Skeletons (2010)

*ing: Andrew Buckley, Ed Gaughan, Paprika Steen, Jason Issacs
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller

I have to confess this British comedy is one of the most unusual comedies I have ever seen. Lets alone seen it is one of the most unusual comedies ever conceived by a movie maker. Debut director and writer Nick Whitfield has really dared to cook up a screenplay this unusual and direct it. 

The film describes Bennett (Andrew Buckley) and Davis (Ed Gaughan) are into the business of quite literally uncovering skeletons from the cupboard. Yes ... you heard it and read it right :) They are gifted with some unusual talent and they use some rather amusing methods and instruments in their business of uncovering skeletons for a fee. They uncover facts which can be rather embarrassing for the people who hire them to do their jobs. Their job is not easy and has it's own challenges and it takes a lot of coordination and trust between the two men. The men discover the challenges when they decide to take up the job of a woman whose husband vanished without a trace eight years ago. The search for the missing husband leads Bennett and Davis through some psychic detours. The on-screen chemistry between Andrew Buckley and Ed Gaughan as colleagues and friends is note worthy and makes you the audience praise their work. 

Bottom-Line: If you dare to watch something different without giving much heed to how the film fared with critics or at the movie awards jury this may be the perfect watch. I am not saying this one will entertain you as much as it did entertain me ... but ... this movie is sure worth a shot and you might as well give it a try and enjoy some fine art house comedy :)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1425933/

Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/skeletons/

Girl Walks Into A Bar (2011)

*ing: Carla Gugino, Zachary Quinto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson and many more
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Adventure, Crime

Few months back I had watched Sebastian Gutierrez's 2009 film titled 'Women in Trouble' and I liked it ... although most men may pass it tagging it as a 'Chick Flick'; which in my opinion is not the case. The other day when I was scrolling the pages of Rotten Tomatoes and came across 'Girl Walks into a Bar' and when I learned this one was written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez I made it a point to watch this latest work of his and I am mighty pleased to say I was not disappointed. Mind you ... Sebastian Gutierrez is not one of those celebrated directors although his movies have fared pretty well among his followers ... I would prefer to say Gutierrez is a bit under rated. He sure comes with good stuff if 'Women in Trouble' and 'Girl Walks into a Bar' is any benchmark. In fact I would rate 'Girl Walks Into A Bar' to be a better fare than 'Women in Trouble'.

What the film is all about? A sharp no-nonsense witty comedy that takes place during the course of a night across the bars in Los Angeles. A dentist (Zachary Quinto) walks into a bar to meet a contract killer (Carla Gugino) to have his wife murdered and accidentally sets off a chain of events that progresses from one bar to another bar including strip clubs and ping pong clubs across the city. The quick witted screenplay complimented by an ensemble cast that does a good job at playing their respective characters and witty and elaborate dialogues make this film a very interesting watch. Trust me the dialogues really stand out ... some of the one-liners too ... a quote from the film "I was under the impression a bar was like a church. A place where a man can be left alone to think in peace"

Bottom-line:  Irrespective of what IMDB or Rottentomatoes has to say regarding this movie, I feel this one deserves a watch. It's quick witted and keeps you entertained enough to last through the 80 odd minutes this film spans. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682246/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/girl_walks_into_a_bar/

Mr Popper's Penguins (2011)

*ing: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll, Ophelia Lovibond, Philip Baker Hall
Genre: Comedy, Drama

The only reason why I watched this movie is Jim Carrey despite knowing the reviews were not really favoring this one very high. I was intentionally avoiding this one and finally I guess I gave in. Since I watched the film without any expectations except for some from Jim Carrey I ended up quite liking the movie. Mr. Popper's Penguins is really not that bad an affair if one likes Family Comedies. Jim Carrey's characters is more on the lines of  what he played in 'Fun with Dick and Jane'. Although I have to admit I like Jim Carrey playing the Pet Detective in Ace Ventura or the Riddler in Batman. I like him for his off beat style of making you laugh. I can't quite accept Jim playing a sober family man without all his antics ... but .. hey ... that's me ... and I am sure there are people out there who will like Jim wearing the robes of a sober family man.

