Stardust Memories (1980)

Directed by Woody Allen

Shot in beautiful black-and-white, Woody’s send up of Fellini’s 8½ contain some of the finest moments in the Allen oeuvre. Particularly Charlotte Rampling’s scenes, seemingly stolen-moments: her breakdown in close-up and (my favorite moment in all Woody’s films) her, almost-too-candidly, reading a magazine one morning as Louis Armstrong plays Stardust.*

Here's the trailer; and for those who have seen the movie, the scene with Ms. Rampling.

* This 50-word review was written in 2006.

The Impostors (1998)

Directed by Stanley Tucci

The Impostors is a work of genuine genius (take that alliteration police). Its non-stop laughs* come from blending silent, slapstick, screwball, Marx/Warner Brothers, and musical comedies. Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci are on the run after assaulting a famous stage actor. While hiding out on a cruise liner, hijinks ensue.

  
* You’ll definitely want more cream puffs after the Bakery scene.

See The Impostors trailer on YouTube. Even better, see the opening sequence at The Art of the Title Sequence (quicktime). 

Here's a nice review by James Berardinelli (Reelviews.net).

Film reviews in fifty words (2011).

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Directed by John Patrick Shanley

John Patrick Shanley won a screenwriting Oscar for Moonstruck and after, was given a greenlight to direct his own wonderful, romantic-fable. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan make the most charming film of their careers on top of floating luggage. Do yourself a favor, and take a plunge into the volcano.

* Bonus: A Joe Website.
50-word fim reviews from 2006.