Midnight in Paris review

 Number 608 on the top 1000 films of all time is Woody Allen's fantasy comedy 'Midnight in Paris.'

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a struggling Hollywood writer holidaying in Paris with his nagging fiancee Inez (Rachel Mcadams.) Pender seeks respite with midnight walks in Paris' back streets where he discovers he can travel back to 1920's Paris and meet the famous writers and artists like Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Picasso who once called Paris home. The film's supporting cast includes Adrian Brody, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates and Marion Cotillard.

This is the eighth Woody Allen film I've watched. By now everybody knows that I do not like Woody Allen films. All too often I find them to be pretentious, unfunny or just stupid. I was not expecting to like Midnight in Paris, but by some minor miracle I did. I'm still confused now.

For starters it was actually funny. I actually laughed out loud more than once instead of just sitting stony-faced throughout the whole film. In the past, I have found Woody Allen films to be all set-up and no punchline. But here, I was laughing in the first few minutes.

I enjoyed the playfullness that Owen Wilson brought to the role and the whimsical element that the time travel brought to the plot. The mechanics of it weren't explained. Nor did they need to be. To have done so would have only complicated a film that didn't need to be. Similar to The Purple Rose of Cairo, the time travel was considered more as magic realism rather than convoluted science-fiction. It was treated as established fact of the universe.

It helped the characters weren't insufferable faux-intellectuals except for Inez's faux-academic friend Paul (Michael Sheen) but he was intentionally supposed to be insufferable. In contrast, Gil and Inez were both down-to-earth characters. Gil wasn't pretending to be anything else, but a writer looking for inspiration. Inez wasn't pretending to be anything else, but a tired girlfriend bored with her fiancee's strange antics. There was no pretentiousness with Wilson and Mcadams giving grounded performances. It helped that Owen Wilson is a lot more likeable than Woody Allen who often stars in his own film where he always plays himself.

If there is one thing that has always impressed me with Woody Allen films, it is the cinematography and set design. I loved the 1920's Paris scenes that truly captured the excess and opulence of the jazz era. The likes of Tom Hiddleston, Adrian Brody and the always terrific Kathy Bates also did well in bringing their respective characters to life.

The film touches on themes of nostalgia and looking at the past through rose-tinted glasses. Yet the film ends on the note of Gil resisting the temptation to stay in the past. Instead he returns to the present but with a new perspective. It's not so much the grass is always greener on the other side, but where you water it. Although Allen often likes to include some type of philosophical message in his films, these often fall flat. This was NOT the case here. I was not expecting that at all.

And I wasn't expecting to actually enjoy a Woody Allen film, but sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Midnight Cowboy review

 Number 350 on top 1000 films of all time is John Schlesinger's 1969 drama 'Midnight Cowboy.'

Jon Buck (John Voight) is a Texan cowboy who goes to New York to seek his fortune. As part of his hustle, he starts prostituting himself. He also strikes up an unlikely friendship with con man Enrico "Ratzo" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman.)

This film surprised me in many ways. At times, it was bold, and stylistically flashy, but at others, it was understated, subtle and quietly powerful. At its heart was the relationship between Buck and Ratso. Both are hustlers with Ratso very much being a mentor to the naive, starry-eyed Buck. When Ratso becomes sick, Buck starts to take care off him. As Hoffman is a method actor, I wouldn't be surprised if he went out and caught pneumonia for real.

But Dustin Hoffman and John Voight's relationship under-pinned the whole film. They had great chemistry. I enjoyed seeing them share the screen together. And it was great seeing them become closer and closer, as their fortunes worsened. That all built toward a suitably tragic ending. I won't go into spoilers, but I did like its under-stated nature. It was quiet and simple, which was all it needed to be.

All the louder, more dramatic moments were saved for the flashbacks that showcased the dark past Buck was running from. These were also shown in black-and-white making them all the more sombre. They were hard to watch, but well-shot all the same. This shouldn't be a surprise really. Midnight Cowboy went onto win three Oscars: Best Director, Picture and Adapted Screenplay.

Midnight Cowboy definitely surprised me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but an unlikely friendship between a cowboy sex worker and a sick con-man was definitely not it. 

Midnight Run review

 Number 731 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action-comedy Midnight Run.

Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is a bounty hunter who has been enlisted to bring accountant Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin) to his bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano.) After embezzling 15 million dollars from mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina,) the Duke then skips out on the bail that Moscone posts for him. But Walsh finds it more difficult to bring back the Duke than he thought, as he has to outrun the FBI, a rival bounty hunter and Serrano himself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was funny, tense, but also very heart-warming. I thought that De Niro and Grodin had a great chemistry. They played off each other well. Their relationship contributed a lot to the film's humour. Grodin is a comedian by trade, so it's no surprise that he was so funny. But De Niro did surprise me. Perhaps I'm so used to him playing grumpy old men or grizzled gangsters that I wouldn't expect him to be funny, but he also had great timing. And he was very charismatic. The relationship between the two contributed greatly to the film's success.

And Joey Pants was great. He brought a great chaotic energy to his panicking bail bondsman of Eddie Moscone.  There were plenty of great gags such as the increasing number of obstacles that Walsh faces in bringing the Duke home. Of course, you would expect things to be anything but easy, it was still entertaining seeing everything play out.

However, beyond all the farcical humour, there is a strong emotional core that ties everything together. Both Walsh and the Duke are highly sympathetic characters. Initially, Walsh is closed-off and withdrawn, but he slowly opens himself up to the Duke, revealing how when he used to be a cop, he was drummed off the force after he refuses to take a bribe from a drug lord like the rest of his department had. This resulted in the breakdown of his marriage, as well as his gloomy outlook on life. Similarly, it's revealed that the Duke robbed Serrano so he could give the money to charitable causes. A naive goal, but an admirable one nonetheless.

Throughout the film, you see Walsh being conflicted by his conscience and by his love of money. Which direction would he take? Believing him to be an inherently good man, the Duke forges a relationship with Walsh hoping that he will let him go. And this tension drove the film along to a satisfying, heartfelt, and not at all, overly-sentimental conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Run. Give it a watch. I think you will too.

Midnight Express review

 Number 644 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1978 prison-drama film 'Midnight Express.'

Based on the memoir of the same name, Midnight Express follows Billy Hayes (Brad Davis.) He is an American college student who is caught trying to smuggle drugs from Turkey back to the US. He is sent to the notorious Sagmalcilar prison where he and his fellow prisoners are routinely beaten and mistreated. Realising that he will die if he stays there, he and fellow prisoners hot-headed Jimmy Booth (Randy Quaid) and quieter Max (John Hurt) plot to try and escape a.k.a catching the Midnight Express.

My biggest problem with this film was with the protagonist of Billy Hayes. Initially, he didn't seem very likeable or sympathetic. He willingly tries to smuggle drugs; it isn't like he is forced or coerced into it. He breaks the law and he is punished for it. And we're supposed to empathise with him? It was a very strange character to have as a protagonist. It might have made more sense if he were forced into the role or if like the Shawshank Redemption, he was frame and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. This would have certainly made him more of a likeable character.

Putting this aside, this was still a thrilling and enjoyable film, despite the odd loose end and plot hole. It was a story of redemption. There is unflinching brutality but also moments of true tenderness. I guess Billy goes through a hero-arc of sorts, yet some of the other characters are tossed aside. For example, Jimmy Booth is quickly introduced as Billy's hot-headed cellmate. After an escape route goes wrong, Jimmy is taken away to never be seen again. Although I only realised this after the film had finished. It is never explicitly stated in the film. I found it odd how we never even had one line of exposition addressing that. He was an important character.

Initially, Billy is only sentenced to three years, but fifty-three days before his release, the prosecutor successfully has his sentence extended to life. Brad goes on an impassioned rant in the courtroom where he insults everybody in sight. Surely, no judge would stand for something like that. He would have been held in contempt for court and thrown out. 

What I enjoyed most about this film was the relationship between Billy Hayes and Max. John Hurt is always wonderful in everything he's in, but he was especially good as Max. I can totally understand why he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He brought a quietness and a tenderness to the role. It made for a refreshing change to the ongoing violence. And he and Billy become very close friends. When Billy eventually escapes, he swears to come back for Max. We don't see it on-screen, but I hope he did.

This film wasn't for me. Yes, it was powerful and touching in its own way. But too many loose ends and an unlikeable protagonist made me wish I could catch the Midnight Express out of the cinema!