is attracted to Briggs, but the star here is Helen Hunt as she gives a flawless performance as efficiency expert Betty Ann Fitzgerald, Briggs's other love interest.

Mention-Worthy Quotes

CW Briggs: The house is messy. If I knew you were coming I'd have rearranged the dirt.

Small Time Crooks (2000)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman, Elaine May, Kristie Nielsen, Hugh Grant, Michael Rapaport, Tony Darrow, Jon Lovitz, George Grizzard, Larry Pine

Storyline

A loser of a crook (Woody Allen) and his wife (Tracey Ullman) strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.

Opinion

Woody Allen opens the new millennium with "Small Time Crooks", an engaging and hilarious comedy that is very close to to his earlier films.

The film's plot is somehow similiar to "Take the Money and Run" - one of my favourite Allen's -, and at first takes some surprising turns. Eventually the plot twists will become quite predictable but the film moves forward in a humorous way.

It's not like I didn't like his serious stuff, but once in awhile it's nice to enjoy something that doesn't involve neurotic, upper-class New Yorkers dealing with a relationship crisis. "Small Time Crooks" still is the typical Allen story with long monologues of insecure men trapped in a labyrinth that they have created themselves, but the characters makes it different. Ray Winkler is the kind of person who comes up with maniac ideas that never turns out in the way their are supposed to, but that's what makes him a good character for some laughs.

I do have a problem with the other crooks though. They are such nice characters and they are a great addition to the story so I don't understand why they vanish after a while. It feels like Allen got lost.

Anyway, the cast is good as always, especially Tracey Ullman as Ray Winkler's wife. But I would have loved to see more of Michael Rapaport and Jon Lovitz who sadly have a small part as they play the other crooks.

It may not be as good as "Take the Money and Run", but it sure is a entertaining and funny.

Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Music

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Anthony LaPaglia, Uma Thurman, James Urbaniak, John Waters, Gretchen Mol, Denis O'Hare, Molly Price, Brian Markinson, Tony Darrow, Daniel Okrent, Brad Garrett, Woody Allen, Ben Duncan, Nat Hentoff, Douglas McGrath

Storyline

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman (Samantha Morton).

Opinion

After "Celebrity", which I considered a disappointment, Allen returns with "Sweet and Lowdown", a quite charming, funny and moving film.

Woody Allen is so good at storytelling he can do what the heck he wants. He indeed mixes documentary-style comments with the characters and the story in a very skillful manner. He is so good at that he actually makes you believe Emmet Ray is a real person when he's actually a completely fictitious character. Also, Allen himself is one of the storytellers of this "documentary". How genius is that?

The film is also an excellent character study. Self-proclaimed second best jazz guitarist in the world,  Emmet Ray is both a genius and a fool, because he has a great talent but he doesn't seem to realise its value and takes advantage of his talent in a childish manner. Also, only when alone he will realise how important love is, and that music is nothing if there isn't someone listening to it.

The other mention-worthy character is Hattie, the mute girl Ray falls in love with. She is sweet and adorable and pretty much the film is just like her. At first it seems light and lacking of any drama but it eventually finds its solidity.

The score is great, which is not really a news for a Woody Allen film, and the cinematography is beautiful as well.

Sean Penn gives a wonderful performance as self-centered Emmet Ray and proves he can act. Equally powerful and moving - maybe even more - is Samantha Morton's performance as Hattie. Uma Thurman though was miscast in my opinion: while the character is quite interesting, she is just not the right woman to play it.

Celebrity (1998)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Winona Ryder, Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, Famke Janssen, Joe Mantegna, Charlize Theron, Gretchen Mol, Michael Lerner, Isaac Mizrahi, Bebe Neuwirth, Hank Azaria, Douglas McGrath, J. K. Simmons, Dylan Baker, Debra Missing, Allison Janney

Storyline

When a reporter (Kenneth Branagh) is assigned to the celebrity beat he anticipates a little excitement. But he never expected this... Quickly, he finds himself on a collision course with four of the most outrageous people he has ever met: a sensuous starlet (Melanie Griffith), an out-of-control movie star (Leonardo DiCaprio), an aspiring actress (Winona Ryder), and a sexy supermodel (Charlize Theron).

Opinion

Everyone is allowed to some downfalls in life, and Woody Allen certainly has taken his fair share, both in his private and professional life, and "Celebrity" is another proof of that. It isn't completely rubbish, but it certainly isn't a film some would expect from Allen after movies like "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Deconstructing Harry".

Clearly another attempt at doing another Fellini - it's "La Dolce Vita" this time - the plot isn't really that bad, but the poor execution makes the watching of the film a real painful, dull experience. The story doesn't seem to find its focus, shifting from one place to another, and more than a real story is looks like a collage of vignettes. Not very funny vignettes.

Indeed, most of the jokes and gags aren't effective, and most of them are predictable too - especially the jokes about blowjobs. 

Another problem with "Celebrity" is that it doesn't seem like it has something to say. Allen appears to want to say something about the nature of celebrity, but the message never arrives.

Kenneth Branagh's story is another weak part of the film. It is not the story itself, but mostly his character, too immature and self-centered to be likeable. Also I don't know who was the idea to have Branagh doing a Woody Allen imitation, but it clearly wasn't a good call. I want to see nobody but Allen doing Allen.

There are some good elements as well. The black and white cinematography is quite good, and there are some great performances, like Leonardo DiCaprio's in the role of a cokhead movie star, and Judy David's as Branagh's ex-wife.

