Annie Hall

From pondering why Diane Keaton wants to have intercourse with him only under the influence of marijuana to the super humorous scene in the queue, I was amazed at Woody Allen's intellect. This is the biography that the Master wrote for us ordinary guys. Thank you. (12/12/2005)

An unusual film about usual stuff, but I can’t say I’m very thrilled about it. Even ignoring my slight personal antipathy towards Allen, I feel that this film wants to appear very original and smart, but it’s just ordinary and unsilly. Sure, writing and directing a film about traditional and unoriginal stuff in a way that a lot of people will see as a treat for the intellectual elite must be quite hard work, but Annie Hall is only pretending. It’s artificially interesting and, for me, unpleasant. (09/23/2009)

The Allen movies about relationships are all the same. There are heaps of intellectual references everywhere, sharp humor, multiple layers of emotion, your favorite actors, and your favorite topics for conversation and reflection. I often feel like these are not individual films, but episodes of "Woody and his views on women." You have to be in the right mood and have insight into your own relationships in order to be able to follow it. In addition, it features all the "funny" formal tweaks and speeches to the viewer and once again the endless pile of references to Bergman, Fellini, McLuhan, Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Freud, Visconti/Mann... Commenting on these films is more like a sport, and the one who scores the most points is the one who made a mark every time he was supposed to laugh, be moved, or say "aha, I got that too." Menstruation in conversation is also the absolute pinnacle. Every time. Always. (05/30/2017)

Woody Allen's apt, fresh, funny, soulful, sophisticated relationship film in a phase of his life, spouting one morsel of wisdom after another, and with a distance of about 50 years, with a unique social-aesthetic retro patina. Even after all this time, it's still to the point and 90 percent relevant. (08/17/2024)

Woody Allen just keeps going. He's an incredible force, and he's a brand. His humor is very specific and may not sit well with everyone, just like the concept of the film, which also might not be your cup of tea. But I enjoyed those unique performances that are so natural yet so peculiar that they simply must entertain you. (10/27/2015)