Friday Top Five: Performances in Woody Allen Movies

Fun fact: Woody Allen has made at least one movie a year since 1982. And this doesn't even include the great, sometimes flawless masterpieces he made pre-1980. I've seen nearly all of them, and I love nearly all of them (I'm looking at you The Curse of the Jade Scorpion). Even mediocre Woody has something worthwhile about it. Woody has a new movie out in limited release right now called Blue Jasmine. Early word on the internet is that it is his best movie ever. Yes, ever. Plus, they are praising Cate Blanchett as giving the best performance in any of his films. I don't know that Blue Jasmine can surpass the flawless perfection of the trifecta that is Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters, but I am excited to find out. When I was brain storming ideas for this weeks top five, I thought about just making a list of his best films, but that seemed too easy. So I decided to make a list of the best performances in his films instead. And it was too hard! I came up with a list I'm not entirely pleased with. Among the performances NOT on the list are Dianne Wiest's Oscar winning role in Bullets Over Broadway, Martin Landau in Crimes and Misdemeanors and Mia Farrow in just about anything, but specifically, The Purple Rose of Cairo. So, here is this week's Top Five...

05. Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris (2011)
It still absolutely flabbergasts me that Stoll was overlooked at the Oscars for his hilarious, balls to the wall performance as the brawling, drunken writer in Allen's best film in decades. It got a lot of Oscar love (director, film, screenplay, etc.) but none for Stoll, which is a shame, since he all but steals the entire movie away from people way more famous than him. He knows better than anyone the tone of the movie and plays Hemingway with such bravado, that is is nearly impossible to take your eyes off of him.
Best Quote: "I believe that love that is true and real, creates a respite from death. All cowardice comes from not loving or not loving well, which is the same thing. And then the man who is brave and true looks death squarely in the face, like some rhino-hunters I know or Belmonte, who is truly brave... It is because they make love with sufficient passion, to push death out of their minds... until it returns, as it does, to all men... and then you must make really good love again."

04. Woody Allen as Isaac in Manhattan (1979)
Woody gets a lot of credit as a writer and director, but he is almost under appreciated as an actor. Sure, he specializes in a certain kind of character, all neurotic and fast talking, but he does those so perfectly well. Isaac is his best neurotic, dating a teenager, fighting his lesbian ex-wife for their son, falling in love with her best friend, all while portraying such humanity that we can't help but cheer for him. Plus, that opening dialogue!!!
Best Quote: "Chapter One. He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. Oh, I love this. New York was his town, and it always would be."

03. Dianne Wiest as Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Dianne Wiest is the only lucky lady to ever win two Oscars in movies directed by Allen. And this happens to be my favorite performance of hers, as Hannah's down on her luck, troubled, damaged, coke head sister who is having a really shitty time when it comes to life and love and just about everything else. Holly isn't necessarily likable, but thanks to Wiest, we love her even more for that.
Best Quote: " Well, naturally. She went to Brandeis. But I don't think she knows what she's talking about. Could you believe the way she was calling him David? "Yes, David. I feel that way, too, David. What a marvelous space, David." I hate April. She's pushy."

02. Sean Penn as Emmet Ray in Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Sean Penn is a revelation in this role. Before this movie, he almost entirely played tough brutes, but this movie showed just how versatile he truly is as a performer. His Emmet is not the nicest guy in the world, his actions are sort of despicable at certain points but Penn manages to bring so much humanity to this role. Plus, his final scenes will just make your heart explode.
Best Quote: "Wanna go to the dump and shoot some rats?"

01. Diane Keaton as Annie Hall in Annie Hall (1977)
The most iconic of all roles in Woody Allen films, Keaton absolutely mesmerizes as a ditzy Midwestern girl trying to make it in the Big Apple. We know her relationship with Alvy Singer won't end well, but we can't keep our eyes off of them as they fall in and out of love anyway. This may be the best screenplay ever written and both Annie and Alvy have tons of quotable dialogue. Plus, the chemistry between these two are just absolutely off the charts. Keaton more that deserved that Oscar win.
Best Quote: "Alvy, you're incapable of enjoying life, you know that? I mean you're like New York City. You're just this person. You're like this island unto yourself."

