Netzer Shohet

(2013-06-09 03:05:19)

Pointless is an understatement

I am a fan of Woodie Allen, even if I didn't always like all his movies(but I have many favorites). Even in movies I didn't enjoy I understoodthe point - "To Rome with Love" HAS NO POINT. The acting at times isbad, the stories are incoherent and the script surprisingly feelswritten by a 9 year old child... Something I never expected from aWoodie Allen movie. I left the theater feeling I had undergone a social experiment bysomeone who wanted to see, after the success of "Midnight in Paris", ifsomeone would stand up and shout "The king is naked!".Of the 4 parallel story lines only 1 was somewhat watchable and that'sbecause of Alec Baldwin, and even that storyline started soincoherently that it was hard to enjoy it for the rest of the movie.

FilmStallion

(2013-06-08 12:40:22)

To Rome With Love...3 out of 4 Skittles

In true Woody Allen comedic fashion, To Rome With Love intertwinesdifferent stories into one larger piece with the title city set as thebackground. Some of the story lines are good...some not so much.The best story arc stars Alec Baldwin playing an architect visiting thecity to retrace his steps from thirty years ago when he lived in Romeas a young student. Baldwin runs into his younger self, played withusual neuroticism by Jesse Eisenberg, and follows him through an affairhe had with his girlfriend's best friend (played by Ellen Page). Theentertaining and amusing story line could have easily been made into afeature length story of its own.Roberto Benigni stars in what is probably the least entertaining storyline as a man with a boring office job doing the same thing everydaywho wakes up as a famous celebrity for no apparent reason. The idea isbeaten over the audience's head and quickly loses traction. It's onethat I wished Allen would have scraped from the story all together.Even with some of the slower moments To Rome With Love is light andfun, and will entertain Woody Allen fans. It doesn't dive in as deep assome of his other recent flicks, but for Allen, who continues to pumpout at least one movie a year, it keeps the train rolling.For more quick reviews check out www.FilmStallion.com

(2013-06-04 13:29:13)

human map of Europe

friendship, ages, community, small human map of E.U., French style topresent a world far of limits , delicate feelings, reflection in theothers, love, adventures, common existence, trips, joy, search ofsense, invention of experiences and sentimental connections. a filmabout evolution and self definition. nothing complicated. but profoundanalyse of escapes, dreams and importance of gesture as skin of words.a picture of young people as picture of a very strange and, in samemeasure, common, Europe. a message of hope. with crumbs of courage,sentimental complications, personal problems, need of friends andimportance of meeting. the first virtue - its fresh seductive air. thesecond virtue - its art to be perfect mirror of a generation. the lastvirtue - unspoken words, mixture of realism and poetry and the watersof emotions. a love story. for a continent as part of its citizens.

stensson

(2013-06-04 10:39:03)

No, not this time

It's like reality isn't enough for Woody Allen anymore, because moreand more fantasies or almost hallucinations run through his filmsnowadays. It was like that in Paris and it is like that in Rome.Many parallel stories here. The prostitute who walks into the wrongroom, the young architect guy who does the same love mistakes as theold ghost shadow behind him once did. The boring clerk who suddenlybecomes a celebrity for no reason. Like most celebrities.The dialog is funny also this time. Especially when Allen himself isinvolved. But Allen scripts dealing with reality outside our minds arecertainly better.

Neuenschwander9

(2013-06-04 11:52:56)

More Allen Garbage

I found this movie an insult to the Italian culture, and like all Allenmovies, an arrogant jab at anyone living between the two coasts. Iremembered when this piece of crap premiered, I heard the good peopleof Rome were mad as hell at the obvious insult to their city and state.So I went to see it just to see if they were over reacting. Theyweren't. Allen and his ilk, think all of us who live in any otherEuropean city besides Paris are a bunch of backward rubes who justdon't get it, cause we invented Empiricism.The casting was a joke, and the music worse. This was Hollywoodcountry. This had nothing to do with Rome or the culture. This was Romeas seen through the eyes of the Hollywood culture. Why cast a bunch ofyankees and west coast "progressives" to portray Mediterraneans, unlessyou're satirizing them. All I saw was a bunch of second rate actorsdressed up as clowns, pokin fun at the backward hillbillies of Rome.Just as M*A*S*H was a jab at the military culture, To Rome with Lovewas no more than a laugh at the European culture of the South. So yukit up while you can. Hollywood and the mainstream media won't alwayswield the power of influence over our culture.

