Here Comes Some "Magic In The Moonlight"

Magic In The Moonlight (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Simon McBurney

Written and Directed by Woody Allen

The Story:

Stanley (Firth) is a great magician who is called by an old friend (McBurney) to help debunk a young medium named Sophie (Stone). He's been trying, but seems to think she is legitimate. The more Stanley is around her, the more he begins to realize two things: she may be the real deal, and he might be falling in love with her.

This is a sweet enough, amusing venture by Woody Allen.

However, I'm not sure I can get past the age difference between the two leads.

Perhaps Stanley should have loved her like a daughter. Being almost 30 years her senior, that relationship makes sense.

So there's a creepy vibe that hangs over the movie the whole time, and it just didn't work for me.

Stone is fine as usual, as is Firth.

Truth be told, I love Colin Firth. Great actor, lots of fun. Does great in drama and is equally adept in comedy.

Make Sophie older, and allow her to appear older, and maybe, just maybe, the creepy vibe goes away.

Your mileage may vary.

The fact that Woody Allen has a past with young girls, well... let's just say that this movie helps remind  you of that fact.

As they lean in for the kiss at the end, I didn't meet that scene with a smile.

It was more of a recoil in horror.

: /

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: One and done!

Halloween Candy Hangover? The Antidote Would Be To "Make 'Em Laugh" Disc One

Now that's funny!

The Story: 

A retrospective of comedy in America, as originally presented on PBS back in 2009.  6 episodes, spread out 2 per disc, because apparently 6 hours of information is too much for one DVD...

The first episode concentrates on the oddballs, jerks and nerds.

Emphasis falls on Johnathan Winters, Robin Williams, Harold Lloyd, Phyllis Diller, Woody Allen but many others are mentioned and featured.

The second episode is the breadwinners and homemakers.

This concentrates on tv shows, especially I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and the Dick Van Dyke show.

The documentary seems to jump scatter-brained from past to present, back and forth, with no real rhyme or reason to the skipping.

The subtitle of this documentary was "The Funny Business of America".

To me, that's how this should have been presented.  They were looking at 100 years, start with vaudeville and the silent movies and end with the stand-ups/tv/movie funnymen of today.

I think that would have given a bit better focus on the growth and importance of American comedy.

So there was some interesting nuggets to be had, but I'm not sure that anyone in the house wants me getting the remaining 4 hours to see how it turns out.

The series was hosted with intros by Billy Crystal, and it offered some insightful commentary by people that are no longer with us, like George Carlin.

Overall it was a nice experiment that could have used some tightening in execution.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, not even sure I'll get around to finishing the rest of the series.

Is There Anything More Romantic Than "Midnight in Paris" ?

Life was so much better back then...

The Story:

Gil (Owen Wilson) is a successful Hollywood writer, but he very much wants to try his hand at writing a novel.  He travels to Paris on a vacation with his girlfriend Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy).  Gil loves Paris and wants to ditch Hollywood and move to Paris, but Inez is dead-set against it.  They bump into Paul (Michael Sheen), an old acquaintance of Inez, and he wants them to hang out with him and tour Paris.  Gil isn't interested, and finds an excuse to ditch the party.  He wanders through Paris and at midnight, a car pulls up and he is asked to come along for a ride.  The next thing Gil realizes is that he is hanging out with Cole Porter (Yves Heck) and the Fitzgeralds (Alison Pill and Tom Hiddleston).  Maybe he's drunk, but Gil is finding life in the Roaring 20s everything he thought it would be.  How long will this time travel experience last?

Well, I have to admit, this may be one of the first Woody Allen movies that I've actually watched.  Looking over his prolific career, the man makes about a movie a year, normally as writer/director, or at least director.

I think I was turned off by Woody Allen by his performance in Scenes From a Mall.  It wasn't that funny, therefore it's easier to just chuck his career and move on.

Now that I see he didn't write or direct that movie, I may have to rethink my position on Mr. Allen's career.

Eventually.

: )

Now, back to the movie at hand.

This movie was very charming, if not a directly a paint-by-the-numbers formula.  You can tell immediately just by their reactions that Gil and Inez are not meant to be together.

That said, there's nothing wrong with following a formula, provided you do it effectively, and this movie does so.

The real question is, how will Gil figure this out?  Will he stay in the 20s and live out his life, retroactively?  Or will he learn that the only true golden age is the one he lives in right now?

It is fun to watch Gil put the pompous Paul in his place with facts about Paris that he is gathering first-hand on a nightly basis by hanging out with the actual players.

Good fun all around.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: A definite yes to rewatchability, and yes if the price is right.  I've got a million other movies to purchase, so prices and titles have to be aligned perfectly. : )