The Last House on the Left + more

The Last House on the Left - Here's something that bodes well for the upcoming remake of Nightmare on Elm Street: it seems Hollywood is only capable of remaking Wes Craven movies. A few years ago, the remake of The Hills Have Eyes was released and I still stand by the fact that it's the only remake ever to surpass the original. I won't go quite so far as to say that with The Last House on the Left remake... but it's still a hell of a good movie.
First of all, the direction by Dennis Iliadis is superb. You can tell he's trying to give the studio what they want while still trying to stay true to a certain artsy sensibility. Some of the shots in the movie are downright beautiful and don't necessarily belong in a genre film. There is a particular shot of it beginning to rain while a young girl floats in a lake that is just breathtaking.
The violence in the movie is immediate and it is unflinching and relentless. But horror movies were always made to push boundaries and cross lines. This is a horror movie (and I don't even really like calling it a horror movie because it's so not) that illustrates the difference between gore and violence for the sake of being shocking and gore and violence for the sake of emotion. Without a grisly, raw, disturbing torture and rape sequence, the subsequent actions of a mother and father would make no sense. You need to see what happens to a young girl in order to feel the need for revenge.
The movie mostly stays true to the plot of the original film (a remake itself): Mari (Sara Paxton) is on vacation with her doctor father (Tony Goldwyn) and teacher mother (Monica Potter). The family is mourning the loss of a son and they decide to get away to their lake house for vacation. Mari escapes into town to hang out with her friend Paige (Martha MacIssac) who works at the local general store. The two run into Justin, a teen (Spencer Treat Clark) who promises that if Paige sells him cigarettes, he'll get them weed. Soon they are off to a cabin to smoke weed together. Justin's family isn't supposed to be home... but guess what? They show up and they are not friendly people. They are led by a murderer (Garret Dillahunt) who recently escaped on his way to prison with the help of his brother Francis (Aaron Paul) and his girlfriend Sadie (Riki Lindhome). Then the unthinkable happens. After a car accident, Mari is raped and left for dead, shot and floating in a lake, likely to drown (little do the killers know, she's a very good swimmer!). Crew and his gang walk to the nearest house to escape an incoming store. Ironic twist! It happens to be the house of Mari's parents. When Mari stumbles to the house on her last leg, her parents exact revenge on the men (and woman) who tried to kill their daughter.
The performances are all great with Best in Show awards going to Potter as the kick ass vengeful mom and Dillahunt as the madman con. Paxton is so moving and heartbreaking during her torture scenes and while Goldwyn might be the weakest link, he's still effective as the stoic doctor trying to be strong for his family. The director adds a touch of emotion that's not necesarily found in the orignal. Combine that with great photography and great performances and you've got yourself a pretty good thriller. Sure, it drags at times. It could have been edited a bit quicker. There's a particular death scene that seems to last for 30 minutes. Some of the scenes might be a little too much. But mostly, it's a good film.
The Last House on the Left is more than a violent, bloody gore movie. It's a parents worst nightmare and it has a surprising amount of emotion and when the film is at its best, it's oddly beautiful.
Grade: B-
EDIT: The more I think about this movie, the more I really love it. It sticks with you, that's for sure. Despite the fact that it becomes a typical thriller in the last 20 minutes or so (and even when it's typical, it's still fricking awesome), it's still the best slasher genre film in the last few years. It's artistic and intelligent and well done. So I'm changing my grade even though I don't like to do that. Also, watching Aaron Paul, who plays Francis so well, get his ass kicked on Breaking Bad on Sunday night was kind of cathartic.
New Grade: B+

Mini reviews...
Battle in Seattle - Directed by actor Stuart Townsend and featuring top notch performances from Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Martin Henderson, Jennifer Carpenter, Woody Harrelson and Ray Liotta, Battle in Seattle is based on the true story of peaceful activism that went horribly wrong in Seattle in 1999. For anyone who ever wished the world was a better place - this movie is for you.
Grade: A

Synecdoche, New York - Another ensemble cast featuring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis and Dianne Wiest, Synecdoche is the directorial debut of fiercly brilliant and unique screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. And guess what? It's fiercly brilliant and unique! A lot of people might find it pretentious and that's fine. It is pretentious. But it's also one of the most deeply affecting movies I've seen in a very long time. Had I seen it before 2008 ended, it would have ended up nicely at number 2 on my top 10 list. It's almost impossible to give a plot summary. Go to imdb. Go to the memorable quotes. There is a particular monologue given by "Minister" that more or less sums up the entire point of the movie. It's almost impossible to sum up in words how I feel about this movie other than to say this - it's brilliant.
Grade: A+