film: vicky cristina barcelona

[EA-1475]

Vicky Christina Barcelona

Woody Allen spent most of the 80's and 90's making movies that ranged from mediocre to "alright, I guess". But God damn, he's been on a hot streak lately. Match Point (granted, a virtual remake of Crimes & Misdemeanors) was stunning. Scoop was great fun. And now Vicky Christina Barcelona.

It's about two young women with differing philosophies of love. Vickey (Rebecca Hall) is pragmatic and values stability in a relationship. Christina (Scarlette Johanson) is more romantic and willing to gamble with her emotions on someone who has a bit of je ne sais quoi.
Well, they meet a libertine Spanish artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem of No Country For Old Men fame) and come to question for long-held beliefs.
I rate it as one of Woody Allen's best. Not quite Annie Hall but far from Everybody Says I Love You.

Penelope Cruz is un-fucking-believable as Javier Bardem's ex-wife. I had no clue she was that good of an actress. She MUST get at least an Oscar nomination if not a win for her performance in this.

 

[L2R]

s: rebecca hall, scarlett johansson, javier bardem, penelope cruz

w & d: woody allen

Someone at imdb said that they waited several movie to get the old woody allen back, and i agree, although i don't see that as a positive. His romance comedy bit is fucking pretentious, unfunny and extremely boring. His characters are all idiots. I had absolutely zero care for their plights, had they been blown up in a sudden terrorist attack or chance blimp accident i would have cheered.
I loved allen's recent efforts, both matchpoint and cassandra's dream were fantastic and scoop was pretty good. Allen has a good eye for dark stories. His cynicism works those genres really well, but when it is applied to romance comedies, i just find it adolescent and tired.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497465/

1.5/5 (voted 2)


edit: just noticed the missing "h" in cristina. i see what you did there, woody.

 

[EA-1475]

I already started a thread on this movie. I loved it.

 

[L2R]

yes you did. sorry i didn't see it.

merged.