Midnight in Paris, my favourite part of this movie was the appearances by the 1920s (and later, 1890s) figures. Corey Stoll is brash and brooding as Hemingway, Kathy Bates puts in a comforting performance as Gertrude Stein, and Adrien Brody had me in stitches as Salvador Dalí. Even in a movie featuring long-dead artists and writers, Allen is able to inject a number of great one-liners. I loved Hemingway's random query, "Have you ever shot a lion?!" and Dali's constant talk of rhinoceroses. If you're at all familiar with the culture or personalities from this period, you'll get a kick out of these sequences. Midnight in Paris adopts the outlook of Gil, in that it doesn't rush its story to the next event. There is no unnatural climax in the style of many Hollywood films. There aren't any high stakes, other than the happiness of the characters. The film is all about the quiet contemplation of years gone by, but it also warns against getting too caught up in the past. Gil's trips through time are magical and addictive, and he must decide if the nostalgia is worth abandoning his modern life, even if it doesn't match the splendour of 1920s Paris.