God, I hated that film. a 5-minute gag stretched out to 90 min. You'll chuckle once, maybe twice... then time stops and doesn't start again until you finally realize there is no big payoff... no big punchline... so you might as well stop watching now. In fact, you probably shouldn't have even started.

Sleeper, tho, is awesome.

Okay, the Woody Allen movies I Have seen, ranked, in order:

Feisty's Top Picks:
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Annie Hall
Hannah and Her Sisters
Manhattan
Husbands and Wives
Everyone Says I love You

The Upper Strata:
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Broadway Danny Rose
Radio Days
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Sweet and Lowdown
Zelig

The Middle Strata
Sleeper
Matchpoint
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Scoop
Small Time Crooks
Interiors


The Lower Strata
What's Up Tiger Lily?
Hollywood Ending
Mighty Aphrodite
Bullets Over Broadway

this makes no sense to me.

especially since you put small time crooks above it.

boooo.

I thought it was boring and I have a hate-love relationship with John Cusack.
Even so, I'm obsessed with Woody Allen and I'd rather watch a "lower strata" Woody Allen movie than almost any other movie.

Hannah and Her Sisters or Manhattan. I see those as the epic Allen epoch triad.

I'll play along among those I've seen:

1. Annie Hall
2. Hannah and Her Sisters
3. Manhattan
4. Bullets Over Broadway
5. Crimes and Misdemeanors
6. Zelig
7. Sweet and Lowdown
8. The Purple Rose of Cairo
9. What's Up, Tiger Lily?
10. Match Point
11. Sleeper
12. Melinda and Melinda
13. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (dated but sometimes hilarious)
14. Mighty Aphrodite
15. Bananas
16. Deconstructing Harry (meh)
17. Scoop (meh)
18. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (not recommended)

"It's a.... giant... tit!"

A Big Hand For The Little Lady




Not as good as I was led to believe. But fairly alright.

While we are on the Woody tip, one shouldn't ignore his non-directorial appearances in dramatic The Front and the romantic comedy Play It Again, Sam, both pretty decent movies for their time.

This Woody thing could stand to be its own thread. Good posts on it so far, folks.

For the most part I agree with your rankings.
But this movie was so annoying - middle or lower strata for me.

Nahh, I'm with Feisty on this one. Although I was a little surprised that I wasn't the only one who thought it's one of Allen's best. It's really a perfect fusion of Allen comedy and the classic MGM musical...but if you're not a fan of musicals I could see this film being very annoying.

Great:
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Annie Hall (1977)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Manhattan (1979)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Zelig (1983)
New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks")
Radio Days (1987)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Bananas (1971)
Sleeper (1973)

Good:
Alice (1990)
Love and Death (1975)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Celebrity (1998)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Shadows and Fog (1992)
Another Woman (1988)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Interiors (1978)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

The Lowest Strata
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

The Crappy Strata
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
September (1987)


edit-I'd also add that his best performance ever was in 'The Front'

Everyone Says I Love you just has too many of my favorite things. Music and dance, Natasha Lyonne, Alan Alda, my twin Tim Roth, and that rad penthouse. I just like musicals.

You CAN ignore his non-directorial appearance in Scenes From A Mall, BTW.

Love & Death is the "Airplane" of European art movies. Check out how he cops Eisenstein and Bergman at various points in addition to the goofy dialogue.

Love and Death is next on my list, I think.

Love and Death might be my #1.

Looks like I need to see Love & Death.

Hot Rod: You know I had absolutely no inclination to watch this until I learned two things 1) Danny McBride is in it and 2) the details of the plot. In case you didn't know, the plot revolves around Rod (Andy Samberg) an amateur stuntman who decides to do a monster stunt to raise money for his stepfather (Ian McShane) so that he can fight him. Anyways, it's absolutely ridiculous, and actually pretty damn funny with an entire sequence lifted from Footloose, a soundtrack featuring a number of songs by Europe (Yet having the balls to eschew "The Final Countdown"), an impromptu..."rap"?, and a terrific ending sequence in which [spoiler]Rod finally fights his stepfather[/spoiler]. Completely enjoyable; it's been a fun year for comedies (This, Knocked Up, Superbad and Hot Fuzz).

how was it?
is it worth a rental when it comes out on dvd at least?

It was decent. Definitely worth a rental. A friend was really hyping it up and it didn't meet the expectations, but nonetheless I enjoyed it.

The whole people being captive inside a market kept reminding me of Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive"

This one is of better quality, definitely. A twisted noir like ending, too (just make sure no one gives it away)

I just think it's funny that people still pay money to see Michael Bay movies. ( I know this was a few pages back, but-- sheesh!)

I can't believe I hadn't seen this before:




This was also good, directed by Richard Linklater.

Worth seeing, if only for the complete insanity of the visuals. Especially on Blu-ray. Didn't think as much of it as Satoshi Kon's first film, Perfect Blue, back in the day, but it's inspired me to finally Netflix Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, the flicks he did in between.



