This is topic Jade Scorpion in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000182
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 08-24-2001, 09:13 PM:
Woody done good on this one. This is one film that doesn't have his constant whining about the human condition or slamming his characters to the point I want to toss cookies. While not a "great" film, this one reminds me of good old fashioned moviemaking.Woody looks ancient and almost dead at times, which really helps his character. Did I mention he looks ancient?
Helen Hunt is great in her part but looks much younger than Woody.
Dan has somehow continued to carry traces of the Joe Friday character into this film, which I found distracting.
I also realized I had watched too much of the MASH tv series and saw "Voltan" as a spoiled Bostonian doctor.
The ah-HAH! blast from the past recognition in the film was Professor Irwin Corey, who is too old for most film-techers to know.
The plot was simple, but timing was good and it was cute. The end isn't totally logical, but the speed picks up enough in the last five minutes to cover the flaws until after the show. The overall mood of the film was consistant, even though there were a few minor anachronisms and oddities like the car with taplights instead of a speedometer and gauges.
Helen Hunt's style of put-down is sure to be repeated for a while, I just wish Woody hadn't made her use it until it became expected in the film.
I grow more disturbed by flaws as I watch fewer films. I could tell by the splice jumps that the projectionist had used a double thickness of tape on the splices. The weave of the front titles was more than noticable and I grow less tolerant of high speed duplication processes that create the picture unsteadiness on 35mm.
(Brad: The surrounds weren't working. 
)
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-24-2001, 09:40 PM:
Odd. Usually the over-agressive use of the split surrounds and the subwoofers on any Woody Allen movie is enough to make me power down all but the stage amps. He plays with the Surround-EX effect way too much as well... to the point of it being very tiring. So don't give in to Woody's demands that his film only be played in THX auditoriums with Surround-EX enabled. His films sound just fine and dandy in a mono house.
Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 08-25-2001, 12:28 AM:
I watched the level meters on our CP500 in a house that has a bad DTS drive (so it plays in SR) and I never saw anything but the center & sub channels active.
My guess is that Woody wants to control the presentation so that everybody from the second-run houses to the THX auditoriums sees & hears it exactly the same way! 
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-25-2001, 03:39 AM:
I highly doubt that with new prints that anyone would've layed down a double thickness of splicing tape at the reel changes. More probable is a splicer that does not trim the edges of the splicing tape properly, causing the jump at the splice. Also, the print I received was inparticularly (and unusually) steady on screen. Sounds like the theater you saw this flick in needs some help with their presentation.But on to the movie, I liked it. I'm not a huge fan of Woody Allen's films, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Definitely a movie to catch.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-27-2001, 10:07 AM:
I caught this movie last night. Some nights you just go and get wrapped up in a film. This film is delightful and Woody is at his best. Helen Hunt can hold my hand any time she wants and I hope you guy's will let her know. I agree with Jerry Dan is "Joe Friday".The presentation at the New York Twin was excellent and it should be as Woody only lives a block away.
Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 08-27-2001, 02:31 PM:
I saw it today in a 174 seater that normally has DTS, but it's being worked (for the past month), so it played in Mono SR (As opposed to mono DTS) 
. The sound wasn't horrible, but it won't win any Oscars either. The movie itself was good, Woody was at the top of his game. Many times, his performance made me recall Annie Hall, and his endless use on one-liners really helped the movie stand out comedically. Helen Hunt was great, she hasn't acted with such control over a man since As Good as it Gets! The whole movie does a great job of duplicating the 40's and is a great satire of the films of that time (Charlize Theron acts brilliantly on that part).
My only complaint is that the romance between Woody & Helen could have been exposed at a greater rate throughout the film, rather than mostly at the ending. That, however, doesn't kill the ending. The ending & the whole resolution is very satisfying.
In short, Woody & Helen's ability to throw out fast wit & humor gives this one a spark that enhances the well-writtten story and characters. Go see it if you're a Woody Allen fan, or you want to see humor that doesn't require bodily functions.
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 03-19-2002, 11:09 AM:
Bumping to top.
Posted by Brad Haven (Member # 954) on 03-19-2002, 10:40 PM:
sorry for the double post !!
i was searching for THE CURSE OF THE jade scorpion.
promise to look more carefully next time. 
Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-21-2002, 07:05 AM:
Perhaps the full title and not an abbreviation should be used to avoid this sort of thing in future.------------------
"It's not the years honey, it's the mileage". - Indiana Jones.
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 03-21-2002, 06:01 PM:
Would have been worth it if Helen Hunt had bitch-smacked Woody Allen. His simpering attitude must be the reason why UA did not show this stinker in the New York area.Let's hope that Hollywood Ending has a happier outcome.