Magic In The Moonlight Takes Me Back

Now this is more my style. I've watched a lot of classic film in my day. And clearly so has Woody Allen.

Magic in the Moonlight is, perhaps, not Woody's best. But it is still quite entertaining. It brings back memories of Noel Coward with a slight brush of Billy Wilder, all while still telling a story that is, at heart, very Woody Allen. This is not something new. Woody's frequently pulled from the annuls of film history in the past. Sleeper was Keaton, Bananas was Chaplin, and he's done more Bergman attempts than I can remember. So it seems fitting that he would step over to a slightly different piece of film history, especially since he seems set on doing as much work in Europe as he can for the time being... and Europe itself is so rich with history. Why not make a flick that takes place in the south of France in the 1920s?

Magic is the story of the grumpiest person on the planet, Colin Firth... trying to unmask the most likable person on the planet, Emma Stone, as a fraud. It's quite simple in it's telling and not at all unpredictable, but still rather entertaining in the way that those old romantic comedies from the thirties and forties can still keep you chuckling late on a rainy evening. And I genuinely love it for that. It doesn't try to be more than it is, tells you everything that you need to know, gets you in and out in just over ninety minutes, and leaves you with that wonderful feeling that you have just watched a good classic. There's nothing quite like that feeling for me.

Colin Firth is, of course, a joy to watch. He lacks all form of subtlety and to me that's exactly what this character needed. Emma Stone, likewise, kept me glued to the screen. She's really come into her own... though sometimes it feels like she was just born with that perfect quirkiness. Hamish Linklater also caught my attention because his character was so well defined and so perfectly opposite to Colin's grumpiness. And Jacki Weaver's over-excited nature brought a vibrance to her scenes that I really hadn't expected. I truly enjoyed all of the performances in this one.

Say what you will about Woody Allen as a man... but the guy knows how to make a good picture. And Magic in the Moonlight is no exception.

Gotta Admit, I Liked Fading Gigolo

I love being surprised by movies!

I went into John Turturro's Fading Gigolo with not an ounce of hope that it could actually maybe possibly be... GOOD. When he came out with Romance & Cigarettes back in 2005, I admit, I was excited. But then that movie just turned out to feel like a massive heap of rubbish. So why should I have had any positive expectations for Fading Gigolo?

Well because... John Turturro! And Woody Allen! And...

That's why... I was really wrong to doubt their tastes so greatly. It's not that this was a perfect movie, but it was lightyears and lightyears better than the nightmare I was expecting. And it had STYLE.

Fading Gigolo lived and died by its soundtrack. It was Jazz. And the visuals frequently supported just that sentiment. Of course then there was the subplot of Hasidim. That was kind of weird and almost pulled me out, but eventually became an intricate part of what made me so thoroughly enjoy the film.

Now I feel a little ashamed that I had such low expectations in the first place. Granted the reviews were more or less negative, so I have that "excuse." But I've always liked John Turturro's insane personality as an actor. And whenever I've seen him in interviews he always had such a bizarre way of looking at the world. Of course his earlier Romance & Cigarettes was a mess. He was after all just barely getting into directing and probably didn't quite know how to bring his vision to screen. I really think he's grown by leaps and bounds over the last nine years.

I love seeing these two guys on screen and it's fun to see Woody Allen play in someone else's world from time to time. Liev Schreiber did absolute justice to his role as usual. But this movie became a sort of jungle gym for all of the women in it. Vanessa Paradis was exceptional as a woman finally coming back out from hiding. Her growth made the entire film worthwhile. Then there's Sharon Stone  actually proving that she can still be fun to watch on screen. And need I say, Sofía Vergara... va va voom!

What more can I tell you. Fading Gigolo did it for me. It was a pretty entertaining way to spend an hour and a half. And I thoroughly recommend it to... well... any guy I know because I think we all wish we could add a couple of those skills to our list. Am I right? Am I righ-- What? You say you're already that smooth with the ladies? Well... okay. It was good... um... talking to you. Later.