Brendonwbrown

(2013-06-04 09:03:54)

Scenery with little plot.

I love movies based on ancient European cities, full of history,scenery and culture. When the movie was over, I found that scenery wasall I could take away from it. It would seem that the underlyingmessage of the movie is that people are idiots, will make poordecisions, and still everything will be alright in the end. This moviecould have been filmed in any city, town or farmstead, but having Romeat its centre, the weak script, characters whose actions do not follow,and lame dialogue are almost forgivable. Did anyone understand why AlecBaldwin continually showed up at the scene of every activity among thecollege friends? How bored is an older gentlemen that he has to spenddays following a group of unimpressive students around, and how is itthe students tolerate him? This looked like it could have been a greatmovie, but was such a let-down.

thegodfathersaga

(2013-06-03 15:04:12)

funny, free and imaginative but doesn't amount to much

Throughout his career, Woody Allen has managed to portray the detailsof human relationships of almost any kind, combined with a sense of dryhumor, intellectual references with a personal touch.. going through 4uneven, unrelated stories placed in the beautiful city of Rome, WoodyAllen, the master of repartee (how awesome it is to see him still ableto deadpan a line like none other), manages to create an intelligentfilm, plunging his characters into a world of art and knowledge. underthe seal of comedy, Allen brings up the absurdity and silliness oflove, relationships, adultery and fame. and despite the weakness of thetwo stories starring Roberto Benigni and Penelope Cruz, Woody Allencleverly plays on the perception of roles. however, the lack ofcohesion in the stories and the themes prevent the viewer from beinghooked, and they ultimately feel like snippets of stories which Allenhas already told in previous movies. also, Rome here could be anywhereelse; Allen failed to capture the essence of the place, nor thebest-case scenario as he did with Paris, London and Barcelona, letalone the odes he has devoted to New York.. It remains true that ToRome with Love is a funny, free and imaginative movie but, likeBenigni's character's fame, it's only fleeting and doesn't amount tomuch

cnycitylady

(2013-06-03 10:28:58)

Woody Allen, where'd you go?

This is probably one of the worst Woody Allen films made to date. Thismovie lacks all of the quirky, weird and generally unique sensibilitiesthat make a Woody Allen movie a Woody Allen movie.The characters are all under-developed, and un-relatable; Theircorresponding plots are either predictable or just incomprehensible. Anexample of this would be the plot line to Jesse Eisenberg's story;while watching you know that it won't work out between himself andEllen Page. She's too flighty for a sensible man such as he, and whatwas up with Alec Baldwin always hanging about them? He was with themfor days, was Jesse Eisenberg's character imagining him, was AlecBaldwin reminiscing? What the heck was all of that about? And what waswith that average Joe all of a sudden famous, and then not famous? The story lines were just all over the place. He lacked solid ideas,and the few that he had were not elaborated upon to actually producesomething worth watching, and the fact that the movie is just under twohours doesn't help its case. There is nothing in this movie that makesyou want to sit through it for longer than you have to, and when itpasses the ninety minute mark, it's longer than you have to.Now I don't think that this movie was all bad--just mostly bad; mainlybad. There were a few laughs, but they weren't of the odd joke or WoodyAllen kind. They were simple, plain jokes that usually have no businessin a Woody Allen movie. And I feel that if some of the storyline's weregiven an entire movie length, say about ninety minutes, then they wouldhave had something to go on, but condensed to about half an hour eachand scattered in-between the other stories just hurt what little theyhad to give in the first place.Overall this movie is a tedious viewing and not at all worth watchingfor substance. Perhaps if you are looking for something to watch tokill time you can allow it to play, but other than that I would passover it to watch one of the more classic Woody Allen films such asAnnie Hall, Match Point or Midnight in Paris.

blogurious

(2013-05-31 20:59:08)

Italian ride

The genius is back for another spin around life's simple things. WoodyAllen is, as I have mentioned before, one of my favorite directors forhis smart way of tackling any subject and making it a pleasure towatch. "To Rome With Love" offers not only a stroll through the wonderful cityand it's amazingly beautiful spots, but also a very funny comedy ofcustoms and delightful insights. Life itself is a spring ofinspirational cues and Allen knows exactly where to step in and makethe experience an intelligent ride. Fame and fortune, social concernsand the nonsensical effect of silly preoccupation about things that donot deserve the least of consideration are packed in this Italianadventure that entertains without any serious impact or damage. It'ssimply a lot of fun.

TxMike

(2013-05-31 17:40:39)

Just a fun romp, as most Woody Allen movies are.

