Magical Mystery Tour

A month ago today, I viewed Magical Mystery Tour at the Cedar Lee in Cleveland Heights.  I am an ardent Beatles fan.  So when I heard they were going to be showing the remastered Magical Mystery Tour in theaters, I recruited my Beatles loving buddies and we took a trip of a lifetime.

Mirror of Society...............................3/5
Moral................................................2/5
Plot and Script...................................1/5
Director.............................................2/5
Casting and Characters......................3/5
Costume and Design...........................4/5
Cinematography.................................1/5
Good Use of Special Effects...............3/5
Musical Score....................................5/5
Editing................................................1/5
Total..................................................25/50
25/50=50%
This is an Optimistic Film.  It missed being outstanding by one point.

Mirror of Society
Even thou it was made in the sixties, I feel that this film reflects that time for us very well. After all, the Beatles did a lot of things that effected society (some good and bad).  Overall it is just as weird as they say the sixties were. 3/5

Moral
In reality this film has no moral at all.  There isn't a message that they are trying to express (if you find one let me know).  But it really is enjoyable.  2/5

Plot and Script
The only plot in this is... they're going on a bus tour.  And that's really it. 1/5

Director
Even though I feel that the Beatles were a bit confused I (and probably High) in their directors role; this film and their effort to do something that was never done before. 2/5

Casting and Characters
Surprisingly, the characters in this film are quite real and believable.  Besides the Beatles, there are a delightful array of creative characters that one learns to love. 4/5

Costume and Design
The costumes are just great.  They are quite fashion forward and add to the aesthetic appeal of the film. 4/5

Cinematography
While there are creative camera angles and such, there are several rookie problems, like seeing the camera reflected in the window and then they limit themselves a lot.  1/5

Good Use of Special Effects
There are some really cool things that they use in this film. The double exposures are great. 3/5

Musical Score
Beatles songs in 5.1 surround sound....priceless. 5/5

Editing
The editing is very sloppy at times.  I think if they took a lot more time to actually edit the film it would look great, but we see what happens when you rush editing in this film. 1/5

Overall
Even though this film isn't all that great, it shows the imagination of the Beatles at their height, and they are quote vivid.  Everyone should see this film just out of curiosity at some time.

Rotten Tomatoes rates this film 58% rotten.
IMDb rates this film 6.0

If you care to see, below is a vlog that my friend PogieJoe made about the experience.  Check out his channel its pretty nifty.

Zelig

I am slowly developing a deep love for Woody Allen's films.  I may assure you that this will cause my bias on my part.  However, when I heard that Zelig has Allen conversing with people in news reels from the twenties I just had to see it.  And I loved the concept of a mockumentary

Mirrors Society...........................5/5
Moral..........................................4/5
Plot and Script.............................5/5
Director.......................................5/5
Casting and Characters................4/5
Costume and Design....................5/5
Cinematography...........................4/5
Good Use of Special Effects.........5/5
Musical Score..............................5/5
Editing..........................................4/5
Total ..........................................45/50
 45/50=90%
 An Outrageously Awesome Film


Mirrors Society
There was one line that one of the interviewed individuals said that sums up my entire opinion for this category.  And I loosely quote, "He was liked, then he was hated, and then we liked him again.  Has America really changed?"  Yep, that says it all. 5/5

Moral
The moral here was very simple and straightforward.  You have to be yourself and have your own opinions.  However, there were some things that I thing detracted from this.  4/5

Plot and Script
The plot was a clean paved road just needing to be driven.  This film is serious, funny, romantic (in a way) and just outright outrageous.  5/5

Director
Well, don't ask me why, but I feel that I really connect with Allen in his movies.  I understand what he is trying to tell me.  That may not be the case for you.  To direct and star in a film can be a tedious task.  You have to give him a lot of creative credit. After all he did write, direct and star in the film.  5/5

Casting and Characters
The characters in this film have quite distinct (and indistinct one might say) personalities.  I bet Allen was singing "Act Naturally" in his head while filming this.  I feel that if Allen wasn't staring in this, I wouldn't cast Mia Farrow in her role.  However, considering that Allen was the star, casting her makes Zelig's relationship with Dr. Fletcher all the more realistic.  4/5

Costume and Design
The styles of the twenties and thirties are so real in this film you actually find it hard to believe that any of this actually was recorded in the eighties.  The mixture of color and black and white and much to its reality.  It really watches like an actually documentary that isn't one at all. 5/5

Cinematography
Gordon Willis of The Godfather fame is quite sufficient in this film as well.  Using rough film stock throughout the film provides an authentic documentary feel.  Later, the scratching of the Black and white sequences make the news reels all the more authentic.  4/5

Good Use of Special Effects
This film relies on special effects to make Woody Allen the celebrity of the twenties and thirties.  They could have green screened the whole film if they really wanted to but actually filming the sequences and making them look and feel old fulfills the job to an extent I didn't believe could be attainable. 5/5

Musical Score
The combination of actual period pieces and original compositions made to sound like period pieces is superb.  Let's do the Chameleon... 5/5

Editing
This film flows very well.  The only thing I must complain about is that there is one part where the action goes so quickly you just get lost for a moment but then it sinks in and your set.  4/5

Overall
I find this film very creative with its mockumentary style and news reel imaging.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did if you view it.
Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 100% fresh score
IMDb gives it a 7.7 score