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Tourist Trap (1998)
Early Woody Allen mockumentary short I watched to compare to later mockumentary Zelig. Very jokey and political. A few moments made me laugh — e.g. a congressional inquiry about the Boy Scouts to parody the hunt for Communists, and a garbled monologue about “winning war or winning peace.” Many of the references are too timely to resonate today. I did enjoy the early Diane Keaton sighting, though.
As a technical exercise, this is truly astonishing:
Given the movie’s place in Allen’s filmography — right after Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Stardust Memories — it’s not hard to see why this movie was met with “that’s all?” skepticism. It’s a lightweight, bed-swapping romantic farce set in the early 20th century. But the film’s control of tone and playful storytelling is really charming. The acting is excellent, and the whole experience is brisk and pleasant, with a surprisingly optimistic thematic backbone: the past is past, and we should celebrate the things we have.
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Incredibles 2 (2018)
Multiple choice quiz. Why did you like The Incredibles?
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The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923)
Many of the very early — like 1925 and before — films that have endured in the canon are epics.
Given how self-focused his work is, Allen’s directorial voice works well with meta hijinks. The movies and movies-within-the-movie blend elliptically, rendering romance into a confusing, dreamlike haze. Stardust Memories is not particularly fun, but certainly beautiful, and, in my eyes, truly great.
Filmmaking of an exquisite order, with the huge wart on its ass of idealizing romance between a 42-year-old man and 17-year-old girl without guilt or investigation.
Manhattan is a love letter to NYC featuring 5-star beauty and filmmaking, a great script, a phenomenal soundtrack… and a horrid male gaze that makes it tough to give a rating to.
More American Graffiti is far more insane and audacious than I ever possibly imagined. Like truly batshit.
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American Graffiti (1973)
