Midnight in Paris (2011): Not Woody Allen's Best but Beautiful to Watch

The latest Woody Allen effort Midnight in Paris is in his favorite romantic comedy vein and not for the first time it is combined with elements of fantasy. Allen is a fairly productive writer / director and his movies are not drastically different from each other so if you don't expect something innovative from him, you won't be surprised for good or for bad. What makes this film easily recommendable for viewing is its beauty.

After a series of lovely Paris shots, Midnight in Paris continues with a pretty much standard Woody Allen's setting. An engaged couple is on a visit in Paris together with the girl's parents. Gil (Owen Wilson) is the future bridegroom who is in love with the city and its beauty as well as with Paris' endless inspirational potential. As a real romantic he wants to drop his successful writing job in Hollywood in order to become a novel writer. His partner Inez (Rachel McAdams) is far more practical. She doesn't approve Gil's book-writing ambitions, neither his romantic fall for Paris. Her parents are not exactly charmed by Gil either. As a result, Inez finds a distraction in her former classmate Paul (Michael Sheen) while Gil discovers a way to visit his fantasies.

Midnight in Paris sports an interesting cast. Owen Wilson is intended to replace the usual Woody Allen character and he suits well for the purpose. Wilson is not exactly Allen but nevertheless he displays many of Allen's characters features in his own way. Rachel McAdams is not very likeable (both physically and mentally) as Inez, completely in accordance with Allen's intention, I suppose. Michael Sheen is really annoying in his performance and is another good choice in the movie. There are a few short appearances of Carla Bruni as a museum guide, maybe as an actual reference to Paris in her current real life role of France's first lady. There are also notable performances of Kathy Bates and Marion Cotillard, both of which are doing a great job, but I won't discuss their parts in order to avoid spoilers.

To touch upon eventual weaknesses of the film, I have to mention again the certain degree of repetitiveness in Woody Allen's movies although having Owen Wilson instead of Allen himself gives the film a bit of different flavor. Another possible weak spot could be the predictability of Midnight in Paris in terms that you'll be hardly surprised by the ending. Finally, the naivety of Gil with regard to Inez is annoying and not very believable.

The strength of Midnight in Paris except for the heap of magnificent and captivating shots of day and night Paris lies in its fantasy parts. They are imaginative and rich in famous characters. There are many references to particular artists' lives and works. A reference that immediately distinguishes itself is to Luis Buñuel's film El ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel) and it will most probably make you smile even if you are not familiar with Luis Bunuel's work.

Midnight in Paris is certainly not the best of Woody Allen's movies but it's among his better efforts of the last couple of decades: it offers a spectacular view on Paris and an exciting adventure for (nostalgic) romantics.

State of Play (2009): Lots of Twists to Resist

Russell Crowe looks fatter than usual. Ben Affleck acts without showing much of emotion. Rachel McAdams is not as beautiful as in some of her other roles. And State of Play's story is nothing you wouldn't expect from a movie like this. Don't be bothered with all of those cause State of Play has more serious issues to offer.

As mentioned the film's story is nothing original. Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) is an investigative newspaper reporter who's writing about a couple of murders that have happened in a small alley. Then, after an accident with a subway train, another dead body comes in sight. It's of a woman who has worked closely with congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), not unfamiliar to McAffrey. Apparently she has also had an affair with the congressman. McAffrey suspects that all of the murders are connected so he starts looking deeper into the cases while trying to help Collins. To add some feminine flavor, the filmmakers have decided to add the young and ambitious online blog writer Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) as McAffrey's assistant and Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) as a masterful woman in charge of the newspaper.

Russell Crowe is fatter in State of Play cause the movie has been shot just after Body of Lies for which Crowe gained some extra weight. Ben Affleck does not show miracles of acting but this is his usual approach of performing and to be honest I don't find it to be (always) necessarily bad. Unsurprisingly, Rachel McAdams is not the best actress either and she does not make her loveliest appearance here but it's probably because of her shorter haircut in this film. So, all of these are "flaws" to be expected and do not actually bother me. Well, the investigative team manages to do the job quite easily and it's kinda unrealistic but the ordinary excuse "It's just a movie" could work for a fault like this. And there is not a real confrontation between print journalism and its online counterpart but even if it was there, it would be a bonus anyway. The real issue that troubles me is the addition of an absolutely uncalled-for twist near the end of the film which spoils the entire State of Play movie that is otherwise not completely bad.

You see, when everything in State of Play is settled and just waiting for a calm and commemorative ending, somebody decides to put another twist in. And as often happens, it does not work at least a bit. The twist starts with a standard question of the type "How does she know it?" and unfortunately, we don't receive an answer to this question till the end of the film. Instead, we just listen to a few newer "facts" without any proper reasoning behind them. And if this is not enough, the final appearance of the assassin happens at the "right" time and place but we do not understand what is his motive to be there.

If you pause the movie and read what Cal McAffrey is writing on his computer at the very end of the film, you'll notice that the text does not match the events you've just seen in the movie. This could be intentional but it's rather due to a change in plans made in the last minute. To be honest, State of Play is not such an awful film if you watch it until a pen necklace shows up. Of course, I don't believe you will watch the movie almost until its end and skip the stuff after the necklace scene so be prepared for a dose of disappointment and a quick emotional landing. But don't worry! The movie never actually takes off considerably so you won't be falling from too high.

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