We seem to watch a Woody Allen movie every other week or so, and almost always love them – OK, we recently fell asleep on a late late night of watching “Life and Death” but fortunately woke up in time to nearly vomit with laughter at the ending scene (no spoilers allowed, sorry). There is so much to enjoy in his stuff – outlandish slapstick physical comedy that would make Benny Hill and Mel Brooks proud, unmatched philosophical perspectives – no one else is even in the ballpark on that one, fantastic characters all over the place, and plenty of poignancy and irony.

He’s nearly always center-stage, so if you are intolerant of his philosophically-driven cynicism, hypochondria and paranoia, or outright goofiness, sure it might not be your thing. (Ed.: he married his daughter. Rebuttal: Celebrities are allowed a few eccentricities! Ed.: Let me repeat… his daughter! Rebuttal reprise: I just said to Andrea “there must be a word to describe old guys that like younger women” and got the irony-laden response: “yeah normal”) But personally he’s made my life just a little bit richer. Don’t miss this one in particular – it boasts a central story on the inevitability of justice, reaching Poe-like intensity before… well, like I said, no spoilers.

From the “red sleastacks” dept…

This was fun. We went in with low expectations – thrillers are definitely not our film genre of choice – and spent the first few minutes snickering. But we were pulled into the yarn of this creepy fairytale and had a good time with it. It is nicely shot, nicely acted, and has the signature Shyamalan twists that crescendo to the moment where all the pieces fall together, just as they are revealed (a little earlier if you pay attention).

Ben Kinsgley rocks, yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. I can never pass up a thick-cockney-slurred ganster flick (as in “Heafrow”). Unkle’s soundtrack does a great job of throbbing and rumbling underneath the movie, keeping the cords of tension tight as the main cast awaits Ben’s character’s ominous arrival. But underneath it, this one has a heart of gold, sweet as pie. Fun fun.

The most visually stunning computer animation display to date. Imagine seeing a gentle snowfall in 3D, and you’ve just started to understand how beautiful this film was. Not just cheesy layers of occasional 3D, but a total, immersive 3D world. Everyone loved it, even Wrenny, who closed her eyes a few times when things got scary. A nicely done story about a kid recapturing his faith (even if it was faith in some guy in a red suit). It was below freezing and windy at the IMAX theater, which added to the ambiance.

From a technical perspective, the only thing that still needed work was modelling the physics of the human body better – all the human characters still had that imperfectly-motion-captured jerkiness. But the richness of the 3D world drawn on the huge IMAX screen was simply stunning.

Great pacing backed up by a nice time-sliced plot. Exhilirating!

“What’s in the bag?”

Cary Grant is the definition of style in this Hitchcock classic. He’s Mr. Average, until he’s ensnared in a complicated plot of espionage. But incompetent lawmen, incessant misfortune – even the outright sinister plotting of his enemies – merely annoy him, highlighting how suave he is under pressure. You just have to see this one to “get it”.

Yeah, it’s a romantic comedy, but it has teeth. Lots of ’em. And lots of kitchy nods to the great 50’s classics like The Seven Year Itch. Sleeper of the summer!

Economics, drugs, sexism, abortion, racism – this guy knows the REAL heart of the issues. He’s un-PC, crude, and brilliantly insightful, all at once. Oh, and FUNNY!!