SemiDtachd

I'm sick and tired of moviegoers and critics dogging Woody Allen. OK, fine, we can all admit that he's had some moments of absolute brilliance over his career. We can also all admit that those brilliant years are likely behind him. It's time to move past that. Every single review for any of the post-Mighty Aphrodite Allen films has featured words like "creative slump," "he's lost his touch," "not like his old films." We get the point. It's time to review these movies on their own merits.

That being said, "Anything Else" is an enjoyable film. The cinematography is beautiful, and the direction is subtle but effective. Jason Biggs, although not the most talented of actors, does a good job as the least annoying character in a cast of characters DESIGNED to annoy. I felt able to connect with his point of view. Woody Allen takes a supporting role and, despite the fact that all of his mannerisms are the same, plays a different and more neurotic version of himself. Christina Ricci is a very capable young actress, and she handles the many sides of her role. Sometimes charming, sometimes frustrating, and almost always sexy, Ricci proves again that she is a formidable talent. Other roles, including a very brief appearance by Jimmy Fallon and a supporting role for Stockard Channing, are well cast and acted.

The writing is sly and humorous. Admittedly, some jokes fall flat and the movie is not constantly laugh-out-loud funny. But there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and they count for something. I also felt that the film captured what writers call the "single effect." This means, in short, that everything that happens in the movie is inevitable and that all elements of the film tie together cohesively enough to add to this inevitability. Once the film has ended and we've watched the story conclude, we realize that things turned out the only way they could have.

In conclusion, I'll return to my first point and comment on this film in regards to the rest of Allen's canon. Is this Allen's best film? Not by a longshot. Is this Allen's worst film? Not by a longshot. Sure, some of the ideas seem similar to Allen's earlier films. Show me one romantic comedy made after Annie Hall that DOESN'T borrow heavily from Woody Allen. If anyone has the right to do this, it's Allen himself. Regardless, Woody Allen STILL crafts the best and most intelligent romantic comedies out there. So sure, fans of Maid in Manhattan and other such schlock are going to dislike it. Sure, critics are going to be incapable of weighing this film separate from Allen's best work. And sure, some will like the movie and others will not. In the end it's still subject to your opinion and, in that respect, it's just like Anything Else...

Anyone who loves absurdity should watch this cartoon. I can't put it into any more simple terms. A friend of mine just showed me this film, and it blew my mind. I'm a huge fan of spontaneous/absurd/random humor. I love the work of Jhonen Vasquez, a comic book writer. This film reminds me of what might have happened had Vasquez started using animation earlier in his career, circa his "Bad Art Collection." If you are looking for deep meaning or warm emotions, go watch a drama. If you are looking for something completely different (as a certain group of British fellows who were also fond of absurdity might have said), then find or buy a copy of this and watch it. Don Hertzfeldt's "Rejected" is shocking, and it is meant to be. It also serves as a comment on commerciality and its effects on the creative spirit. But, really, the meaning is not the most important part. Some people who have commented on this movie have questioned the validity of the companies for which these "rejected" ads are supposedly made. I believe that is like going to watch Superman and saying "Ya know...I don't think Planet Krypton is real. I can't watch this." It's called "a willing suspension of disbelief." Whether or not these are REAL rejected advertisements is unimportant. Just watch the film as if they are real, and try to imagine how you'd react if you saw such an ad on a Family-based channel. That is really the only joke there is to get. If you can get through that, there is no doubt that Hertzfeldt's simple cartoons and their absurd and brief lives will make you laugh, and can make you enjoy your own life in our absurd world. Somewhere in between "Un Chien Andalou" and "Ren and Stimpy" lies "Rejected", an amazing piece of surreal animated bliss.

This movie is far and away the BEST and GREATEST movie ever made. I may not know all that there is to know about cinematic technique. I hold no degree in Film or Photography. I have not studied writing, acting or directing, nor have I watched many so called "classic" films. However, I still feel that I am qualified to say that Ghost Dad is the pinnacle of achievement in the realm of motion pictures. Bill Cosby is a genius, and offers a finely tuned performance which recalls the "ghost" of all of his viewers' "dads." Wonderfully cast, superbly directed, touchingly photographed, and ably written, this film will no doubt stand the test of time to supplant "Citizen Kane" at the top of the cinematic hierarchy.