Mr. Popper's Penguins is all about Jim playing Mr. Popper ... I guess no points for guessing that. Mr. Popper has been deprived the company of his father during the formative years of his life. His father has been an adventurer globe trotting seeking adventure only visiting his son on an occasional basis and bringing him gifts from faraway places and when he dies he leaves behind a Penguin as a gift for his son. What follows next is anyone's guess work. Nothing really stands out about the movie. Jim's acting is ho-hum, direction by Mark Waters is ho-hum, Carla Gugino is wasted ... over all ... the whole movie is pretty ho-hum except for some laughs Jim manages to deliver to keep you entertained. 

Bottom-Line - If you have skipped this movie till now ... you might as well skip it unless you are a fan of Jim Carrey like I am. However; if family comedies with tried and tested formulas are something that you like this might be a treat for you.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396218/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_poppers_penguins_2010/

The Visitor (2007)

*ing: Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira
Genre: Drama

I am super impressed by Richard Jenkins and Tom McCarthy. Richard Jenkins is flawless in playing a lonely professor leading a very boring mundane life until a visit to his New York apartment changes it all. Tom McCarthy has proved himself to be a director / writer of a caliber that demands respect and appreciation. 

'The Visitor' is what I call Globalization :) An American Professor Walter (Richard Jenkins) meets an immigrant African drums player Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) who is a Syrian  and a Senegalese handicraft artist Zenab (Danai Gurira) who happens to be Tarek's girl friend at his apartment. 'The Visitor' is shot post 9/11 incident and to some extent highlights the plight of immigrants in the US. Anyway, the movie is not about what happened post 9/11. The script centers on Jenkins character Walter. Walter befriends Tarek and Zenab after the two staying in his long deserted apartment and develops an interest in the young couple. Walter who always been wanting to learn to play the Piano rather unsuccessfully takes a liking to the African Drum Tarek plays in the night clubs of New York. Music brings Walter and Tarek close to each other and Walter seems to have discovered the missing ingredient in his life, his passion for Music is re-ignited. However, fate has a twist and Tarek is held up by the deportation authorities and that brings Tarek's concerned mother Mouna Khalil into the picture and life of Walter. How the screenplay progresses here on is truly a delight to watch. 

The Visitor may be slow by certain standards but it's never a dull moment. The slow, simple story manages to impress it's audience thanks to Richard Jenkins performance, the diversity of the characters around him and the gentle twists in the screenplay that transform Jenkins character on his arrival to New York. Director / Writer Tom McCarthy proves he is an excellent Indie director

Bottom-Line: 'The Visitor' impresses with it's characters, it's screenplay and the music. It's slow, simple, light and as the screenplays progresses it brews into a very interesting watch. Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass are impressive and display an amazing chemistry. Truly a movie that deserves a standing ovation. 10/10 for this one and hats off to Tom McCarthy. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857191/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008820-visitor/

Melancholia (2011)

*ing: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi

The movie starts off in super slow-motion ... and when I say super slow-motion I really mean slow-motion. The first 10 or 15 odd minutes of the film feels like watching an action replay of a sporting event. Anyway ... that actually makes it a very interesting start ... it sure did impress me. Melancholia is written and directed by Lars Von Trier, the same guy who directed Dogville.  Melancholia impressed me as much as Dogville impressed me. In fact I was prompted to watch Melancholia after I watched Dogville and now I have added all the movie directed by Lars Von Trier to my bucket list.

