Review of Scoop (2006) by Stefany D — 31 Jul 2009

I have never been "into" Woody Allen, but he does turn in a good performance here; it's actually quite subtly brilliant I suppose. But this film does not float or rock my boat. Scarlett Johansen, whom I like a lot, seems to have needed a couple more takes on some scenes, and Hugh Jackman really doesn't cut it for me in any area other than looks.

Besides that, I wanted more Charles Dance! However, this film didn't really satisfy me. The plot of the ghost of a celebrated journalist happening upon a student journalist and giving her the clues to the biggest "scoop", that being that Jackman's character might be the infamous Tarot Card Killer, is nowhere as intriguing as it could have been.

And while I can often enjoy subtle comedy with the best of them, I just found this film didn't know what it wanted to be - comedy or thriller. It would have worked well as a thriller, but the absence of common sense in a lot of scenes just let it down.

As an actor, I think Woody puts in a very fine performance here, but as director, well it could have been an episode of Midsommer Murders.