Trailer for 'Blue Jasmine' Directed by...Woody Allen?

Really? Woody Allen directed this?

From the trailer you wouldn't know it, couldn't tell it. This cuts nicely. I like it and, yes, I'm not much of a fan of Allen's stuff. His movies are so...crisp, clean and neatly folded. Tasty in a tightly focused way, refined and lightly sweetened, like something you'd have with tea in the afternoon, but with an appeal few find compelling. Woody Allen's movies are for people who want stories that are clever but restrained, funny but not viscerally so, humorous in that intellectual way that was so sought after in the 50s, 60s, and 70s but rarely finds a home on the big screen today.

'Blue Jasmine', however, looks greasy and delicious -- like a big juicy burger that everyone wants to munch, gobble, devour, and wash down with a huge frosty glass of beer. It's for people who want to get lost in a crazy world that's populated by irresistible characters. This is a movie that's funny because you feel it in your gut.

'Blue Jasmine' still looks smart, mind you. These people have layers, and the subject matter -- addiction, ego-driven materialism, relationships built on a foundation of ulterior motives -- look like they're handled with utmost care. But, intellectual? Perhaps not so much. And, that, exactly that, is what audiences will be drawn to.

Woody Allen has given us cerebral somewhat tightly-wound comedy in the past. 'Blue Jasmine', on the other hand, plays like a boisterous ballet, has raw poetry, and is hella funny, while remaining shrewd, observant, honest, and (yes) smart.

Star studded as usual but Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett have that certain something. Like really nice icing on a really nice cake.

Must-see, can't wait.






















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Honorary Oscar For Alec

Baldwin, that is. He's one of my favorite things about any given movie -- that's certainly the case for "The Departed" -- even though Baldwin only had a few minutes of screen time in this year's Best Picture winner, he nailed each scene to the floor. Stephanie Zacharek makes a good argument for giving Baldwin Salon's honorary Oscar for...um...Best Performances in Several Different Pictures in the Same Year (excerpt):

Baldwin shines in too many movies to list, and although he's different in every role, his performances often bear trademark qualities. Often, I think, we respond to Baldwin because his mere presence -- his confident bearing, the way he cocks an eyebrow at just the right angle -- speaks of healthy skepticism, an intolerance of idiocy and phoniness. An understated superhero in an age of overstatement, he can zap bullshit with a single glance: His X-ray vision seeks, and destroys, baloney. Baldwin is always both laid-back and on point, which seems a contradiction but is actually a delicate balance that's hard to strike. And although we're lucky to have him now, with his elegant carriage and knife-edge timing -- not to mention that voice, a voice with the texture and suppleness of the silkiest luxury mohair -- he'd be just as much at home in the comedies of the '30s and early '40s: Preston Sturges would have adored him.

Sure, I'll go along with that.