Midnight in Paris

Okay, so we don't see too many first-run movies anymore, you're stuck with my review on this one. Admittedly, I only watched it because Abbey (16) wanted to see it. Why did she want to see it? Well, because Loki is in it of course! [For you non-super hero movie watchers, that's Tom Hiddleston of Thor, which is free on Netflix streaming right now!]

And it's a Woody Allen film too. I've never been one to fervently wait with baited-breath for the next Allen film, but the one's I have seen, I've always enjoyed. [Purple Rose of Cairo, Annie Hall, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Scoop and another one we watched in my college Film Censorship class for which I can't recall the name.]

Now the thing I've noticed about Allen's films is that in some scenes the actors appear to be improvising. I'm not a film critic, nor an Allen aficionado, so I'm guessing that it has something to do with his method of directing. If I had to describe the effect, it's almost as if the action is unfolding before the camera for the first time. It's just not as fluid as you'd expect from memorized lines, scenes rehearsed and heavy-handed editing. In Midnight in Paris, I noticed it most with scenes involving Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and the two actors playing her parents (Mimi Kennedy, formerly of  TV's Dharma and Greg is one)

Whether you like this about Allen or not, here's the thing I enjoyed about the film...the message. I hope this isn't a spoiler, but what I took away from this is that every generation has geniuses, amazing artists, poets, authors, philosophers, and intellectuals. Yet, there will always be those that pine for an era long gone by which is deemed "The Golden Age for______________" (fill in the blank) When we can be content with our present and awaken to the possibilities held within in each day, our own era may even be "golden".

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