As the extra on the DVD explains, Woody Allen is a fan of the olderItalian movies and wanted to do an homage of sorts, to make a movie inRome with some of the Italian style and comedy represented in thoseolder movies.He has several, independent, parallel stories going on, each with itsown quirks. I like Woody himself in small doses and here he has one ofthe roles, as a dad, recently retired from the classical musicbusiness, traveling to Rome to see his daughter and meet her ItalianfiancГѓВ©e. Most of the humor involves Giancarlo, the father of thefiancГѓВ©e, and the actor is Fabio Armiliato, who in actuality is awell-respected operatic tenor. He is an undertaker and they discoverthat he sings really well in the shower, but only does so-so in theaudition that he very reluctantly goes to. The solution is funny, theymodify well-known operas so that he always sings while taking a shower,and the audience loves him. Roberto Benigni, of "Life Is Beautiful" fame, plays Leopoldo, a lowlyclerk, who one day is unexpectedly confronted by cameras andmicrophones, for no apparent reason everyone takes an interest in everydetail of his life, what he eats for breakfast, what kind of shavingcream he uses, whether he wears briefs or boxers. He is very annoyed.Of course it is Woody's comment on people who become "famous for beingfamous" with no basis. Later when people lose interest in him he missesthe attention and tries to get it back.There is a bit about a young aspiring architect meeting up with anarchitect who had, like the young architect, lived in the same area ofRome 30 years earlier. Now he is known for designing shopping centers. Another bit is about a young couple taking their honeymoon in Rome andgetting separated, he meeting up with a hooker, she with a hotelrobber, then finding out they would rather lead a more normal life awayfrom Rome. You can look for deep meaning in Woody Allen films but to me thereisn't any, just some humorous scenes and characters that more oftenthan not are a commentary on some facet of our everyday lives. Butexamined from a unique Woody Allen angle.An aside, for years Woody Allen has insisted that his movies have a"mono" soundtrack, because that is the way it was at movie houses. Yesit "was", many years ago. But modern movie houses have incorporatedsome form of "surround sound" for years now. Well this movie, "To RomeWith Love" has a Dolby 5.1 surround sound track. And when I went backto check, "Midnight in Paris" (2011) did too. But every movie beforethat is listed with a "mono" sound. It is nice to see Woody Allen hasfinally accepted modern sound design, it makes the movie much moreenjoyable.

DanielaDix

(2013-05-31 18:45:03)

Burn the tape

Looks like Woody Allen entered his senile stage with this film, isseems like one of those old movies where everything happen because ofridiculous misunderstandings, such a clichГѓВ©, and of course the womenprepare coffee for men, and the wives serve the water; performances ingeneral are wicked, the roles bad chosen, and although that can beunderstood by Jesse Eisenberg who is a terrible actor, but others canonly blame the director, and what can i say of the performance of Allenhimself who remained with the old style, so its performance is almostunbearable, false and over-acted, they should burn the tape.Looks like Woody Allen entered his senile stage with this film, isseems like one of those old movies where everything happen because ofridiculous misunderstandings, such a clichГѓВ©, and of course the womenprepare coffee for men, and the wives serve the water; performances ingeneral are wicked, the roles bad chosen, and although that can beunderstood by Jesse Eisenberg who is a terrible actor, but others canonly blame the director, and what can i say of the performance of Allenhimself who remained with the old style, so its performance is almostunbearable, false and over-acted, they should burn the tape.

ignatiusloyala

(2013-05-31 00:52:39)

Hackneyed

Hollywood should stop Woody Allen producing movies if he is to recyclehis genres over and over and over again. 'To Rome With Love' is a clichГѓВ©d Woody Allen piece with his hackneyedsignatures like multi-layered love stories, couples that came togetherdue to accidents and a babbling, irritating Woody Allen in whicheverboring roles he wrote for himself - that last bit has not changed a bitsince Annie Hall and man, that was over 30 years ago.While the film has moments of brilliance, the odd but banal plot doesnot save the day: Alec Baldwin's part was cheesy and awkward, and onewonders why his younger companions were not annoyed by his presence;what happened to Benigni was left unexplained - in a way it needs noexplanation but it sounds ridiculous from the beginning - leaving onefeeling somewhat disconnected to the story. In fact, all the storiesare not connected, but it is not like Paris Je T'aime where theaudience knows it contains unrelated stories. At times, I feel thatWoody Allen was trying to make the stories stick together but failed.The incoherence has created such distance between the plot and theaudience that the whole film looks like nothing more than a showcase ofbrilliant actors whose only job was to be beautiful in Rome.

