Comedy > A Comedy > A > Oscar

Advantages: Very Funny, Mira Sorvino is Excellent
Disadvantages: The whole Greek chorus thing

...so here’s the latest… Mighty Aphrodite is an identity–based comedy from Woody Allen, where a man goes in search of his adopted son’s natural parents, and sets in motion an unexpected chain of events as a consequence. Lenny (Allen) is a sports writer married to Amanda (Helena Bonham-Carter), and they decide to adopt a child. As the child grows, he shows signs of exceptional ability and intelligence, and this leads Lenny to embark on a search to ...
...able to track the mother, who it turns out is a prostitute and adult film star, and the father is a mystery. Linda, the natural mother, is played by Mira Sorvino, who puts in a powerhouse performance, something of a trademark for Allen’s leading ladies. Actually, she won an Oscar for best supporting actress as the damaged and dim Linda, who attempts to tough it through life with disarming honesty and naivety while covering up her hidden heartbreak ... Read review

Advantages: An ambitious and classy addition to Woody Allen's CV
Disadvantages: You might dislike Woody Allen!

Hannah and Her Sisters is one of the most ambitious films in the long career of director Woody Allen. It was first released in 1986 and has the longest running time of any Allen picture. The film interweaves between the lives and relationships of several characters in a large upscale New York family and features an amazing ensemble cast. Central to this of course are the seemingly perfect Hannah (played by Mia Farrow) and her two sisters Holly (Dianne ...
...Alexander' (Like Fanny and Alexander, Hannah and Her Sisters begins and ends with a festive family gathering) Hannah and Her Sisters is not Woody in his ultra serious mode. If the 'early funny ones' (Sleeper, Bananas, Take the Money and Run) constitute 'comedy Woody' and the likes of Interiors, Another Woman and September 'serious Woody' then Hannah and Her Sisters is a return to the 'inbetween Woody', a film with serious themes and dramatic elements ... Read review

Advantages: A funny and enjoyable experience
Disadvantages: Erm...you might not like Woody Allen

Annie Hall was the 'breakout' film for Woody Allen as a director. The film won four Academy awards including best picture/director and saw Allen move away from the freewheeling comedy films he was best known for at the time. Annie Hall is essentially about the relationship between Alvy Singer (Allen), a typically neurotic Allen character, in this case a comedian, and aspiring singer Annie Hall, played by Diane keaton in an Oscar winning performance. ...
...between Alvy and Annie's family. Annie Hall begins with Allen speaking straight to the camera as Alvy. The scene is an immediate indication that Allen has moved on and is seeking to make a different type of picture with more ambition. Alvy's very Woody Allen concerns give us an insight into his character and make an arresting beginning; "There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the ... Read review

Advantages: Funny
Disadvantages: Bit cheesy

The movie stars Mike Myers and deals with the story of a "Hindu" love guru tasked to save the marriage of a Toronto Mapleleafs hockey player before it eventually ruins the team's chances of winning the Stanley Cup. Yes, that's the synopsis of the movie. If you think it sounds shallow and unfunny, well you've hit the nail right on the head. People who were expecting the kind of gross but ultimately super-funny gags and sequences in Myers' Austin ... Read review

Advantages: Good acting
Disadvantages: N/A

Big forehead Reese Witherspoon plays (implausibly) a workaholic doctor who seems to retain her Barbie-like prettiness despite working without sleep. She can't get a date (again, yeah right) and is on her way to visit someone when she gets smacked by a car. Fast forward to sometime later and we meet Mark Ruffalo, who happens to be the new tenant in Witherspoon's apartment. He starts seeing the unknowing ghost of Witherspoon and thus the saccharine-sweet, ... Read review