Melancholia is an apocalyptic drama where a rogue planet is shown entering Earth's orbit in a collision course and eventually hitting the planet Earth. However; the film narrates the tale of 2 sisters, their fate brings them together when the world as we know it is about to end. Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are sisters and having a strained relationship. The film starts off with the wedding of Justine being organized by her sister and brother-in-law John (Keifer Sutherland) and from that point on a series of events describes the two sisters and their strained relationships. Parallel to the events in the sisters lives are the cosmic events where the rogue planet and planet Earth on a collision course collide with each other. Needless to mention the two sisters perish in the end ... there ... I just blurted out the suspense ... but then ... that's not the whole point.

Despite the slow moving script Melancholia is a very interesting affair to watch. Lars Von Trier has done an awesome job and no wonder that explains why this movie got nominated for Palm d'Or at Canner and why Kirsten Dunst received the Best Actress award at Cannes. That speaks for the quality of this film.

Bottom-line: Impressive writing and direction by Lars Von Trier. Powerful performance by Kirsten Dunst. Must watch.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/
Rottentomoatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/melancholia-2008/

Into The Wild (2007)

*ing: Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Hal Holbrook, Kristen Stweart
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography

Couple of fact. I am an adventurer, not hard core pro but nonetheless an adventurer with a fair experience to boast about. I go by an alias 'Sans Toit Ni Loi' which roughly translates to Vagabond ... in other words a tramp. 'Into the Wild' is the biography of Chris McCandless a.k.a Alexander Supertramp. I could completely relate myself to Alexander Supertramp and it's a no brainer that I would end up loving the character of Alexander Supertramp ... in fact ... given a choice and a set of balls I would actually end up like Alexander Supertramp ... sigh!! that's not happen ... I am a bit too tied to the material world to easily give all this up as Alexander Supertramp did. I super super super liked the movie :)

In a nut shell, a young un graduates as a top student with near straight 'A's in his academics. However, soon after the graduation ceremony he donates all his money to a charity and burns whatever little money he has on him and sets off wandering huge expanses of USofA as a tramp eventually getting to Alaska his dream destination. I won't get into details of what happens once he reaches Alaska or how he gets there. That's for you to watch or read and find out. 

Bottom-line: Sean Penn has a done a great job as a director with his screenplay. I have not read the book, but the adaption could not have been any better than this. Cinematography is mind-blowing .... the film is a visual treat and I really mean that. I am not sure who was in in-charge of make up ... whoever he / she was ... has done a marvelous job in terms of make up, Emilie Hirsch is extremely powerful in his performances ... there is this one scene where he is shown malnourished due to starvation and you can count his ribs ... not sure if he really starved himself for weeks or was it some clever make up ... what ever be the fact Emilie Hirsch impresses you. Must must must must watch if you are anyone who can remotely relate to adventure else ... please skip this one, this ain't your game. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_wild/

All About My Mother (1999)

Original Title: Todo Sobre Mi Madre

*ing: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña

Genre: Drama, Romance

Almodóvar's "Best film by far" … well … at least among the one’s I have watched. Generally speaking this film is a melodrama about 3 women and 2 transvestites and each of the character has a saga to narrate. The idea may seem pretty boring but the way Pedro Almodóvar has scripted the whole drama and directed it, makes it a delight to watch, no wonder this film won rave reviews and turned out to be the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ at Academy Awards, BAFTA, Golden Globe and numerous International film festivals. Credit not only goes to the writer director but also the ensemble cast who has done a fantastic job.

The film narrates the story of a grief stricken mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) who has lost her only child, her son, Esteban. Esteban, used to write a diary till the day he died in an unfortunate accident while chasing his favorite actress Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes) in the hope of getting her autograph. However, Huma is not aware of the death of her fan. Fast forward and Manuela is now in Barcelona searching for her son’s transvestite father, to inform him about the loss of their son. The quest brings her to cross paths with her long last friend Agrado (Antonio San Juan), another transvestite, Rosa (Penelope Cruz) a young nun who has devoted her life for charity and is about to find out that she is terminally ill and Huma, her son’s favorite actress. What really amazes me is that a man cooked up a story about love, emotions and relations between a handful of women, couple of transvestites and intertwined them to make a very interesting tale and to make it even more interesting he scripts and directs it in a fashion that is an absolute delight to watch. The subtle humor that is embedded into the script makes this otherwise heavy melodrama a little light and palatable to most of audiences.

