The Three Acts:The initial tableaux: CW Briggs is a very successful insurance investigator who has a long track record of recovering stolen goods. He also has betting problems, but his biggest problem is Betty Ann Fitzgerald, the new efficiency expert. She wants to undermine his way of doing things, and would probably like him to leave the company. By an odd circumstance, Briggs and Fitzgerald get dragooned into being subjects of hypnosis. The hypnotist, Voltan, plants a keyword on each of them so that he can induce the trance state later.Delineation of conflicts: The old guard represented by CW versus the new business processes of 1940 represented by Fitzgerald. Magruder, who runs the company, wants to be with Fitzgerald, but is wishy-washy about leaving his wife. Voltan intends to use Briggs and Fitzgerald to leverage their interior knowledge of rich families' homes to complete major robberies on the sly. Fitzgerald hires two private detectives to 'help' CW.Resolution: Voltan is rather successful at first. The private detectives and the police catch up with his efforts, but do they catch the right suspect?

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001): Dir: Woody Allen / Cast: Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, David Ogden Stiers: Great 1940's galore yet lacking the true inspiration of Woody Allen. Title references the idea of one medium causing disruption to another. Allen and Helen Hunt play a bickering couple in the business of selling security alarms. Upon an evening out they are called up on stage where a hypnotist causes them to fall in love. The hypnotist is really a jewel thief and as follows Allen is phoned and hypnotized into stealing. He doesn't realize that police are looking for him and when he becomes a suspect his only shield is Hunt, who believes him but not sure why. This leads to a totally contrived ending. Unlike his great work in Small Time Crooks, this is not one of Allen's best efforts as director. He throws in familiar elements lifted from better movies. His role is familiar but works for him. Hunt is having an affair with her boss while being entranced herself. The ending works against her relationship mentality and her level of freedom. Dan Aykroyd is miscast as Hunt's sleazy boss who is all too predictable. Charlize Theron as a hooker sleepwalks through it. David Ogden Stiers plays the hypnotist who lands Allen in trouble to begin with. Its referral to film noir is perfectly realized despite a screenplay that is jaded. Score: 6 ½ / 10

Review: This is another average movie from Woody Allen, about a man and woman who get  hypnotised to steal jewellery. The man works for a insurance company, who investigates claims, and the lady has been hired to save money for the company. The jokes weren't that funny and the storyline seemed far fetched. The whole movie was set around the 1940's and the director done well to portray the period well, but I couldn't take Woody Allen's annoying one liners which are typical from some of his earlier work. The chemistry between Helen Hunt and Allen was watchable and it was good to see Dan Akroyd as the head of the company, but the whole movie seemed to drag after a while and I must admit, I did struggle to stay awake. On the plus side, I liked the whole Woody Allen as a 1940's detective concept, but it was the storyline that let the movie down. Average!Round-Up: I'm still struggling to find Woody Allen's movies that funny, but I'm determined to find out why everyone wants to work with him. He does have a unique style of writing and his love for New York and troubled relationships, do work in some of his earlier projects, but I personally find his movies more entertaining when he isn't rambling on. I must admit, he always gets a brilliant cast and he does bring the best out of actors/actresses and his latest projects like the Blue Jasmine and Whatever Works were a great watch. It just seems like he lost his touch during the 90's. Anyway, I've still got quite a few Woody Allen movies on my rental list, so fingers crossed.Budget: $33million Worldwide Gross: $19million (Flop!)I recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about a man and woman who get hypnotised to rob expensive jewellery. 3\10

Let me review this review by saying that I'm not a fan of Woody Allen's jobs, mainly because this is his first that I watch. "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" tells a story filled with fun, irony and intelligence, delivering an original film that makes you quietly laugh. Miss Fitzgerald and CW Briggs work together in an insurance company and happen to hate each other, but doe to an hypnosis made by a thief, they have to get along to clean some things up. They spend most of the time arguing, and Allen makes it in a way that spectator doesn't get tired, considering they have funny ironic lines. The only thing that I disliked was the acting of Helen Hunt and Dan Aykroyd; don't get me wrong, I'm not stating they are bad actors, but in some scenes they are simply unconvincing, even overacting sometimes. In the end, it's a great movie, and happens to be one of those few cases in which a remake would be really useful. Recommended, and from now on I'll try to see other Allen's works.