Friday, July 22, 2011
ANNUAL ALLEN
Today's film was Woody Allen's next to last annual show
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
True to his formula, he has pissed off a lot of reviewers who expect more of Allen than he sometimes delivers. But I have been watching Woody Allen films every year for, jeez, all of them.
They run in cycles. This one is very polished. None of that improv feel which does piss me off. I pay to see theater not groping.
This is a la ronde type of film with everyone switching off to another member of the cast and not much the better for it.
At the center is Gemma Jones who is great to watch undermine the newer actors and steal a scene.
The production is first rate. Long complicated shots with lots of extras and street scenes that come alive.
Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts and Anthony Hopkins fill out the cast of people trying to find the magic in their lives. It being an Allen picture, we can predict with some certainty that many if not all will come up short.
I will rate this one a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