Bottom-line: You simply cannot afford to miss this movie. This is by far one of the best works by Pedro Almodóvar.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185125/

Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/all_about_my_mother/

Frankie and Johnny (1991)

*ing: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer

Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy

The chemistry between Johnny (Al Pacino) and Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer) is awesome. I can think of very few movies where the chemistry between the lead pair looks so real on film. Not to mention the fact that Michelle Pfeiffer looks drop dead gorgeous in her role (gorgeous in the sense, not as a fashion model but gorgeous as a New York waitress and just another lady) and had me drooling ;-) BTW, Michelle Pfeiffer can act, she can really act … she proves it in this film … as far as Al Pacino goes … well I guess there is no doubt he is one of the finest actors Hollywood has ever seen. Credit should also be attributed to Gary Marshall the director, yes … he is the same Gary Marshall who in later years directed few more romantic hits of which Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and ‘The Princess Diaries’ duology still rate pretty high in terms of Chick Flicks and Romcom’s.

Frankie and Johnny is the story about a middle-aged prisoner who after serving his prison sentence finds himself in New York looking for a job. He is soon hired as a short-order cook in a local New York diner. His cooking lessons he learned while he was in prison come in real handy and soon make him a favorite at the restaurant, however this film is not about how good or bad Johnny is as a cook. It’s about how Johnny meets Frankie, who works as a waitress at the diner where Johnny cooks. Frankie has just stepped out of an abusive relationship and trying to move on with her life. It’s the story about how Johnny attempts to win Frankie’s heart and in the process learns few important things that eventually brings Johnny and Frankie closer to each other.

Bottom-line: On screen chemistry of Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer really strikes out and makes it worth a watch and to make the romantic story … and … the generous amount of humor makes it even more interesting a watch. +vely an 8/10 movie :-)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101912/

Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1037161-frankie_and_johnny/

The Guard (2011)

*ing: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Crime

Refreshing, very refreshing .... an Irish centric comedy drama as refreshing as my favorite Irish Coffee :)
Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) plays a corrupt but a pretty uptight police officer. Gerry is posted in a small rather sleepy small Irish town where I guess not much of the action happens to keep a lawman busy. However the body count shoots up the moment a gang of international cocaine smugglers decide to dock into this small town. Overnight the small town police station is buzzing with black suit wearing FBI chaps. FBI wants to get their hands on the smugglers and their cargo of cocaine. A reluctant Gerry is forced to team up with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) and assist the FBI chaps in their investigation. However, this is not just the story of Gerry as a police officer who fights crime ... sizable chunk of the movie showcases Gerry as a lonely man, a loving son to his aging mother, a corrupt but caring officer et al. Gerry is funny and witty as a character who shoots quotes like "I'm Irish. Racism is part of my culture." and "Something's up! And it's not just my pecker!" and keeps the audience giggling :-)
Debutant writer and director John Michael McDonagh has done a fantastic job with screenplay and direction. If 'The Guard's is any measure to go by, I say this man has potential and I guess I will keep a watch on his forthcoming releases.
Bottom-line: Great acting, dark and witty humor, some decent thrills, makes 'The Guard' funny and entertaining from start to finish. Must Watch :-)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540133/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_guard_2011/

Bottle Shock (2008)

*ing: Chris Pine, Bill Pullman, Alan Rickman, Freddy Rodriguez, Racheal Taylor
Genre: Drama

Set in the year 1976, this movie talks about the turning point whereby Napa Valley in US came to be recognized as a producer of quality wine beating the dominant French at their wine making game. The movie is based on actual events although much has been debated post the release of the movie. Anyway, irrespective of the controversy 'Bottle Shock' comes up a decent movie that is worth a watch. The film when released did not get a warm reception from the critics and was trashed by a vast majority of them and to be honest 'Bottle Shock' does not come out as a great movie to watch. However, the music and the breathtaking shots of Napa Valley do make it look very beautiful and pleasing to the audience. 

