Patsy and I finally watched Annie Hall from start to finish the other night. Neither of us had seen it before and neither of us are wild about Woody Allen films so that partially explains why it only took us 29 years to get around to it. This one was recently voted one of the best movies of all time so I figured maybe it was time to take the plunge. To me, it was a typically OK Woody Allen film. It was nothing extraordinary or to put it more accurately, it was “better than a poke in the eye” as one famous Mary Poppins character might say. Maybe I’m supposed to see Woody Allen movies in chronological order to understand what kind of breakthrough this film was supposed to be but I didn’t see anything in this one that I haven’t seen in any of his other films. Probably not fair to say that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all but they all have his distinct signature on them and are instantly recognizable even when he’s not portraying the central character (See Celebrity). I have never seen a Woody Allen film twice. Once is always enough. Furthermore, I don’t have a lot of patience with people who say I don’t get him because I’m not from New York or I’m not Jewish. I get Steven Spielberg films and I’m not Jewish. I get Martin Scorsese films and I’m not from New York. His films are simply hit and miss and I refuse to take all of the blame when portions of his films fail to connect with me. His hits are always singles, never home runs, and the misses are just a waste of time. However, most of them have moments (See the QOTD). One other thing: I don’t think anyone is as neurotic as he comes off onscreen. Do you?
Switching to baseball: $14 million per year sounds like a lot of money for a ballplayer but I think Albert Pujols is worth considerably more than that in this day and age. That's his current salary. With Alex Rodriguez at $25 million and Manny Ramirez at $18 million, Pujols is a bargain. He is more productive and more valuable to his team than either of those guys and has been for a number of years.
Quote of the Day
I was thrown out of N.Y.U. my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final, you know. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.
Alvy Singer, Annie Hall
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Ever fantasized about being Tony LaRussa? You haven't? I cannot imagine why not."
Woody Allen has never done much for me. It's not that he makes bad films, most of the time there are at least some good moments. The thing is, I don't think I've ever watched one and at the end said, "Wow, that was really good/great". Like you, I don't think I've ever watched one twice. I find the ultra-neurotic thing just annoying.