David Ferguson

(2013-05-29 09:32:59)

Ozymandias Melancholy

Greetings again from the darkness. I certainly consider myself a fan ofWoody Allen's films and am in awe of his prolific ability to write anddirect a new movie most every year since 1969. With so many films tohis credit, it's expected that a few will be clunkers. After a prettynice run of non-New York based films, his love letter to Rome fallsshort ... not from lack of ambition, but rather from a feeling thatthese stories have been on his "to do" list for too many years. Theyfeel mostly stale and dated.With one of the world's most beautiful and interesting cities as abackdrop, Mr. Allen delivers four stories - none of which intersectwith the others. There are some similar shared themes, but mostly whatthe four stories have in common is mass overacting by all involved.Surprisingly, the one exception might be Alec Baldwin, whosewise-cracking lines are played pretty close to the vest. Unfortunately,all of the other key actors seem to think they are onstage at a dinnertheatre and that hyper-activity and bellowing lines are lines required.In one story, Woody Allen (his first acting gig since Scoop) and JudyDavis head to Rome to meet their daughter's (Alison Pill) fiancГѓВ©(Flavio Parenti). Allen overhears the father singing in the shower andworks out a scheme to get him an audition that leads to a career. Thefather is played by famed Opera tenor Fabio Armiliato and this story isso goofy, it could easily fit into Allen's "early funny ones".Another story has newlyweds played by Alessandro Tiberi and AlessandroMastronardi in a series of innocent happenstance that leads to some notso innocent events that include her favorite actor (Antonio Albanes)and high-priced call girl (Penelope Cruz). Most of this has the feel ofa Benny Hill skit.Jesse Eisenberg and his girlfriend Greta Gerwig share time with hervisiting friend played by Ellen Page. This is the Alec Baldwin sequenceand he is a near-ghost-like entity who pops in to provide obviousadvice or warning to the players so they don't make the same mistakeshe made as a younger man. This sequence had potential, but neveramounted to much.The fourth story is just an absurd commentary on reality TV and instantfame. Roberto Begnini plays a normal Italian citizen and family man whoone day gets thrust into the world of celebrity for no apparent reason.See, that's the joke. Probably ten years past the time when this wasrelevant.Bashing Woody Allen is not my intent here. Simply pointing out thatthere are four stories and numerous actors and none of it struck achord with me. Not to say there weren't a few well written lines and acouple of terrific shots of Rome ... just not enough to keep me goingfor two hours.

Amy Adler

(2013-05-28 16:43:59)

To Woody, with great love from the movie-loving world, bellissimo!

In Rome, there are lots of folks on the verge of great love. There isthe young American tourist (Alison Pill) who just happens to getdirections to the Trevi fountain from a gorgeous young Italian lawyer.Soon, they are seeing the city and having dinner. But, the idyllicphase may be over when her parents (Judy Davis and Woody Allen) fly infrom the States to meet the young man and his family. The lawyer'sfather, a mortician, sings opera in the shower well but fails to makean impact when he has no soap in his hands. Then, there is a youngarchitectural student (Jesse Eisenberg) who has a live-in girlfriend(Greta Gerwig) he supposedly is much in love with. What a curveballwhen her longtime, struggling-actress pal (Ellen Page) shows up to turnhis attentions in a new direction. An older building designer (AlecBaldwin) is around to give him advice. There is also the gentle clerk(Roberto Benigni) who suddenly captures the world's attention, even towhat kind of underwear he sports! And, what about the young marriedcouple, straight from the country, who come to Rome for a new,wealthier life and get tangled up with a call girl (Penelope Cruz) anda philandering actor? What doings and what romance is in the air! DearWoody, don't be scared, but I am a number one fan, among many in theworld. Therefore, every work you create is like adding a new element tothe periodic table. This one is fresh, funny, clever, and utterlygorgeous in its photography. The cast, very large, is also terrific!Bravo! For all you film fans everywhere, in Rome, New York, or Peoria,go see it. Immediately, if not sooner.