 

Here is what the movie all about ... Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) a British wine expert and founder of 'Academie Du Vin' decides it's time the world Parisians are introduced to quality wines from across the globe. Mind you this is 1976 and France's Bordeaux and Burgundy were considered the best wine producing areas in the world and wine's from those regions used to rule the Number One spot. Steven Spurrier travels to Napa Valley, USA in search of quality wines and in a chance encounter meets Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) of Chateau Montelena, Bill is a self styled maverick who wants to produce the best Chardonnay in the world. When Steven propses Jim to showcase his wine in 'Paris Wine Tasting of 1976', Jim refuses. Jim thinks the French hold such competitions to make a mockery of US and other wine makers. However, Jim's son Bo (Chris Pine) smuggles couple of bottles from his fathers winery for the wine tasting and much to everyone's surprise wines from Jim's vineyard and other vineyards of California top the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines beating the best French wines thus putting Californian wines in  global spotlight.
 

Bottom-line: Co-writer and Director Randall Miller has done a decent job. Music by Mark Adler is noteworthy, the cinematography is breathtaking to say the least. Overall 'Bottle Shock' is a decent enough affair.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914797/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bottle_shock/

A Serious Man (2009)

*ing: Michael Stuhlbarg, Sari Lennick, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed
Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy

A very intriguing drama with a touch of dark humor. I must confess the writer, director duo Ethan Coen and Joel Coen deserve a huge round of applause for crafting this impressive movie. I ought to point out that the way the film starts with a somewhat obscure short story in Yiddish language featuring a dybbuk (a living person possessed by a wandering spirit) can be a bit confusing ... I was left wondering why that short story was highlighted at the very beginning ... and ... it all makes sense in the last few seconds of the climax scene.

A Serious Man is a story set in late 60's and features a Jewish family man Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) who lives in a Jewish neighborhood of Minnesota and teaches Physics for a living. Larry's somewhat balanced and perfect life is disturbed when his wife out of the blue asks for a divorce and as if that is not enough Larry's job as a Physics teacher starts looking at stake due to a troublesome student, some false allegations and a string of anonymous letters and to add to Larry's miseries he has the added responsibility of nurturing his mentally challenged brother Arthur (Richard Kind) who brushes with the law and is now facing criminal charges against him. In short ... Larry's life looks gloomy and Larry is a piece of nervous wreck who thinks it's God's doings and is visiting Rabbi's to seek an explanation on how God works and how to understand his actions and make sense out of it so that Larry can fight it out and probably emerge victorious.

Bottom-line: Cohen brothers have once again managed to impress me with their writing and direction. I had liked their earlier drama, dark comedy 'Burn after Reading', this one outperforms the previous release. If you do not know Cohen brothers, watch this one and get to know them, positively a must watch.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_serious_man/

Dazed and Confused (1993)

*ing: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Michelle Burke, Adam Goldberg and many more
Genre: Drama, Comedy

Dazed and Confused is written and directed by Richard Linklater. I had earlier watched Richard’s works ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995) and ‘Before Sunset’ (2004) and both the movie left me impressed and wanting for more. Wanting for more is what lead me to watch ‘Dazed and Confused’.
Truth be told I am not very impressed with ‘Dazed and Confused’ apt as the title is … the film has left me dazed and confused wondering if I liked the movie or did not like the movie. One thing for is for sure and that is the fact that I did not hate the movie. It’s just that …. I am not able to make up how to rate this movie. Maybe, I could not relate to the movie.  The movie talks about the last days of school for a group of teenage boys and girls. It starts with the last day school and when the final bell rings students are shown running out of the school tearing books and throwing paper in the air and littering the school property … an expression of freedom from a year of studies. At the same time a bunch of seniors are waiting to get their hands on freshmen students to rag the juniors. I have been a kid myself, I am not alien to last days of school, I am not alien to be a freshman, I am not alien to being a senior, I am not alien to drugs and alcohol as a student … I guess I can say I have been there and done that … still … I could not quite relate to the movie and maybe that is the reason why I could not quite enjoy this one. Having said that I am not saying this is worth a skip … apparently this movie has done well at the box office and fared decent with the critics.

