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Mike Birbiglia recommended Annie Hall (1977) in Movies (curated)

 
Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall (1977)
1977 | Comedy, Romance

"I saw this film in college when I was first studying screenwriting and starting out as a comic. It has forever been imprinted in my DNA. It’s funny, it’s emotional, and it’s unafraid. I was so struck when I saw it that it found the beauty in a breakup as opposed to wallowing in it. It also traffics in an area so specific — a neurotic, Jewish comedian — but yet it feels so universal. Woody Allen does this in all of his films of that period: Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, Crimes and Misdemeanors. But this one truly makes me laugh the most and get choked up in the same moment. It also has the line that my wife repeats to me all the time, which is the mother’s line to the child Alvy when he asks what they’ll do about the universe expanding: “WHAT, IS THAT YOUR BUSINESS?!”"

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So this was my first ever comic on kindle and I have to admit it's completely different to normal. I used to really like reading my Mills & Boon/Silhouette/Harlequin books when I was younger so the chance to read them with pictures? I thought I'd give it a try and I think I enjoyed it more than I would have done just the stories. The skill of the artists to show the emotions of the characters is amazing.

The only thing I didn't like so much was how I was just really getting into the stories and they'd end and the preview for the next book would start. There were admittedly a few that I wouldn't have minded reading the full length versions of but the prices have put me off for a bit. Maybe at Christmas when I get my Amazon Gift Card :D
  
The Lone Ranger (2013)
The Lone Ranger (2013)
2013 | Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Western
Famous box-office bomb is, as usual, not actually as bad as all that, just absurdly overblown for what should really have mid-budget genre movie written all over it. Origin story for the famous pulp western character; what makes the film curious (and quite interesting) is the way that it tries to combine different styles and tones - pulp and revisionist western elements rub up against the same kind of offbeat comic fantasy Verbinski and Depp had more success with elsewhere. This doesn't really work, but it's an undeniably curious mix.

Still, curious only takes you so far, and this is unlikely to be a film that lingers in most peoples' memory, despite a decent cast and good production values. Earns another point for the last twenty minutes, which are a genuinely impressive piece of Hollywood blockbuster bombast and spectacle. The rest could be worse, but could certainly be better, too.
  
Ooh... You Are Awful (1972)
Ooh... You Are Awful (1972)
1972 | Comedy
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
More lowest-common-denominator farce from the British film industry of yore. A con man who specialises in disguises, trying to locate the big score he and his dead partner made, must track down a group of women each of whom has vital clues to its whereabouts tattooed on her backside, while being pursued by the Mafia and London gangsters.

Nearly as horrendous as it sounds: some of these films make late-period Carry Ons look quite sophisticated. The plot takes a long time to get going and doesn't end up reaching anywhere worth the trip, despite the presence of various familiar faces from film and TV of the period. Has a weird sort of innocence to it despite all the smut, and Emery is a good enough comic to raise a few laughs even from material as thin and questionable as this. But, in general, oh dear.
  
Misbehaviour (2020)
Misbehaviour (2020)
2020 | Drama, History
6
6.0 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
More factually-oriented reimagining of Carry On Girls. As preparations for Miss World 1970 gather pace in London, the contestants get to know each other and consider their different backgrounds, while a group of feminist activists prepare to make a protest and sabotage the show.

The behind-the-scenes at the actual show is fascinating, occasionally thoughtful, and does a good job of showing just what an absurd and unpleasant anachronism Miss World was, even fifty years ago, all without labouring the issue. Unfortunately, all the scenes with the protestors are clompingly nuance-free and simplistic (NB I am not of the target demographic for this movie, probably; your mileage may vary). Nevertheless, a very fine performance from Gugu Mbatha-Raw, an enjoyable comic turn from Rhys Ifans, and at least the glimmerings of recognition that things aren't quite as one-sided as they sometimes seem keep it watchable.