Today’s film review is for Whatever Works directed by Woody Allen.
Here’s the second film review from Oosters. Enjoy.
WHATEVER WORKS **** 4 Stars
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr, Michael McKean and Henry Cavill.
~ Film reviewed by Oosters ~
Surprisingly positive and optimistic stuff that gets its message across more effectively by not shying away from some pretty dark subject matter (it’s essentially about a man finding reasons not to kill himself).
It’s far-fetched and deliberately artificial, but its conceits are necessary to address its concerns of mortality and the pursuit of happiness, as well as giving it free reign to break a few cinematic rules in a manner all too infrequent in contemporary modern comedies.
It’s a brave attempt to wring mirth out of misanthropy, and mostly succeeds.
Thanks Oosters.
Did you know Woody Allen’s real name is Allen Stewart Konigsberg?
You can see why he changed it.
Woody Allen. Can’t get simpler or catchier than that.
But why Woody?
If you check out his website woodyallen.com, he reads quotes and some of the snippets are odd (a bit like him), some of them are funny (a bit like him) and the rest I couldn’t understand (he talks too fast, don’t you think? And often in riddles).
Did you know he started off as a joke writer before becoming a comedian?
Yep. I tell no lie.
I didn’t know that either.
Unless IMDB is telling the lie. Woody Allen
…broke into show business at age 15 when he started writing jokes for a local paper…pumping out an estimated 2000 jokes a day…
I never thought his films were particularly funny. Oh, but I am famous for not having a sense of humour – that must be it. I read this extract from IMDB and thought it fitting to include because as writers and readers we can’t help but wonder if other authors are writing about themselves especially when their main character is about the same age and the same gender. This is what Woody Allen had to say about it and I think it’s true for most writers. Unless you’re writing a memoir.
The sensibility of the film-maker infuses the project so people see a picture like Annie Hall (1977) and everyone thinks it’s so autobiographical. But I was not from Coney Island, I was not born under a Ferris wheel, my father never worked at a place that had bumper cars, that’s not how I met Diane Keaton, and that’s not how we broke up. Of course, there’s that character who’s always beleaguered and harassed. Certain things are autobiographical, certain feelings, even occasionally an incident, but overwhelmingly they’re totally made up, completely fabricated.
I’m still wondering – why Woody Allen is called Woody?
Come on someone must know, other than Woody Allen himself that is.
Any of you out there know?
[Woody Allen pic taken from here and Whatever Works poster from here]
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“If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer – Journalist and Writer
CURRENT STATUS: Reminder, Motivator and Daily Review Meeting (Read on if you want to join me in my Corporation of One meeting)
What l have learnt:
- It seems your book can be very fashionable one minute and then not for ages and then fashionable again. Read Lost Classic Aunt Mame Revived After 50-Year Gap (via Guardian.co.uk). It would be a shame if you weren’t alive for it though.
- I have an iPhone so I sometimes check my blog pages on it. Read Why You Should Be Optimizing Your Blog and Website For Mobile by Jeff Bullas to see why.
- Authors Guild Estimates Royalties in Wylie Agency & Amazon Deal: “Author Receives 60 to 63% of the Retail Price of the Book” (via eBookNewser).
- Author Paul Elie on life before he got published (via The Days of Yore). It’s always good to know that even the published writers struggle too at one point.
What I have done:
- Managed to sleep. Trust me, it can be a massive feat sometimes.
WORD COUNT: Night Walker 133,000 in total. Friday 23 July 1,000 words. Didn’t write Monday 26 July and trying to not feel guilty about it.
I want to thank you for your efforts that you have made in creating this blog post. I am hoping the same good work from you in the future too. In fact your creative writing abilities has helped me to start my own blog. Really blogging is spreading its wings wide. Your blog post is a fine example of it.
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So – I know i’m not a girl and i’m supposed to hate ryan reynolds but.. I’m soo looking forward to Green Lantern.
Woody Allen is something of a hero of mine. I suppose he’s an acquired taste, but which films of his have you seen? I would recommend Annie Hall (1977) as a brilliant deconstruction of the romantic comedy genre, it breaks every rule in the book and questions what the whole point of romcoms even are. Also, watch Manhattan (1979) if you want to see some of the most beautiful cinematography New York has ever had.
Good to see you comment Oosters. I didn’t know you knew Alexa B as well via FB. Such a small world. Thanks for the comment and hope you pop back now and again and leave great comments like this one. Definitely will check out Annie Hall and Manhattan.