Bottom-line: If you can relate yourself to any one of the many characters in the movie, chances are you are gonna love this movie else you will be left dazed and confused the way I am :-) All said and done the soundtrack of the movie is awesome, couple of tracks by Aerosmith are like the icing on the cake … you will positively enjoy the music and the soundtrack if nothing else.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106677/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dazed_and_confused/

Iti Mrinalini (2010)

*ing: Konkana Sen Sharma, Aparna Sen, Rajat Kapoor, Koushik Sen, Priyanshu Chatterjee
Genre: Drama, Romance

'Iti Mirnali' ... after a long ... long ... real long time I watched a Bengali movie and I loved it. Makes more sense to watch regional Indian movies rather than mainstream Bollywood movies (exceptions do happen in Bollywood, but most of them are trash). I am impressed with 'Iti Mrinalini' to say the least. It's a story of a yesteryear Bengali actress who is now leading a retired life, her life of youth, glamor and glossy fame are now more of less over. She sits in her apartment one evening lamenting on how her life has been and recollects what she learnt first while she entered filmdom and that was a lesson on timing - the perfect timing for making an entry and an exit from the stage. In life our entrance is beyond our control however we can choose our timing of exit ... in other words she contemplates suicide thinking it's best to exit the stage of life when the timing is just right. Protoganist Mrinalini (younger Mrinalini played by Konkana Sen Sharma and older Mrinalini played by Aparna Sen) has been shown as a control freak who always wants to be in complete control of her life ... however life has a different plan set for us and we may not be always in control. The screenplay shows Mrinalini writing a suicide note and while she is writing the note she is looking at objects and memories that surround her in her apartment, trying to recollecting how her life has been, what she achieved, what she missed, what she felt proud of and what she laments. Most of the flashback story focuses on her relations with the men in her life. The ending has a nice twist ... when the sun comes up ... Mrinalini is shown tearing her suicide note wearing a smile on her face ... however fate has something else in store and then something unexpected happens. I loved the climax ... had she taken those pills it would have been a dull and boring end to a fantastic film.
The cast has done an amazing job, needless to mention Konkana, Aparna, Rajat are extremely talented actors however surprise surprise ... Koushik Sen adds a magical touch with his pivotal role. Oh BTW, the movie has been written and directed by Aparna Sen ... I love it when the writer, director and actor are the same person ... they always make a better film.
Bottom-line: Not the 10/10 .... but I guess 7 would be good enough. The movie is available in Bengali and Hindi with subs in English ... positively worth a watch ... trust me you won't be disappointed. Oh ... BTW ... Konkana looks gorgeous in those somewhat retro looks ..... droooll!! ;-)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1521223/

Annie Hall (1977)

*ing: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton
Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy

Let me start with few one liners from the movie ... I guess that will give you an idea of what to expect :)
Alvy Singer is played by Woody Allen and Annie Hall is played by Diane Keaton.

Annie Hall: It's so clean out here.
Alvy Singer: That's because they don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows.

Annie Hall: So you wanna go into the movie or what?
Alvy Singer: No, I can't go into a movie that's already started, because I'm anal.
Annie Hall: That's a polite word for what you are.

Alvy Singer: It's mental masturbation!
Annie Hall: And you would know all about THAT, wouldn't you?
Alvy Singer: Hey, don't knock masturbation! It's sex with someone I love.

