Miller's Crossing

Release Year: 1990

Director: Joel Coen

Review: Coen Brother films often take several viewings to fully appreciate, and I think this may be the case for 'Miller's Crossing'.  I spent the majority of the first half of the film finding myself completely lost and trying to figure out what exactly I was watching.  There are a lot of players involved in this crime drama, and it took some effort to keep them straight.  I did catch up and became engrossed by the end, but feel it deserves another viewing to fully capture the effect.  What I did take away was absolutely stunning film with some incredibly powerful, on the edge of your seat, scenes.  I enjoyed the film a great deal, but I think I could love it on repeat viewings.
Rating: 3.5/5



Alice

Review: Woody Allen is no stranger to using fantasy elements in his films and certainly does in this 'A Christmas Carol'-esque self exploration film about Alice, a wealthy housewife who begins to question her marriage to her husband. I didn't connect to this film as I often do with Allen works. I often felt Mia Farrow was borderline annoying playing the lead in Alice. With dialog as important and compelling as it is in Allen films, it was aggravating when Farrow would whisper her lines as she often did in what I felt was over playing the meekness in Alice. This is an interesting character study and I enjoyed it, but it didn't have the same biting dialog that I love about so many of Allen's films.
Rating: 3/5