Sweet and Lowdown

When we try to understand genius, or love, or "why?", we run into the same problem that the ancients encountered:"I went to the poets … I took them some of the most elaborate passages in their own writings, and asked... Full review

This is a strange movie, but one made a little bit special to me because of one memorable character: "Hattie," played by Samantha Morton. What a wonderful, endearing character! The sweet look on her face alone makes this movie worth... Full review

A slow, rich movie. Though it lags in places, the three lead performances are indelibly written in my memory. And the great jazz soundtrack and warm colors made this movie go down like a glass of bourbon.Embodying the archetypal difficult... Full review

The two movies that come to mind when I think about Sean Penn and his acting ability are not Mystic River and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. They are Carlito's Way and Sweet & Lowdown. In both of these movies,... Full review

Sweet and Lowdown is the story of a fictional jazz guitarist who is self admittedly the second best in the world(next to that gypsy in France) but there is one thing that is clear while watching this movie, sean penn... Full review

Sean Penn plays Emmett Ray, a little-known jazz guitarist, an eccentric, egocentric genius self-proclaimed as the "greatest guitar player in the country" or the "second greatest guitar player in the world" - because of that gypsy from France, the bane... Full review

This is a very enjoyable movie. It has many touches in it that are classic Woody Allen, so it should appeal to his many fans. It is also so strong on the jazz material that it should appeal to jazz... Full review

I didn't find out until afterwards that Woody Allen made it all up - that Emmet Ray didn't even exist. Nor did my sister. She thought the lack of accuracy took some of the shine off the film; I thought... Full review

In my opinion, there is more than one type of Woody Allen film. There is the antic lunacy of films like Bananas and Sleeper, the serio-comic "serious" film with "meaning", like Annie Hall, Husbands and Wives and Deconstructing Harry and... Full review

Woody Allen has such control over the story telling tools of cinema that he can do whatever he wants. Mixing "documentary" comments about what is happening with the characters, and straightforward and yet superbly filmed feature sequences, Allen shows once... Full review

I'm not a big Woody Allen fan, but this is a good one. Two words could not more aptly describe Woody Allen's lead Character Emmet Ray, played picture perfectly by Sean Penn. "Music for the smart and the dumb" Sweet and Lowdown ... Full Review

Sweet and Lowdown's payoffs are small but satisfying, which is a praise and a criticism that could be leveled at much of Allen's mature work. Allen's discovery that he ultimately needed his audience more than they needed him would be touching if it weren't so tedious to watch him work it all out on film. ... Full Review

Sweet and Lowdown" is middling Woody. Sweet and Lowdown Verdict: Slight but likable if you can get past the self-justification. Unfortunately, there's still a whiff of Woody self-justification. ... Full Review

Sweet and Lowdown probes a darker vein than many a Woody Allen movie, but it's also a richly comic piece which can join the ranks of this filmmaker's very best work. SWEET AND LOWDOWN Rated:R For movie details, please click here . ... Full Review

All in all, Sweet and Lowdown is very funny and very touching, without the annoying self-indulgence that generally pervades Allens work, and, in all respects it is both sweet, with its lovably ridiculous characters, and lowdown, with predictably problematic views of women, who, like Emmetts . ... Full Review

Smantha Morton, "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999) -- A publicist for Sony Classic Pictures gave me an early look at Woody Allen's jazz ode and asked me afterward what I thought about Sean Penn's chances for an Oscar. ... Full Article

With the rancid aftertaste of ``Mighty Aphrodite,'' ``Deconstructing Henry'' and ``Celebrity'' still lingering, it's nice to report that Woody's on the mark again. ``Sweet and Lowdown,'' which opens today, is the best reason in years to reconsider him. A mockumentary ... Full Article

Were Woody Allen to never make another movie again, he would still be assured a place in film history. Yet, he continues to put out a movie every year, usually recycling the same basic themes and his classic New York... ... Full Article

My name is Bill, and I am addicted to seeing galas.Galas are held twice nightly at Roy Thomson Hall for the middle eight days of the Toronto International Film Festival (T.I.F.F.). ... Full Article

For the first time in his long, impressive career, Woody Allen seems to have taken all his loves and put them together. The 64-year-old writer, actor and director has now come up with Sweet and Lowdown, a comedy posing as... ... Full Article