Alvy Singer: With your wife in bed, does she need some kind of artificial stimulation, like, like marijuana?
Street Stranger: We use a large vibrating egg.

[Alvy has killed two spiders]
Alvy Singer: I did it. I killed 'em both.
[Annie starts crying]
Alvy Singer: What's the matter? What are you sad about? What did you want me to do? Capture 'em and rehabilitate 'em?

Alvy Singer: I'm so tired of spending evenings making fake insights with people who work for "Dysentery."
Robin: "Commentary."
Alvy Singer: Oh really? I had heard that "Commentary" and "Dissent" had merged and formed "Dysentery."

... and this is one of the best scenes in my opinion ....
[Alvy and Annie are seeing their therapists at the same time on a split screen]
Alvy Singer's Therapist: How often do you sleep together?
Annie Hall's Therapist: Do you have sex often?
Alvy Singer: [lamenting] Hardly ever. Maybe three times a week.
Annie Hall: [annoyed] Constantly. I'd say three times a week.

If that got you giggling ... you will LOL while you watch the movie when those lines appear in context. I would rate 'Annie Hall' as one of the finest comedies by Woody Allen. Honestly, I am not sure if it's even a comedy ... yes ... there are those real funny lines that run thru the length of the movie delivering giggles and laughs but scratch a bit of the surface and down there is a drama ... the story of a neurotic stand up comedian who has not been so lucky in love. It's the story of the hits and misses (no pun intended) our neurotic protagonist had. What really makes this film so interesting besides the comedy, drama and romance is the style of telling the story ... the screenplay ... Woody Allen does not use a straight line when it comes to narrating his story. I have to say I have always loved Woody's way of writing and directing his work and since most of the times he also plays the character he defines he does a phenomenal job ... it's like he is telling his story, his life, his triumphs and fails. He makes you believe ... that is is awesome ... very few directors can do that.

Bottom-line: 'Annie Hall' is one of the best works of Woody Allen. In fact this film actually beat 'Star Wars' when it released in 1977 ... I guess that says it all and for people like me ... this film has a sorta cult status as a Woody Allen fan :) +vely one of those 10/10 movies :) Must watch :)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075686/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/annie_hall/

Bottle Rocket (1996)

*ing: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, Lumi Cavazos
Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy, Crime

I am little undecided on this film. I have not been able to make up my mind if I really liked this movie or not so really liked it as in like to the extent of recommending and singing all praise. Generally speaking ... I really liked Bottle Rocket for what it is, I liked the somewhat unconventional screenplay, mediocre direction and a pretty decent display of acting by Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson the two of them really do a decent job of keeping the audience entertained and interested. However, the movie starts with some sorta bang ... things are happening all over the place and then somewhere mid-way it seems the screenplay, the director, the actors, the entire unit behind making the film ran out of steam but somehow managed to jump back on to the tracks and deliver a pretty decent and convincing enough ending. Now ... that is my problem ... starts good, ends good but gets lost somewhere mid-way and that is the reason why I still undecided on this one. But ... I being a generous soul will give this flick a Thumbs Up for whatever it is.
BTW, if you are wondering what the film is all about ... well ... one nervous wreck Anthony (Luke Wilson) gets out of a correction institute and happens to rendezvous with his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson). Dignan has been planning a heist and he keeps plotting this rather stupid heists thru the flick getting his friend Anthony involved in his plans to carry out a heist to impress the bad guy. Anthony is not so willing but somehow always is a part of Dignan's plans. A lot of things happen in between the movie anyway ... towards the the end the duo impress the big bad guy and hatch a big heist ... needless to mention ... nothing goes as per Dignan's plans.
Bottom-line: I am not sure, I am a bit dazed can't say if this is a must watch or worth a skip .... anyway ... if you are like me and don't mind experimenting ... watch it and you may quite like this affair ... else ... I guess it's pretty safe to give this one a skip.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115734/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bottle_rocket/