I love this movie so much

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

10 minutes left of the movie as I write. Really entertaining so far, a surprising little piece about existentialism this one. Fun, not too crazy and a litte wierd. Joaquin Phoenix shows some strong acting as well, Emma Stone does a good impression of the "smart gril wanna act stupid act". All in all worth my time even tho its not finnished yet!Edit: ima little dissapointed but not surprised, Phoenix was fun, Stone a little too little. But meh

Student at Rhode Island university falls for her philosophy professor, a burnt-out, hard-drinking older man with a pot belly and a reputation for sleeping with his students. He initially hopes to keep their relationship casual, that is until the thought of doing society a favor--eliminating someone with a worse reputation than his--comes to mind, which brightens his outlook and gives him the impetus to date and enjoy life for the first time. Fine Woody Allen drama, well-acted yet rife with the writer-director's familiar crimes-and-misdemeanors (with a tip of the hat to Dostoevsky). The teacher-student affair is another Allen-trademark, though Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone are subtly charismatic in these roles. Still, nothing much seems to happen in the first 45 minutes (Allen takes too much time kick-starting the plot) and the general cast of characters here is very small. Allen uses a jazzy rendition of "The 'In' Crowd" as a music motif, and doesn't rely too much on sex or sex talk to spark his narrative, though one does become impatient with Phoenix's teacher, who justifies his actions again and again--first in a voice-over and then to Stone, for whom his feelings are never really made clear. **1/2 from ****

Surfing through the channels, I found this film, which I had never heard of before. When I saw that Emma Stone is in the cast, I decided to check it out.The number of voice-overs was a possible distraction. After about ten minutes, Joacquin Phoenix's internal thoughts reminded me of a Woody Allen voice-over. And it occurred to me that I would actually enjoy it more if Woody was the actor playing that part. Of course I discovered--on checking--that Woody was indeed the writer and director of the film.Joaquin Phoenix plays Abe Lucas, a college professor overcome by impotence in a broad sense of the word. His philosophical musings lead to an emotional breakthrough that frees him from societal norms and his neurotic nebbishness.As the story develops, it is obvious that his actions will lead to unforeseen (by him) consequences. Viewers are, of course, ahead of the curve. Abe thinks he is Hemingway, a man who takes action, but he is really Robert Walker from "Strangers on a Train", celebrating his warped view of life. Allen borrows from that film and also from Hitchcock's "Rope". There is a moral sterility in the outcome. And the jazz soundtrack feels inappropriately celebratory in many sections of the film.The film's basic message--that if you trust your instincts without deferring to the rational mind, the results are unpredictable--is fine. It's just that its delivery that falls short. And the plot includes some unnecessarily neat coincidences.

Another tick in the box for a Woody Allen film you can like. Not quite a classic but it has its moments and the leads are as good as the are in anything else. In terms of being a comedy, this is not going to make you laugh out loud - its more of a Woody Allen knowing smirk that stays with you throughout. Naturally it is smart, neurotic and melancholy. It plays like Crimes and Misdemeanours lite. So if you liked that one (and why wouldn't you? That one is a classic) then definitely give this a go. Perhaps most interesting as part of the journey leading Emma Stone from Superbad and The House Bunny less than ten years ago to Oscar glory in 2017.