Way better than expected. When it's on, it's as funny as anything this year -- but there are a lot of lulls in the action. Not necessarily bad lulls, just highly uneventful segments placed amongst the hilarity.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!1 never seeing swingers is one of the most inexcusable things on the planet.

Haven't seen Swingers. It's high on my list though, right after all this 2007 stuff I'm catching up on.

No desire to see Swingers. Jon Favreau is a pompous turnoff.

haha. second only to spinal tap.

pot, kettle. Kettle, pot.

Ditto. It's even less excusable for me, considering my job.

Speaking of catching up, I just watched this:



Vanishing Point - UK Extended Edit

Wow. This is a terrific flick. I wish I'd seen it before Death Proof, considering just how much Tarantino lifted straight outta here (I might've enjoyed the 3rd act of DP more, for one thing). But I can't dis DP too much, since it was the film that made me check out Vanishing Point. And good gooddamn is this a great movie. I don't know why it grabbed me so much - after all, there isn't much in terms of plot, characters, etc. But it's got everything it needs to work: just enough character development + glimpses of depth to keep the curiosity flowing; insane car chases; oodles of subtext; cool photography; and cars that seem to become characters in their own right... cars that fit the drivers like an extension of their drivers. Yeah, that's gotta be the clincher. Just cheesy enough to be fun, just deep enough to be taken seriously. In short, this film rocks.

by pompous turnoff do you mean hot dude? i thought so.
do you hate everything hes done? do you hate elf? how could you hate a lovable christmas classic, velocity?

swingers is just an epic movie in terms of low budget indie films. the actual pompous turnoff, vince vaughn, is remarkably funny and nt at all annoying.

touche.

and shut up, wouldya?

Heh. I hated Elf. Aside from one or two very well-designed scenes, 90% of that movie is an endurance test for me.

But then again - I despise almost all Xmas-themed entertainment. Oh yeah, I really do. And there's nothing anyone can say to change my mind, for I worked 2 whole Xmas retail seasons at a corporate music & video store. Having been literally surrounded by the theme for over 6 weeks at a time really leaves a scar, believe me. (Don't believe me? This was almost 20 years ago. Think about that for a while - or better yet: don't.) I had never realized just how few unique stories & songs have been created about the season & subsequently copied & re-copied & re-re-copied etcetera etc until subjugating myself to that scene. It's kinda like walking down a near-infinite hall of mirrors, and every one shows your reflection in a completely different manner a'la Twilight Zone. I do like all the Xmas lights everywhere, tho. So I ain't a total Scrooge.

Uhm, OK - Threadjack over. Back to the movies!

i despise xmas shit too, but i love elf. i also will pretty much buy into anything will ferrell does, so that could explain it. that movie is cute, without being too cutesy. plus, andy richter and amy sedaris are in it.

*poring maple syrup on spaghetti*
"you sure like sugar dont you buddy?"
"is there sugar in syrup?"
"yes"
"THEN YES!"

christmas movies don't usually do much for me either, but elf and christmas vacation are always good for a laugh.

girl don't you be disrespectin christmas vacation. that shit is classic. CLASSIC.

Oh man, I rewatched Elf last night. Even better than I remembered.

Nah, Elf is good. Favreau only bugs me onscreen.

That does explain it. I am also not a big fan o' Ferrell's work. He seems like a fun guy to hang around with yet I've never seen him play a character I can tolerate, let alone enjoy. Maybe if he played things a little more subtle, y'know?

Great flick. Totally different ending from the book as well. If you haven't I highly recommend you read the collection of short stories where the Mist first appeared.

If you ever get a shot, pick up a copy of "Night Shift". It's not the one with the Mist, but it has another messed up sci-fi story called "I am the Doorway". Plus it has Children of the Corn and Jersusalem's Lot.

Just when I thought my taste couldn't get any stranger, I'm about to sit down and watch (for the first time, mind you):



the Stuff

Whoa. You know, this is a surprisingly good flick. Yes, it's a silly B-movie. But what a brilliant premise!

Michael Moriarty is, by far, the most underrated actor of our time.

Wow, Monty, you read Stephen King, too! We could almost be buddies.

"The Mist" novella is in the Skeleton Crew story collection. Even more fun is the adapted "radio play" performance, on cassette or CD, with 3-D sound that will make you jump in your seat.

Elf was on TV here last night, well worth watching in December. Proper cheesefest ending though.

Movie fucking killed me, it was such good schlok B-grade faire. And Alexander Scourby promoting "The Taste"? I never watched National Geographic specials the same way ever again.

And Elf sucks. Law of the Universe: All things Will Ferrell-related suck. He's a one-note, no range, manchild dipshit. Moving on.

Thanks for the reminder, shock. I'm adding this to my queue. Been meaning to see it too.

Big shocker here, but this was terrible. Follows every movie convention in the books, Cage attempts an Elvis impersonation, and Peter Fonda makes another bad career move.

marie antoinette

everything about the sets had stunning details and all the costumes were obvs oscar worthy but outside of the creative soundtrack. I was less than blown away by any performance in this. just a one off-kilter biopic with tinkering and folly.