Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
woody allen's EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
in regards to Woody Allen i've gone, over time, from fanboydom to apologism and now to distanced respect for his middling work and disdain for the lesser stuff, of which there seems to be more every year. Everyone Says I Love You is one of those in the middle; in some respects it is one of the stronger pieces of that period in his career (the "Miramax years", I suppose, from Bullets Over Broadway right up to Sweet And Lowdown, the best film he's made in two decades) because it pleases with much less effort than the works surrounding it, and lacks the (mostly) unwelcome cynicism that's defined so many of his films since then. Most directors in love with How Things Used To Be seem to find themselves drawn towards making a musical just for the hell of it, and Everyone Says I Love You is successful in that it keeps a quietly goofy enough tone to pull it off, a tone that helps the rest of the film get by between numbers. the story is corny and partially recycled (listening in on therapy sessions? at least wait ten years before cribbing your own plots) and Natasha Lyonne's narration, filled with affected stammers read directly from the page, consistently cripples the experience. but the here-and-there cleverness of the musical conceit (Natalie Portman's sobbing her way into an Alda-aborted "I'm Through With Love" is one of the funniest gags in the film) really does make the whole thing worthwhile, and Allen & Goldie Hawn's dance by the river gets me every time. it's not one of his best films by any measure, but it's one of the few lesser ones i don't ever mind revisiting.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
post-vacation roundup
i took a vacation, and it was the worst thing ever. i happened to watch a few movies; only the last two were really of my own initiative.
Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail, or at least most of it. crammed with useless characters, full of emotional inconsistencies, and technologically dated to a degree approaching unwatchability, as if it needed any help.
Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia. (yes, i watched two Nora Ephron movies in a row.) there's a good reason this movie boosted Julia Child book sales and left Julie Powell's sales pretty well alone: the sequences following Child through her formative years are fascinating and enjoyable (Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci are pretty wonderful) but the present-day stuff -- again a little uncareful, if slyer, about tech stuff, but i suppose that's the story, and the audience -- is corny and uninteresting.
Paul Greengrass' The Bourne Ultimatum, which still kicks miles of ass even edited up and filled with commercial breaks. i can't say which i prefer of Greengrass' Bourne movies (Doug Liman's first one is super-fun, but not on the same level) but the tight narrative focus of this one, full as it is with baller action sequences, may give it the edge.
Scott Cooper's Crazy Heart, which is everything it needs to be as a showcase for Jeff Bridges, who will win an Oscar as a result. a fine little film, and a refreshingly un-showy debut for Cooper.
Todd Phillips' The Hangover. Phillips has always been the fratty, less keen older brother of last decade's semi-alt-comedy stirrings, and though this may be his best movie (i was particularly glad to see him use Zach Galifianakis to a warranted but unexpected extent) it's still too broad and too flawed. (what's with the abrupt, completely superfluous pop music cues anyway? studio meddling, or just the depths of taste?)
Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday, the kickoff of a Tati retrospective at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center. the least edgy of the Hulot movies but still a wonder of a gentle comedy; Tati's patience in the setup and execution of most of the film's gags is just breathtaking, and excuses that there are 80% more mild giggles than full-on laughs.
Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, at the wonderful Music Box theater. one of my favorite books as a child, and the most purely enjoyable film i saw last year. Anderson's shtick had seemingly run out of steam, but apparently all he needed to do was bounce it to another medium...being cutesy is no crime when you're making a cartoon about a fox. "divide that by nine, please!"
Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail, or at least most of it. crammed with useless characters, full of emotional inconsistencies, and technologically dated to a degree approaching unwatchability, as if it needed any help.
Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia. (yes, i watched two Nora Ephron movies in a row.) there's a good reason this movie boosted Julia Child book sales and left Julie Powell's sales pretty well alone: the sequences following Child through her formative years are fascinating and enjoyable (Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci are pretty wonderful) but the present-day stuff -- again a little uncareful, if slyer, about tech stuff, but i suppose that's the story, and the audience -- is corny and uninteresting.
Paul Greengrass' The Bourne Ultimatum, which still kicks miles of ass even edited up and filled with commercial breaks. i can't say which i prefer of Greengrass' Bourne movies (Doug Liman's first one is super-fun, but not on the same level) but the tight narrative focus of this one, full as it is with baller action sequences, may give it the edge.
Scott Cooper's Crazy Heart, which is everything it needs to be as a showcase for Jeff Bridges, who will win an Oscar as a result. a fine little film, and a refreshingly un-showy debut for Cooper.
Todd Phillips' The Hangover. Phillips has always been the fratty, less keen older brother of last decade's semi-alt-comedy stirrings, and though this may be his best movie (i was particularly glad to see him use Zach Galifianakis to a warranted but unexpected extent) it's still too broad and too flawed. (what's with the abrupt, completely superfluous pop music cues anyway? studio meddling, or just the depths of taste?)
Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday, the kickoff of a Tati retrospective at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center. the least edgy of the Hulot movies but still a wonder of a gentle comedy; Tati's patience in the setup and execution of most of the film's gags is just breathtaking, and excuses that there are 80% more mild giggles than full-on laughs.
Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, at the wonderful Music Box theater. one of my favorite books as a child, and the most purely enjoyable film i saw last year. Anderson's shtick had seemingly run out of steam, but apparently all he needed to do was bounce it to another medium...being cutesy is no crime when you're making a cartoon about a fox. "divide that by nine, please!"
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