Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Midnight in Paris (2011)
I liked this for what it is - a lighthearted whimsical romantic comedy.
It's very obvious it's written and directed by Woody Allen after the first few minutes of dialogue - it's his style - and if he was younger I could see him playing the part of Owen Wilson's character.
It's also a time travel story without being a sci-fi (thus making it fantasy).
Most of the historical figures that show up are cameos of a few big Hollywood names - so that aspect was good too.
Clever and funny (but more quirky funny & witty as opposed to laugh out loud funny).
I'm still on the fence about Owen Wilson - sometimes I really like him and other times he's a bit annoying, but he was great in this, his style of speech just fit the main character.
A very easy & fun watch with great scenery and interesting concept - it left me feeling good.

for the life of me, I can't see the appeal of Owen Wilson. He's not a bad actor, but he just seems to be whining all the time. It's a mystery to me how he got popular.

~Doc

Oh, cool! Did you review it here on the site?

Yes, it's Woody Allen-esque without being a Woody Allen movie (I guess since Woody isn't actually in it) if that makes any sense!

I was surprised when I found out it involved a time-travel plot (so of course I was hooked into it at that point) so it was like I was getting the bonus of a sci-fi element even though I wasn't watching a sci-fi movie. And I liked the little message of "these are the good ol' days" since everyone of every time thinks some previous era was the "golden age" while the present seems lackluster and boring.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Katy Bates,Nina Arianda
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance

Premise (spoiler free): A disillusioned Hollywood writer dreams of living in Paris in the 1920s, writing a great novel and meeting his literary heroes. At midnight he goes back in time and does just that.

Review: The film starts off with a black screen and a voice, it's Owen Wilson's voice and I think to myself, 'ugh...not the guy from Zoolander.'...I prepare to endure the film....But within 10 minutes I'm liking it! Midnight in Paris is a nice little fun film with a neat premise... what if you could go back to the past to visit your 'golden age', would you?

The golden age is a dream of nostalgia for some distant time in the past. For Gil (Owen Wilson), it's Paris 1920's among the 'lost generation' of American expatriates, writers and other artist. At midnight each night, a 1920's touring car rolls up and whisk Gil away to the Paris of 1920's. There he meets: F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Dalí and more. But most notably Gil meets Picasso's girlfriend and falls head over heels for her.

Woody Allen does fantasy well in the film. He focuses on the people and the moments. He doesn't waste film on trying to explain the 'what ifs' of time travel, as it's unimportant to the story.

It's a great premise too. I liked seeing all the famous artist and 1920's Paris. Owen Wilson makes a great Woody Allen and shines in the role. Yes once again Woody inserts himself into the movie via the character of Gil, but this time I don't object, as Owen makes a good young Woody facsimile.

Production Stuff: The 1920's Paris sets and costumes are nicely done, very believable and great to look at it. The scene lengths, the composition, the direction, everything is very nice...except the damn yellow tint. At times Gil's blonde fiancee (Rachel McAdams) actually had yellow hair. Still this film made me smile and I do recommend it.

+

@matt72582 you're watching lots of slavic movies, something you decided to, or just a coincidence?

"Bottlerocket" would be a solid start.
If you forget everything you've seen him in and just start from zero w/ this film - all the rest falls right into place. This is how I was fortunate enough to have it pan out and I'm grateful. Not sure if you're up for the challenge, though ;P

I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre -

final shot is downright Malickian

Long, very slow movie that took me all afternoon to get through as I kept falling asleep. Interesting story, very well-acted though.