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jaishel
Reviews
One Hour Photo (2002)
Sorely disappointing.
NOT what the trailers would have you imagine, that being a 'Silence of the Lambs' type effort. I'm going to temporarily discard the writing rule of adding detail to your statement.
This is simply a weak, poor film. The only two redeeming qualities are that Williams tries exceedingly hard to fulfil his role as a spineless, yet sinister wimp, and that ER's Dr Benton makes an appearance.
Do NOT watch it, or pay for it. I did, and I did.
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Only the 3rd Woody film I've seen, and 3 out of 3 ain't bad...
Manhattan Murder Mystery, 1993. On clearout at my video store.
Despite the title, more of a comedy than a thriller, but enough of both for most, I'd hazard. Jerry Adler plays an newly-widowed (or should that be 'widowered'?) neighbour who Woody's wife (Keaton) suspects has killed his own wife. Our Woody initially thinks his better half is crazy to suspect such a nice, stamp-collecting avuncular chap, but as the evidence mounts and she gains recruits to her cause from their circle of friends, Woody starts to assist her...not giving away too much here, but the resolution and Woody's involvement in it should produce a satisfying mental 'click' in your brain.
Woody at his best, but let me first get some negative energy out of my system...I found Diane Keaton and Alan Alda a tad weak...Keaton's 'maladjusted rich girl now nearing 50' routine and Alda's constant dirty leers in her direction got a little tiring after a few viewings. I didn't know Alda until this film, and when I saw an 1974 ep of Mash recently, and I'm amazed at how little he changed physically over two decades.
On the positive, Anjelica Huston and Woody are a breeze, both together and with anyone else. Her steel-trap mind and subtle seduction of Woody are wondrous to behold, while Woody himself just reeks of professionalism and his usual widely loved neurotic, Jewish, New Yorker, sarcastic self:
"I just can't listen to that much Wagner, I start to get this uncontrollable urge to conquer Poland!"
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Just see it!
Great Woody, and I cannot recommend this film strongly enough.
But...if you haven't seen the film, a little warning; the Greek chorus can be a little confusing, in a Tarantinoesque time jumping fashion. You end up wondering what some guys in rags, prancing around some wasteground 2,000 years ago, have to do with 1995 Manhattan. Well, they're pretending to be Woody's subconscious. Don't pay them TOO much attention. Just to spare everyone a little headache.
Otherwise, excellent Sunday afternoon viewing. Linda Ash (the prostitute) manages to upstage Woody's character, Lenny Weinrib, at nearly every turn. Allen continues his lifelong love affair with his native New York, and in keeping with the relaxing flavour of the film, a lot of less famous, but equally picturesque sections of the city are visible. You can almost detect a sea-change happening to the city; it was filmed at around the time that Giulani's reforms started to turn New York around for the better. 'Mighty' is actually a feel good movie, but you don't get that nice, warm feeling until...well, watch the film, I can't give too much away!
His characters in film are consistent, and reflective of his own persona; Lenny is a Jewish sports journalist (Allen is Jewish, and Jews, relative to their population, are disproportionately over-represented in Sports Management), his office is overrun with paper and contains no computer (Allen was 60, although it's still unrealistic for a publisher to do without one!) and, like his real life, he's forever involved with much younger women (both Linda and Amanda were 29, his secretary early 20's, and he remarried in 1997 to a 30 yr old!).
Another warning on that note; watching Allen playing his role as if he were a hotshot 35-year old again is a little disconcerting. You just get the feeling, sometimes, that he's too old to live his life at this speed. However, he does make a couple of acknowledgments in that direction.
Finally, a bit of trivia for the buffs, for those who want to brag at dinner parties about the movie, and for lovers of Pellegrino water; the latter is seen twice during the film.