Scoop [DVD]

A slight film. Yet, all Woody Allen; and all good. Allen is one of the handful of directors in Hollywood (or anywhere else for that matter) who has given us a body of work, distinctive, unique, and entirely Him. He is among the few of whom one does not ask, should I see that one, but rather, if a movie goer, one says, let us see what Mr. Allen has done this time.One qualification, of course. You must be attracted to the world of Woody Allen as one had to be attracted to the world of Chaplin, Keaton, Ford or Hitchcock ( to name some of the few in his category). Each has his own identifying hallmarks, different from the others, but running throughout most of their films. If that view of the world, that tilt toward the unique, is not appealing, then you might enjoy this film or that, but overall, the director is not for you.Woody here plays a small-time Brooklyn magician who is picking up work in England (for no apparent reason except that the production company was there). A young woman in the audience who is brought up to the stage to aid in the performance of the disappearing person trick finds herself confronted by the ghost of a reporter who has picked up a tip about a potentially great story and is passing the tip along to her. Somehow Woody is persuaded to join her in the quest for digging out the story; she is an American college student majoring in journalism and he becomes her father for purposes of researching the story. From there on it is romance and laughs along with some mystery.While I knew that the film was several years old when I saw it, still, I figured out beforehand, that Allen would have reached the age at which even Cary Grant knew he could not play a romantic lead opposite a young woman. He managed to handle that problem admirably by assuming the father role.For those who like Woody Allen films, therefore, I can recommend this for a pleasant, though not WOW!, 96 minutes. The less devoted viewer should find it an amusing offering. Those who have no taste for An Allen picture, though they like some of his award winning ones, might just want to pass this one by.

After receiving a from-beyond-the-grave tip from the ghost of dead journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane), perky American journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) teams up with whiney stage-magician Sidney Waterman (Woody Allen) to investigate whether handsome English aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman) is the London serial murderer known as the "Tarot Card Killer". But then Sondra starts to fall for Peter ...I rather liked and enjoyed this film. However, it is only fair to say that I consider most of Woody's films to be abominations, so my tastes are unlikely to match those of fans. If you are a fan, you might want to check out other reviews (where you may read sentiments such as "a disappointment after the brilliant MATCH POINT").VAGUE SPOILERS FOLLOW In Sidney Waterman, Woody plays a character who (thank God) is not quite your standard Woody-played character. He is not (thank God) Sondra's love interest, and his role usually seems to be that of a fellow who has taken a paternal, benevolent and platonic interest in her wellbeing. The old persona, however, resurfaces too often. Sidney's whining and self-absorbtion are excessive to the point where they conflict with his role in the story, causing to viewer to wonder why Sydney is agreeing to help Sondra, why Sondra puts up with Sydney, and how such a person could become sufficiently self-sacrificing and risk-taking to fulfill his role in the plot. When Sidney declares that he was raised Jewish but converted to Narcissism, it is not funny - just a sad-but-true statement about Woody himself that does not quite fit the role he is playing.One scene - the "don't tickle me" scene - occurs early in the film when Sidney first meets Sondra. It is creepy in part for the hint that Sidney was secretly groping Sondra with those fast "nervous" hands of his, but mainly because of the result when she tells him to stop. The whole message of the scene seems to be "If you tell on me, no-one will care and everyone will laugh." It has nothing to do with the rest of the film, and one cannot help wondering what it is about and who it is addressed to.The theme of blackmail or whistle-blowing as a motive for murder resurfaces here, as it has in many prior Woody films, and for once (thank God) the film does not seem to take the side of the killer. I could not help noticing, though, that the villain's downfall was not that he targeted the blackmailer, but that he unnecessarily and stupidly targeted someone completely loyal to him. This is not really a complaint about the movie -- just an observation.

Many of Woody Allen's movies are among my favorites, but some (like "Vicki Christina Barcelona")...not so much. I didn't know what "Scoop" was about at all--if it would be one of the "good-but-not-always-funny" ones or not-- and just took a chance on it on a rainy day.So glad I did! It's charming and fun with Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johanson excellent as the romantic leads (particularly as she starts to suspect--based on a tip from a ghost--that he might be The Tarot Card Killer). The part with the ghost (Ian McShane, another really good actor) added a whimsical surreal touch to an (almost) old style murder mystery with Johanson and her (fake) father in the role of Nick and Nora Charles (well, amateur detectives, at any rate).I enjoyed Allen's comic acting and the funny connections to his magic act (lame though it was) that moved the plot along--as well as the London scenery and Jackman's opulent lifestyle. This was good, well-crafted, well acted fun--and there's a terrific score, too.

I have seen every Woody Allen movie ever made since 1968. I also rank things compulsively. So...I have a ranking of all his movies. This one falls in the second of five bins. Not in the same league as Annie Hall, Match Point, Manhattan, Midnight in Paris. It is not ambitious in its scope. It's a simple moderate budget movie (as Woody's movies go) but it delivers solidly.If you like:Manhattan MelodramaCurse of the Jade ScorpionSmall Time Crooks...then you will probably like this. I think it's the best of that group.Scarlett Johannsen is wonderful in this movie. She was also in Woody's movies Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona. This is not as good as those two in my view, but it's not a similar movie. This has substantial doses of wit where those two are straight dramas.

Only bought as I'm a Hugh Jackman fan, but very good film. Would recommend.

Another Great one from Woody Allen. Just loved this one

Just a little about this movie. This is not one of Allen's deepest and most profound movies - on the contrary this is more in the nature of what you would call a charming light-hearted comedy, where we see an aging Woody Allen, playing with tongue-in-cheek and with a healthy amount of self-irony that I find very nice.This movie is funny, intelligent - as always - and as usual Allen has all the slapstick humour right on the tip of his tongue.He is playing opposite Scarlett Johansson, who actually is the films main character, and the chemistry between them is great - in what you would call a father/daughter relationship. I don't want to go into details about the plot - many people have already done that with a very fitting description - but just wanted to say, that I agree with the reviewers that praise this movie exactly for what it is - and it is just a very good and funny Woody Allen movie.If you like Allen, you wont be disappointed.

Commedia simpatica e divertente, trattasi un film giallo in chiave fantastica, il film incuriosisce ed il finale è a sorpresa, la Scarlett J. è simpaticissima, bravo anche Hugh Jackman...oltre naturalmente a Woody Allen.Ho comprato la versione della Rarewaves-USA con lingua e sottotitoli in Inglese. Il DVD è Regione 1.

I have to admit that I had been avoiding this film, owing to some terrible reviews it had received in some of the press. I can't believe I waited so long to see it! I absolutely loved it. A perfect film for a cosy Sunday afternoon. You can't help but get drawn into this enticing little comedy mystery. If you loved (as I did) Manhattan Murder Mystery, then you'll surely adore this.