Jules Maenhaut

(2013-05-27 13:44:46)

Enjoyable, but lacking

Quite liked it, obviously not one of his better movies but even on abad day I still think Allen does a better job with rom-coms than mostother directors.It was nice to see Allen return to the screen, still his neurotic oldself and keeping the best jokes for himself too. Also, Alec Baldwin'spop-ups made me laugh often. The rest of the cast was fine: notirritating but not particularly memorable either.The main problem I had was keeping up with the plots. The Italian andEnglish mix was confusing at times, and certain plot elements werevague or undisclosed (like the ending of the storyline with PenelopeCruz, that ended quite abruptly) and left me wanting something more.Also, the multiple plot lines resulted in quite a bit of rehashing.With this I mean the fact that there are basically 4 Woody Allen-ishcharacters (Allen himself, Eisenberg, Benigni and the Antoniocharacter) which after a while started to annoy me, because it startedfeeling like I was watching 4 different episodes of a series at thesame time, and not a particularly coherent series at that.What possibly annoyed me even more though were the two ladies sittingnext to me in the theater, who had probably never heard of Woody Allenbefore but felt inclined to both hum along to every song on thesoundtrack that they knew, and to, whenever a famous Roman site was ina shot, meticulously recall what they did at that site during that onetime they went to Rome. I actually think that sums up my idea of thefilm nicely: if you're a Woody Allen fan, you'll probably enjoy thefilm, but if you're not that fond of him, it's probably better to justbuy a picture book about Rome and look at that.

phd_travel

(2013-05-26 22:34:04)

Very funny parts even if it's not Midnight

How nice to have Woody Allen's humorous look at Italian culture andpeople especially the paparazzi element. Wonder what country will benext? The formula of different stories intersecting in a European cityworks.Great to have Judy Davis acting in one of Woody's tailor made rolesagain. Penelope Cruz is quite good as the sexy Italian. Alec Baldwin'sthing with Jesse Eisenberg wore a bit thin. Ellen Page is good. Woodyhas a good role for himself here. The interesting and notinternationally known (except for Roberto) Italian cast lend anauthentic flavor and there are lots of subtitles. The opera scenes arehilarious and my favorite.It's not as magical or delightful as Midnight in Paris. But it's notfair to compare it to that gem. We can't expect more of that styleanyway. It's a thoroughly pleasant comedy with some unexpected originallaughs and is well worth a watch.

valadas

(2013-05-25 16:23:36)

Only apparently superficial

Woody Allen is a movie director who has a deeply knowledge of modernurban life (his more significant films take place in New York, London,Paris, Barcelona and now Rome) in its various aspects mainly thoseconcerned with human relations namely in what refers to love and theseveral ways it reveals itself including sex. His movies are onlyapparently superficial. Behind the good humour with which they are madewe often find also drama and frustration. And romanticism is almostalways present though not in a very patent image. Besides beingcharming in terms of images of beautiful Rome, this movie tells usseveral crossed stories that have to do with the idiosyncrasies ofpresent society mainly one that the story shows admirably: the illusionof the social and with media coverage fame that has its example in theoffice clerk who becomes suddenly famous without knowing why and withall the inherent public homages and reverences and also the undertakerwho sings well opera but only in the shower. These are obviously socialcaricatures but well presented and performed. On the other hand we havethe love relations in the three young couples with the interference ofa third party in two cases (the seductive pseudo-intellectual girl inone of them and the fine hotel whore and the famous movie actor in theother). This gives way to a lot of excellent gags and funny situationsbut which have to do with real sentiments and their realisticevolutions sometimes unexpected but acceptable in terms ofpsychological reactions. All this i. e. images, scenes, stories, theperformers's work and the gags, everything treated, related and shownwith great skill make this movie one of the best in the current year

collipal-1

(2013-05-25 11:28:43)

