Andrew Carruthers (showbiz101)

The book (which I've recently read) is actually a collection of short stories. The one story that the film focuses on (the longest one in the book) is a bit of a black sheep, as it's the only one that doesn't revolve around the Vietnam war and it's the only one to contain supernatural elements. Luckily they toned down a lot of the supernatural stuff (in the book it gets stupidly weird) but they also toned down much of the other aspects that gave the story impact. It seems that it's all too easy to make Stephen King novels into cheesy films, and this one is no exception.

For me, Woody Allen films fall into two categories. The first category is labelled "AWESOME", and it contains all his films that I felt were very funny, incredibly clever, and gave me a beautifully bittersweet feeling of nostalgia and romance that is difficult to describe. Thing is it's not much of a category because the only film I've found so far that fits in there is ANNIE HALL.

The other category is labelled "DISAPPOINTING" and contains every other movie I've seen of his. Most of Allen's work makes me very bored for at least part of it, and leaves me feeling quite depressed about the nature of love. His films tend to be so chock-full of illicit affairs and unfaithful partners, that the idea of a long-lasting relationship that works quickly seems like an unachievable fantasy. I mean, ANNIE HALL's ending wasn't peachy either, but it certainly didn't crush my spirits completely the way MATCH POINT did.

Still, within this lesser category of Woody Allen films, VICKY CRISTINA would float near the top. The early scenes failed to properly draw me in, and I found the narration quite irritating, but once Penelope Cruz shows up the movie starts to take off. She is really very good in this, and the rest of the cast hold their own well enough. There are some interesting ideas and questions brought up throughout the movie, and as they are explored further I actually found it less pessimistic.

Overall it's not bad, but it's certainly not the going to convert me to a Woody Allen completist.

IN MY TOP 10 ... Stylish, hypnotic, jaw dropping, and even sparodically funny. Lends itself to multiple viewings and provides you with enough food for thought to last a number of years. Remains my favourite film of all time.

IN MY TOP 10 ... Any Charlie Kaufman doubters who were saying he was too clever for his own good, and sacrificed emotional connection for interesting ideas should have ripped their tongues out and ate them for breakfast when this was released. Beautiful, funny, heart warming (or heart wrenching, sometimes it's hard to tell), wildly inventive and entertaining ... about as close to perfect as they come.