Recent Viewings Roundup

Interiors

Are Woody Allen characters clichéd late 70's New York intellectuals or are late 70's New York intellectuals clichéd Woody Allen characters?  Either way, Sam Waterston hates renovations but loves flat bottomed ties and this movie gets a thumbs up.

Crimes and Misdemeanors

This 1989 Woody Allen drama employs many of the same themes that he used in Match Point to great effect.  While it lacks the glossy sheen of Match Point, the performances are quite impressive and a bit of humor is mixed in.  A worthwhile watch.

Ed Wood

The director of Plan 9 From Outer Space gets the biopic treatment from Tim Burton, but the real star of this movie is Johnny Depp, who enters an incredible performance, though makes a lot of the other actors seem shameful by comparison.  Odd enough without being weird, funny and even somewhat heartwarming.

No Country for Old Men

I think that this movie is meant to be seen in a theatre.  I enjoyed it, but didn't get feel overwhelming awe that I felt while watching There Will Be Blood.  Then again, I didn't read the book either.  At any rate, this is a solid entry though I'm probably going to have to watch it again to see if I really don't like it as much as everyone else.

Gone Baby Gone

Ok, so clearly Ben Affleck is an amateur director, but tried not to let this impact my thoughts.  This movie gets off to a slow start, but eventually builds toward a climatic ending that seems designed to get people to discuss ethics after the movie is over.  For the record, I think Casey's character did the right thing.  Solid, not great.

Atonement

An average romance script shot beautifully and with incredible audio.  A bit heavy with the glass/water/mirror motifs, but a bit of sophistication never hurt anyway.  The meticulously detailed sets shot with a definite eye toward being consciously impressive are the star in this film.  A question: does sending a dirty note really get that sort of reaction from a girl?

Divorce, Italian Style

I can't help but compare this black and white film starring Marcello Mastroianni to a Fellini film.  After all, the film itself makes the direct comparison.  While the movie is amusing enough in and of itself, the visual imagination, along with the script and audio, fall short of the two most noted Fellini features with Mastroianni.  An ancillary film at best.  Besides, Marcello doesn't look right with a shady mustache and never once wears badass glasses.