Magic in the Moonlight

source: Magic in the Moonlight

I am a Woody Allen fan. Not a die hard fan, but he has made some damn good movies over the past decade or so, and that is after I thought he had become irrelevant. This is certainly not one of them. It is a plodding sort of affair, with few bright moments. And it lacked much humor or much pathos. Not really a worthwhile affair, in my book. I feel now, like I would have rather spent two hours reading a book, or getting a massage. I realize you can't win them all, and I realize he cannot always make a good film. The characters were fine, the acting was good, and the sets and production were gorgeous. Just not much of a story to tell.

You'd think Colin Firth, at this stage of his career, could be a just a little bit piccy about the films he wants to appear in but as we have seen from his forays into such dumb shows as the St Trinian remakes and "Before You Go To Sleep" it would appear he has some kind of blind spot when a turkey hoves into view. "Magic in the Moonlight" is a risible attempt to recreate "Midnight in Paris" and it fails on every conceivable level. Whereas the latter had charm, humour and characters that one could invest sympathy with this lump of cinematic doo-doo has absolutely nothing going for it. Even the backdrop of the south of France is sullied by the cardboard characters wandering about in front of it. The dialogue is atrocious and at times physically toe-curling (the Firth character's "prayer"), the plot as thin as wafer-thin mint (and we know what that did to Mr Creosote!) and the "romance" as dull as a wet weekend in Dartford. There is no comedy. I was stuck in the middle of a row otherwise I would have walked out after 20 minutes. Even the woman rustling her damn sweets just in front of me failed to lift the tedium. I dropped off twice and cursed the second time when I woke to find that the film was still running.

Woody Allen, Colin Firth, Emma Stone and such a lousy movie?! How? Why? Overdrawn, forced, lengthy dialogues made it especially painful to watch. Sure, it's Allen's signature style, but there used to be wit in there somewhere... Did he direct this film deaf?! One can even hear Allen's tone in the actors' voices, which makes this film entirely unoriginal. Gives you an impression that no one was really trying on the set. Not the director, nor the actors. The plot is rather dumb as well, but could've been saved by better dialogues and acting. Didn't happen. Just another tired Woody Allen flick. Perhaps it's time to retire, Woody?

Such a disappointing movie! The trailer was better than the movie itself! The plot doesn't make any sense and doesn't progress in a way that makes you believe in the world the movie is trying to create. Some scenes are so ridiculous it's embarrassing to watch. The scene where Stanley is at the hospital is one and from that moment the movie stops making any sense at all and becomes funny (but not for the right reasons). But even worst than that are the dialogues. They are not believable at all! Who speaks like that? Also the actors just sound like their saying the lines out loud like they're reading a manual! The leading actors are usually good so it shows that the problem is with the script. I made myself watch it to the end hoping it would get better but it didn't.

I kind of knew what I was getting into with a Woody Allen flick, but this movie was shockingly boring. I was actually startled by it. The actors totally phoned it in. Can't blame them, since the writing was so bad. After the King's Speech, not to mention Woody Allen's recent various exploits, I can only imagine that Colin Firth was offered an embarrassingly large pile of money to play this part. The central idea of the movie was shallow, lazily conceived and poorly explored. The dialogue meant to convey that idea was wooden and utterly unconvincing. These were some of the least engaging characters in a movie that I can think of. I absolutely did not care about them, what happened to them, or whether they would get together in the end. Just awful.

