Scoop
This time last year, I wrote a similar list to this year's "Top 20 Movies Not To Be Missed in 2007" which had movies like The Prestige, The Departed and Superman Returns at the top of the list, and strangely Scoop. Ya see, I absolutely adored Woody Allen'sMatch Point which hit me like a ten ton brick around the back end of 2005. And then to hear that he was going to use the "ever so lovely" Scarlett Johansson and the gorgeous visuals of London again, not to mention the awesome Hugh Jackman, I had to be excited. Then much to my dismay, around the summer time of 2006 it was becoming evident that the movie wasn't even going to get a UK release. WTF! It was financed by the BBC and set in the nation's capital, how could it not get a release over here???????? Well the movie's garbage, that's why. The film follows Johansson as a young college reporter who gets the "scoop" of a lifetime when a veteran journalist (Ian McShane) magically informs her on his boat ride to the afterlife, that the "Tarot Card" murderer of London is actually a British aristocrat (Hugh Jackman). The young reporter and a third-rate magician (Woody Allen) investigate the scoop by coming up with the idea of sending her get close to the rich man, to see if he actually does kill prostitutes in his spare time. The main problem with Scoop is Woody Allen's determination to put himself in every scene, in which he completely drains any life and soul out of. Woody Allen is not a good actor and he is not a funny guy. He is a constant annoyance, and it's quite painful to watch him try to lead his own movie. Scarlett Johansson who I have tons of respect for as an actress, failed miserably to convince me as a nerdy journalist. Only Hugh Jackman should come out with any praise Scoop is way too goofy and unfocused to be considered a good mystery movie and can't possibly be concieved as a comedy film, because it simply isn't funny. It hardly even raised a smile for me, Allen's comedy is severely out dated. rating: 2.5
The final product of Scoop is a watered down version of a harmless ITV drama we get here in the UK, known as Midsummer Murders, which usually puts me to sleep on Sunday nights. If Match Point was a step in the right direction for Allen, then Scoop is surely two steps back. A major disapointment.