10s Movie Review - Midnight in Paris

Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy/ Romance/ Fantasy
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill, Léa Seydoux, Corey Stoll, Kurt Fuller, Gad Elmaleh, Mimi Kennedy

Description: While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, nostalgic screenwriter Gil (Owen Wilson) finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Review: Gil Pender, from Pasadena, may be a successful scriptwriter in Hollywood, but he really wants to be an author of novels. His ambition is big and he wants to get inspiration. Together with his fiancée he travels to Paris.
Gil is a romantic. When clouds gather up above Paris, he takes the opportunity to wander the streets of Paris in the rain. While fiancée Inez and his mother in law open an umbrella. Owen Wilson is perfect for the role of Gil. There is something about that permanent nostalgic amazement of his, like he sees something we don’t see. Wilson drags us into that experience of his. He is also surrounded by an amazing cast, like Rachel McAdams as Inez and Marion Cotillard as Adriana. Two completely different women, who mess with Gil’s head. Or what about Michael Sheen as know it all Paul, who is really obnoxious. Kathy Bates does a wonderful job as Getrude Stein and Corey Stoll is fantastic as Ernest Hemmingway.
Director Woody Allen uses the power of the human desire for the past. “Midnight in Paris” shows the city of Paris at its best and it’s a magical story. I fell in love with this movie and it has become one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5 

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 134: Miss Sloane

Director: John Madden
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Alison Pil, Mark Strong, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Lithgow

Description: In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. But when taking on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds winning may come at too high a price.

Review: Who doesn’t know what the work of a lobbyist contains, doesn’t have to feel threatened by “Miss Sloane”. During the opening, Elizabeth Sloane breaks the fourth wall and tells us what lobbying is all about: Lobbying is forsight, anticipate what the opponent is going to do and come with a counter action. The winner is also one step ahead.
It’s a good intro to the hectic political world we are about to enter. Director John Madden managed to create a realistic picture of this abstract world.
The film is fictional. The stakes for this lobbying is a controversial bill named Heaton-Harris, that stand for stricter rules for weapon possession. That’s where Elizabeth Sloane comes in. She is the kind of woman with a strong opinion, extremely confident and relentless when needed. After a meeting with the ‘big guys’ of a powerful lobby company, Sloane turns her back on them. With a small team and under her supervision, Sloane starts the battle, where morals are forgotten.
Why she is so ambitious about this, stays unknown the entire film. No rough childhood and she wasn’t victimized by a firearm herself. Normally the lack of a drive like that can be a negative, but for “Miss Sloane” that’s absolutely not the issue. It is in fact just that absence that makes Elizabeth Sloane so unpredictable.
She isn’t all ice queen though. Her nightly visits from a male escort, where he manages to see an emotional side. And after a defeat, rage escapes her.
It’s a combination of a smart script and a fantastic performance by Jessica Chastain that makes this political thriller different from others in the genre. Chastain carries this movie.
Movies with themes like this can easily become dull and over explanatory, but not “Miss Sloane”. It’s interesting, captivating and there is a tension that doesn’t let you go. This film really surprised me and I believe not enough people appreciate it.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 4: To Rome with Love

Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz, Roberto Benigni, Greta Gerwich, Alison Pil, Judy Davis, Alessandro Tiberi, Alessandra Mastronardi, Flavio Parenti

Description: The intertwining stories of a worker who wakes up to find himself a celebrity (Roberto Benigni), an architect (Alec Baldwin) who takes a trip back to the street he lived on as a student, a young couple (Alessandro Tiberi, Alessandra Mastronardi ) on their honeymoon, and a frustrated opera director (Woody Allen) who has a talent for discovering talented singers.

Review: For director Woody Allen it has become the recipe: pick a famous city, choose a couple of interesting characters, add some storylines to it and finish it off with some witty comedy. Where he’s taken on Barcelona (“Vicky Cristina Barcelon”), London (“You Will Mee a Tall Dark Stranger”) and Paris (“Midnight in Paris”), he chose Rome for his décor this time.
I always like movies with multiple storylines, but it’s a bit too much here, even for Woody Allen. It’s very hard to make four completely different stories, which absolutely no relation, interesting. Which make some of the storylines feel a bit incomplete. For instance the story op Leopoldo, an average citizen who becomes a celebrity all of a sudden. It’s a good concept but doesn’t have the humor it should have. None of these stories are above average and the characters are all superficial and easily replaceable.
“To Rome with Love” does have some interesting moments, like the story of Jerry who discover that Giancarlo is a fantastic opera singer. But it also appears that he can only sing this well in the shower. This storyline is funny at times. The music that was used for the film is very characteristic and makes you think you’re in Rome. But the city of Rome isn’t used the way Allen did with Paris in one of my favorites “Midnight in Paris”, which was a hit. Is “To Rome with Love” a miss? Not completely, but it’s definitely not one of his best movies.

Rating: 2,5/ 5