Quickie Review: Stanley a.k.a. Wei Ling Soo (Colin Firth), is a renowned stage magician and a charlatan mystic debunker. He goes on to meet Sophie (Emma Stone) who claims to be a legitimate mystic. As a skeptic Stanley feels the need to unmask Sophie as a fraud, but in this process both of them build an unexpected romance. This is a movie that has lot of the Woody Allen whimsy we have come to love. A charming romantic comedy that is delightful to spend an afternoon on but ultimately lacks the impact to make it an instant Woody Allen classic. Full Review: Magic in the Moonlight has been largely unnoticed by majority of the general movie-going audience. Yet from the trailers it peeked my interest enough to get me to watch it in the cinema. I expected it to be a good time pass and it was exactly that. I left satisfied but I have the feeling that in time I will not remember much about this movie. It's no surprise that Colin Firth and Emma Stone were the highlight. They have proved themselves time and time again that they are excellent actors, and they continue to be so in their roles. I especially liked the character Stanley, he is rude, obnoxious, narcissistic, basically everything that would make you hate the person in real life, and yet as Sophie puts it "it's not entirely unappealing." The character Sophie has all the opposite traits, which makes for some great banter between the two. Their chemistry together sprinkled with some light quirky comedic moments is what makes the movie work. Also I must say the use of the wonderful backdrop of 60s southern France is enchanting. I'm trying to think of the negatives but I honestly can't think of any in particular. Then you may ask, why am I not giving this the perfect score? Well frankly put, I've seen it done better, not only in this genre but also from Woody Allen, for example the award-winning Midnight in Paris. So despite it being entertaining I think for the general audience they might find the movie quite forgettable. Even the die-hard Woody Allen fans will admit that this movie is quite light on the director's style. So when it comes down to it would I recommend it to watch it in the cinemas? Only if you like Woody Allen movies. For everyone else I'd definitely recommend to give it a chance once it's released on DVD/Blu- ray or streaming services. It's worthwhile your time when you are aimlessly browsing the Netflix library. Check out more on my movie review blog The Stub Collector: http://thestubcollector.wordpress.com/

How can you not like Woody Allen's witty script? In Magic in the Moonlight it is brilliantly acted out by the beautiful Emma Stone and stubborn and cynical Colin Firth. Similar to Woody's Allen's other comedies, it is full of fast–paced witty and bitter dialogue, fixation on death and absurdity of life. But this time there is an additional element of illusion involved which ironically sets and overthrows the stage. As the story unfolds, we are as surprised as some of the characters and yet still feel life is good. The movie opens with successful and famous magician Stanley (Colin Firth) being invited by his childhood friend Howard (Simon McBurney) to debunk the swindle of renowned spiritualist Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) from the US staying in a client's villa in the French Rivera. The client Grace (Jacki Weaver) and her son Bryce (Hemish Linklater) are so impressed with Sophie that he is going to marry her. The airy and condescending Stanley arrives and is immediately taken aback by the seemingly magical power of Sophie. As their interaction intensifies, his rational and analytical ability begin to be shaken by her effortless, spontaneous and unexplainable reading and communication power. Sophie, on the other hand, challenges his rationality while bringing out the romantic side of him without his own awareness. The twists and turns are extremely logical and pleasant to watch as designed by Woody Allen's script and unbelievably delivered by these two great actors. It is almost like a suspense story and we are sucked in right from the beginning to follow the cast and explore together. Emma Stone shines with her charming eyes and smiles while Colin Firth reminds us of a young and babbling Woody Allen. As Sophie, Stanley and even Woody Allen make a living creating illusions, perhaps we are all living in a self-inflicted reality to help us get through life. But what's wrong with it if it enhances our senses, making us appreciate life and be happy? Maybe we do not really need to be so rational all the time. Let our body tell us what is happening (Stanley's tossing around at night). Just go with the flow and enjoy the ride that life throws at us.

Woody Allen's 45th film in as many years, the wondrously poetic yet intellectually dazzling "Magic in the Moonlight", proves once again that he is the greatest living American director. Virtually without peer, besides the prodigious output, no one moves as effortlessly between styles and genres while still managing to grapple with the usual existential themes in new and exciting ways: is love really real, magical vs. rational thinking, cynicism vs. optimism. Like the master magician here played so brilliantly by Colin Firth, he manages to use illusion to ensnare you, to keep you guessing at the outcome despite his classicist's adherence to form and tradition. But like an artist, he is also as enthralled as we, as lost in the journey, as anxious about the final determination of the question of life's purpose and meaning or complete lack of it. Once again he proves that he is both right and wrong in his cynical outlook on life, that rationality and irrationality can coexist perfectly, that one cannot judge or evaluate the other fairly as neither has a framework to understand the other. Absurd and frothy on the one hand, nuanced and emotional on the other, it manages to be at once a light, popular entertainment and great work of cinematic art.

"A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark." - Alvy Singer A gorgeous, sumptuous movie: wonderful cinematography, great, Jazz Age music (as well as Beethoven), the Cote d'Azur, Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth in full Mr. Darcy mode, Emma Stone… what could possibly be amiss? Well, it seems in the midst of all the prettiness and lovely fixtures, Woody forgot to include some energy. The result is a film which, while sporadically quite enjoyable, and even funny, feels curiously airless. Falls into the category of Woody's oeuvre which includes "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy", "Radio Days", "Melinda and Melinda", and "Scoop": movies which are not at all bad, but are almost instantly forgettable.