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Tobey Maguire, Jennifer Garner, Paul Giamatti, Stanley Tucci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mariel Hemingway, Robin Williams, Hazelle Goodman, Eric Bogosian, Demi Moore, Caroline Aaron, Eric Lloyd, Amy Irving, Viola Harris, Shifra Lerer

Storyline

Suffering from writer's block, Harry Block (Woody Allen) remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.

Opinion

It isn't as charming as "Manhattan" or as philosophical as "Crimes and Misdemeanors", but "Deconstructing Harry" is a hysterically funny film that unfortunately is overlooked by most.

Even though I wrote down the storyline, no synopsis is good enough to do justice to the film's plot. And most important, there are no words to describe how Allen managed to make a story about a writer suffering from writer's block so interesting and engaging throughout. Probably because switching from fiction to reality was a stroke of genius. 

The narrative structure is quite peculiar but does work perfectly. It uses short stories and fragments of novels written by Harry Block - the film's main character - to rebuild, piece by piece, the most important moments of his past, and analyze the crashes - I'm using this word in reference to Paul Haggis's film - with all the people he loved that have made him into pieces.

The dialogue is nothing short of brilliant, but it is more vulgar than many of his earlier films as one of the most discussed topics in the film is sex, and 'blowjob' is probably one of the most spoken words in the picture. And I believe this is one of the reasoned people tend to dislike this film.

Then there's Allen's typical humour, crude at times and poking at his usual groups - mostly jews and prostitutes -, and his typical nonsense funny moments, like Robin Williams's out-of-focus cameo. I know it's silly, but that had me laughing out loud. 

Lastly but not least, the cast. Once again Woody Allen assembled an excellent, stellar cast, and gave each actor enough screen time - and a good character to work on - to shine.

Mention-Worthy Quotes

Harry Block: All people know the same truth. Our lives consist of how we chose to distort it.

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

Genre

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Lukas Haas, Goldie Hawn, Gaby Hoffmann, Natasha Lyonne, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, David Ogden Stiers, Itzhak Perlman, John Griffin, Patrick Cranshaw, Billy Crudup, Robert Knepper, Scotty Bloch, Isiah Whitlock, Kevin Hagan, Navah Perlman, Waltrudis Buck, Liv Tyler, Christy Carlson Romano, Frank Pietri, Andrea Piedimonte

Storyline

A New York girl (Natasha Lyonne) sets her father (Woody Allen) up with a beautiful woman (Julia Roberts) in a troubled marriage while her step sister (Drew Barrymore) gets engaged.

Opinion

How do you make the same film over and over again without people getting bored? You make it into a musical which is basically what Woody Allen did with "Everyone Says I Love You", pretty much the typical comedy of his that manages to be entertaining - and to be remembered - because of the music.

Allen draws us into this light comedy without many pretentions. The plot isn't anything special, just a lot of love-related stories tied together by family connections, but it's a wonderfully funny kind of story, and even though none of the stories have any great significance, they are made charming with some beautiful songs and dance numbers that sometimes seem to parody old musicals.

"Everyone Says I Love You" certainly isn't "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan", but it still has a typical , obvious Allen theme: getting everything you ever wanted but realizing that doesn't make you happy and therefore wanting to go back to the life you previously had.

The music and singing is great. Itzhak Perlman's violin music is wonderful, but the actors as well show great singing skills, and the acting performances are good overall - and it was wonderful to see Edward Norton, Natalie Portman and Tim Roth all in the same film.

Just like most of Allen's films, the comical situations are a must, as well as the neurotic characters that I have come to love. 

Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

Genre

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Rapaport, F. Murray Abraham, Olympia Dukakis, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Warden, Danielle Ferland, Peter Weller, Claire Bloom

Storyline

When his adopted son turns out to be a genius, Lenny (Woody Allen) becomes obsessed with finding the boy's real parents because he believes that they too must be brilliant. When he finds the real mother (Mira Sorvino), he is disappointed: not only she is a prostitute and porn star but quite possibly the dumbest person Lenny has ever met.

Opinion

After the interesting but unusual "Bullets Over Broadway", Woody Allen goes back to his roots with "Mighty Aphrodite", a funny and silly light comedy that is beyond entertaining.

Like he did in the past, Allen deals with domestic life and there is no doubt that this film too is largely autobiographical, but this time puts a hooker in the center of the story. A story that involves adoption, couple issues that require cheating to be solved, and the incredible idea of using a Greek chorus which is a different and brilliant way to deliver Allen's usual funny lines and observations.

The subplot involving Helena Bonham Carter and Peter Weller is somewhat less interesting and quite pointless: the viewer doesn't really have any interest in them because the whole story is focused on the weird relationship between Allen's Lenny and Mira Sorvino's Linda, hooker and mother of his adopted son.

However, the dialogue is quirky and clever as usual, and Allen delivers so many funny situations that make the film such an entertaining ride.

Allen once again plays a neurotic character, only this time he is fascinated with discovering who the mother of his adopted son really is. Then there is a particularly brilliant and sweet performance from Mira Sorvino who portrays the dumb hooker. Helena Bonham Carter as the wife and F. Murray Abraham as the Greek narrator are also worth of a mention because they both do an incredible work.

Mention-Worthy Quotes

Lenny: Achilles only had an Achilles heel, I have an entire Achilles body.