A charming experience

Director and screenwriter Woody Allen's "European facet" continues withthe brilliant film To Rome With Love, and while I was watching it, Ithink I found the factor which determines the quality from the filmsfrom this facet: when Allen employs the "spirit" from a city as anintegral part of the narrative, the films end up being very good (MatchPoint, Cassandra's Dream, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Midnight inParis). But when he only employs the city in turn as a picturesquesetting, the result is less solid (Scoop and You Will Meet a Tall DarkStranger). To Rome With Love belongs to the first group, and itdefinitely offers a charming and hugely entertaining experience whichis full of the classic humor and acute observations which have alwaysidentified Allen.Four short stories with romance, humor and a little bit of drama inorder to remind us that not everything is as simple as it seems. That'sthe recipe Allen employed in here, and it works wonderfully well,because of his ability to present simultaneously strange andassimilable situations, inhabited by idealized characters, but with theprecise balance of humanity in order for us to feel identified withtheir fears, ambitions and hopes. To Rome With Love employs a light,but not lacking of deepness, tone, and as a consequence, the frequentlaughs are always accompanied by some message or reflection whichenrich the experience and transcend the mere humorous intention fromthe stories. I guess every spectator will have his/her favorite segmentaccording to their personal tastes and ideology (mine was the one withAllen himself, because besides of its likable characters, it alsooffers some extraordinary moments of surrealistic humor); but they allhave something to say, and none of them feels as frivolous filler.And then we have the excellent performances brought by the whole cast,from the Hollywood stars (such as Allen, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenbergand Judy Davis) to the Italian cast, represented by Roberto Benigni,Alessandra Mastronardi and Alessandro Tiberi, not to mention likablecameos from Ornella Muti and Antonio Albanese. I would particularlylike to point out Fabio Armiliato's brilliant work. I also liked theunexpected use of Ellen Page as a "sexual predator" who is deceptivelyfrail and modest. And PenГѓВ©lope Cruz brings huge enthusiasm and absoluteconviction to a character inspired by the Italian "hussy comedies" fromthe '70s.In conclusion, I enjoyed To Rome With Love very much. The only thing Ican say about it is that some details feel a bit convenient.Nevertheless, I give an enthusiastic recommendation to this light butdelicious Italian dish as one of Allen's best modern comedies.

nickmesafilms

(2013-05-25 04:06:04)

To Rome with Love (2012) - Rome, Dear Rome!

Writer-director Woody Allen not only continues to make a movie almostevery year, but also continues his European exploration genre of filmswith his latest movie, "To Rome with Love", which even though it didn'thave the same taste and wonder found in "Midnight in Paris" or "VickyCristina Barcelona", it's still a decent and enjoyable motion picturefrom Woody Allen. Set as an ensemble motion picture, "To Rome withLove" follows the paths of different story lines, all going back andforth with one another. There are so many story lines, that it's kindof difficult to keep up with them, all in one time. You seem to forgetone storyline, then it leads to another, and then you go back to theone you forgot about, and you realize that it was still in the movie tobegin with. But at least Woody Allen peppers those story lines withgreat performances, great writing, and good precision. Even if themovie kind of felt too long in the process. In one storyline, JesseEisenberg suddenly falls for his girlfriend's exotic best friend,played by Ellen Page, while the hilarious Alec Baldwin tries topersuade Eisenberg that it just might not work. Also, the very iconicRoberto Benigni returns on the screen, who becomes famous for no exactreason. Penelope Cruz stars in her second film with Allen, as she playsa prostitute who has been asked to fill in as a lawyer's wife. Then,there's the one and only Woody Allen in a very hilarious performance asthe wise, fast-talking, and often awkward man who tries to take thefather of her daughter's fiancГѓВ©e, and turn him into a great opera star.Some stories are entertaining, while others just flat-out don't evenmatter. I will say that I was a little disappointed by this movie, butat least I wasn't overall. I still seemed to enjoy the experience ofthat movie. The writing is top-notch, the acting is brilliant, thesights of Rome look beautiful this time of year, and the music is justgorgeous. But there's really not a lot of something else to make thismovie brilliant. This movie still had something missing, which I wasn'tfound impressed by. Even though "To Rome with Love" isn't one of WoodyAllen's finest masterpieces in a while, I will say it's perhaps arather decent one! "To Rome with Love", in my review, "earnest anddecent, but nothing remarkable".

jwills-5

(2013-05-24 15:38:19)

A not so good Allen's movie

It is not one of the most outstanding films of Allen, but, as in allhis filmography, offers to the viewer who admires him, a good time forrecreation, with his characteristic black humor, telling four differentstories not necessarily interwoven. Shows, this time as a continuationof the sequence of the last films, a beautiful European city, Rome,with its traditional monuments, the bohemian quarters, a middle-classfamily suddenly overwhelmed by fame, the lightness and superficialityof celebrities' journalists, a "prepaid" woman that generates a hardtime to a newly married young provincial professional, the amateuropera singer, gravedigger in his working days, that can only have agood singing performance when bathing in the morning and encouraged bythe father of his son's girl friend, mounted a ridiculous show withthese characteristics, and a mature architect that acts as the voice ofconscience of a young professional wanting to explore romanticalternatives with his wife's quasi-intellectual friend also willing toconvert the classical architecture of the city into a modern andinconsistent one with the tradition style.Allen is not a commercial success seeker but a director that searchesfor ingenious ways to convey his ideas, intelligent criticism andhumor.Allen always remain Allen .......