Queen of Bad Sex Catherine Breillat could learn a thing or two from Woody Allen. Not only is his latest celluloid psychotherapy session Vicky Cristina Barcelona a phenomenal work of intellectual porn, but it also happens to contain one of the sexiest, most hysterical and poignant portrayals of polyamory to come along in a long, long time. Allen actually gets that those of us who choose to live outside of hetero monogamy are not voracious sex addicts lacking in morality – on the contrary, we simply abide by a different set of desires and ethics than that of the mainstream.
Watching the sexual roundelay involving Diane Keaton/Mia Farrow substitute muse Scarlett Johansson and Allen stand-in Rebecca Hall as the American tourists Cristina and Vicky, who become sucked into the fiery passionate and oftentimes downright dangerous world of Barcelona artists Juan Antonio and his ex-wife Maria Elena, played by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz (for my money the two sexiest European stars to grace the screen since Mastroianni and Sophia Loren), I realized it was the first time I’d ever wanted to jerk off to a Woody Allen film. This is the master of neuroses on Viagra. Spain seems to have reinvigorated Allen, and it’s a joyous thrill to behold. Simply put, the director’s upped the endorphin factor, leaving me hot and bothered and hysterically laughing all at the same time. …Read more
Not to make a career out of Woody Allen apologia, but I thought it was interesting to see critics slamVicky Cristina Barcelona for what they perceive as Woody Allen’s misogyny when, for the first time as far as I can tell, he’s cast a woman in the typical Woody Allen role, which you’d think would be a step-up from the typical Woody Allen woman-as-love-interest paradigm.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. …Read more
Thanks to Matt Prigge, I’ve spent the past 26 minutes watching Meetin’ WA, a 26-minute film about Woody Allen, shot in New York by Jean-Luc Godard. A good portion of the short is dedicated to a fairly formal, almost junket-style interview, with Godard asking the questions, sometimes with the help of a translator, and mostly concerning Woody’s then-new release, Hannah and Her Sisters. Godard then inserts his typically pointed commentary via almost non-sequitor intertitles and film stills. It was particularly interesting for me to see this so soon after hearing the full story of why Godard didn’t direct Little Murders, the ultimate subversive New York movie, for Eliott Gould. Fifteen years later, he’s revisiting the city and having an interesting but rather bloodless conversation with the man who is, at that point, the preeminent New York auteur, and he seems mostly concerned with Allen’s thoughts on television. A stretch? Yeah, probably.
I’ll have some thoughts on Woody Allen’s recent work, including the about-to-premiere Vicky Cristina Barcelona, tomorrow
Jonathan Levine’s crowd-pleasing (in terms of audience awards at festivals, not in terms of uplifting Hollywood endings) film The Wacknessopens in limited release tomorrow. In case you haven’t noticed from the ads and the soundtrack, it takes place in the New York City of 1994, a special time for the place because Rudy Giuliani had just become mayor and was beginning to clean up the city, Goldie Wilson-stylee (OK, not really Goldie Wilson-stylee, but who doesn’t love a good BTTFreference?).
NYC in the ’90s was quite special for me. It’s when I moved here. And moved here a second time (I’ve since moved here a third time), and watching The Wackness made me nostalgic for the decade. It also made me think of some of the other films from or set in that period, a number of which kind of define my experience with the city.
Here’s a bit of candy to keep you entertained while I settle into the post-Cannes, post-holiday bloggy business as usual. Continuing the Muppets revisionist cinematic history trend (first came Sesame Streets by Martin Scorsese, then Elmo auditioned for a remake of Casino (he lost the role to Ernie, apparently), here comes The Muppets Take Manhattan. We always suspected that Kermit was the Woody Allen of Sesame Street, and now we have the visual proof.
If the mere news of Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz’s lesbian sex scene wasn’t enough to sell you on Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, this new trailer should seal the deal. The shot of the two actresses kissing goes by quick and is poorly lit, and it’s buried between footage of Javier Bardem separately making out with pretty much the entire female cast, but it’s there. And just to prove it, I’ve given you a sneak peek above.
With Allen’s career relatively flaccid of late, let’s hope for his sake that the steamy scene gives rise to the largest audience the Woodster’s seen in years. Then again, the last time ScarJo attempted to use lesbianism as a marketing tool, it didn’t help The Other Boleyn Girl.
Check out the whole trailer (as long as it’s available) after the jump
Behold! Set pics from Woody Allen’s new horror movie, in which 20 year-old Evan Rachel Wood and 60 year-old Larry David grab a knish. Looks like Ben Kingsley was just the beginning of the threat to Hollywood’s nubile youth. More at dListed, if you can stomach it.
The lineup for next month’s Cannes Film Festival has been announced, and it’s excellent timing, because I just found out yesterday that I’m going to be attending the festival for the first time. Some notes on the lineup:
Contrary to previous reports, both Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Steven Soderbergh’s two-part, four hour epic Che will screen at the fest, although both will premiere out of competition.
As expected, Charlie Kaufmann’s Synechdoche, New York will compete against new films from Philippe Garrel and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but it’s not the only American film in competition anymore, thanks to the unexpected inclusion of Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie.
A modified version of Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time will screen in the Special Screenings section, as will a new film by Terrence Davies and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt’s follow-up to Old Joy, will screen in the Un Certain Regard section, alongside James Toback’s documentary on Mike Tyson, and Tokyo!, and omnibus with sections directed by Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry and Leos Carax.
The Dardenne Brothers, who won the Palme D’Or in 2005 with L’Enfant, will return to competition with The Silence of Lorna.
Only one Chinese film will screen at the festival, Jia Zhangke’s 24 City, due to ” a current bottleneck in the Chinese censorship process, which includes authorizing overseas travel.”
Variety says the only American film currently locked into a competition slot at Cannes is Charlie Kaufmann’s directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Steven Soderbergh’s Che epic isn’t finished, and Woody Allen’s Barcelona film is caught up in international red tape. But it looks like we can look forward to new stuff from Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Philippe Garrel, as well as a documentary on Mike Tyson by James Toback.
Squashing rumors that the film would be exclusively distributed via iTunes, IFC has announced that they’ll release Madonna’s directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, in the fall, with a theatrical run concurrent with VOD as is their custom.
Brett Ratner has been “tapped” to remakeThe Incredible Shrinking Man. I am only posting this story so I can screencap the incredible photo of Ratner at right. The black-on-black bow tie––who does that?
Some movies are violent, some are disturbing, and others are just plain wrong. Paul W. S. Anderson’s Death Race is a fun ride with some gnarly crashes, but it can’t hold a candle to its demented predecessor, Roger Corman’s Death Race 2000 (1975).
Cinema’s favorite weirdo, Cripsin Glover, is taking his film across the country, personally [...]
Not to make a career out of Woody Allen apologia, but I thought it was interesting to see critics 
The lineup 
