cmleidi You hit the nail on the head. That is the only reason it gets any air time. There was a period when Woody Allen films were consistently superior. Now it's almost like he's making movies as part of a rote exercise.

gatordemo I really liked Blue Jasmine. Moonlight needed more story, more reason for the two leads to fall in love, but I didn't hate it.

cmleidi While true, sometimes you have to stop and look at the giants of whatever field you are in and wonder about the state of things. A prime example of this is the Simpsons. I still hear at least once a month "Do you remember when the Simpsons were funny?". The conversation of 'Did we change as an audience or did the writers/directors/performers lose a step along the way' is something that we all love to ponder. A misstep with a demigod like Allen is a perfect chance to start that. That conversation takes up many forms. Was Woody Allen merely a Zeitgeist of his time? Was he only relevant because when he came out, no one was doing what he was doing? Has he remained the same and we gotten smarter? Have we gotten dumber with the crap we ingest and call it media? It's just a big 'What happened?' that people are trying to figure out.

+cmleidi this movie is amazing

@@gatordemo That isn't very fair.....so many movies coming out of Hollywood are totally crap. It's perfectly possible to enjoy a movie without comparing it too something else. If you can't get passed how it compares to previous movies (as the reviewer says), you'll never be able to enjoy another movie. It's still entertainment, not art.

yes the crime, its unravelling and the consequences were done rather swiftly and easily. That is where the film lost some marks. I think that is the part where Allen should have worked more to make it more dramatic and suspenseful. Maybe he should have made Stone work harder to unravel the mystery and create more tension for Phoenix before the final act. But I thought Allen was more focused on the relationship between Stone and Phoenix which was the highlight of the movie. I mean Stone was a student and was having affair with her Professor taking one of his classes , and her parents were Professors, and their affair was being discussed on the campus. How more can you push the limit ? But as Stone said " I have not made any exclusive commitment to my boy friend." And Phoenix said "Gossip is something people do in their lonely time." I liked the mirror scene. Usually the twisted mirror is used for action and horror scenes. But Allen really used it well for the romantic scene.

Blissmonkey Make 3 stinkers in a row and never direct again. Woody Allen has a cult following so he's always relevant to a fair sized audience.

Which is basically season 3 of Californication...

Lucky for us......

Hannibal Montannibal Yeah, the cliche is strong with this one...especially coming from Mr. Allen. You'd think he'd tone down the whole age-inappropriate romance thing after what happened last year, but no....

Hannibal Montannibal Hmm, did you watch the video...or maybe the trailer? Or how about maybe a review? He finds meaning in life after comitting an irractional act.

Hannibal Montannibal yeah, you didn't see the film at all, did you?

+Hannibal Montannibal actually that's the twist, the trailer made it seem like that's the case but I've watched it recently and it's not what I expected it to be.

+Hannibal Montannibal God damn it, watch the movie, or read a plot summary at least.

You're missing out. Give "Match Point" a shot to start.

Small Time Crooks, Deconstructing Harry, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight In Paris, Blue Jasmine, Match Point, Bullets Over Broadway, Sweet and Lowdown, Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite. The man makes a film a year. To have 10 great movies in the last 20 odd years is not achieved by many!!! It's not achieved by anyone!!! At this point we are fully taking him for granted. There is no other way to explain it. There's no need to be an apologist either. Even most of his bad ones are worth watching just once. The man is 80 years old and still makes (originally writes and directs) a film a year. Are you kidding me?!! Not to say he gets a pass for that but for fucks sake, be rational! Nobody in the history of cinema, absolutely nobody, not even the late great and Woody's idol Ingmar Bergman pulled it off. Taking him for granted is a sorry mistake. He is the most nominated and praised original screenwriter in the history of cinema. I will continue watching everything he does, good or bad, because it is an absolute honor.

cactaceous Me too!

cactaceous I've never thought of it that way. I'll watch more Woody Allen movies sometime.

James Rode If nothing else, do see Match Point. For me, it's one of his best. Not comedy. A morals tale.

It's Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris was brilliant but I agree with you.

Kshaka I don't think he's struggling. I think he's telling the stories he needs to tell, which should be the sole motivation of every director. To think that that is less important than finishing your career on the highest is getting it wrong and speaks more of ego than passion.

Mark Parry Fair enough but on a personal level his films since "Matchpoint" have not been compelling to me as his other films before that.

Yeah, I do agree with. I loved Match Point and quite liked Blue Jasmine and Vicky Cristina but there have been a handful that I didn't personally gravitate toward either.

Kshaka Man, Matchpoint, to me, is so overrated. It has a great ending but it struggles in the middle. But yeah, Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris and are gems.

***** translation = I like mediocre Woody Allen movies and talking about them

what do you mean? Big spoiler she killed him at the end

@@GameplayArena1 thus