In Honor of Blue Jasmine, My Top 10 Favorite Woody Allen Films

With Woody Allen's San Francisco-set drama Blue Jasmine garnering good reviews and strong box office numbers, it seems that Woody Allen's career is finally achieving the same peak he had in the 70s and again in the 80s. So to celebrate my #2 favorite director's latest success, here are my top 10 favorite Woody Allen movies. Admittedly, I haven't seen Everyone Says I Love You, Husbands and Wives, Sweet and Lowdown or Bullets over Broadway, all of which have strong critical followings.

10. Love and Death; 1975, with Diane Keaton and Woody Allen
I would call Love and Death one of Allen's goofiest, loosest comedies, if not the loosest and goofiest. Love and Death is a satire of Russian epic novels, with jokes about Ingmar Bergman and other intellectualist fodder thrown in. It's a zany, nonstop comedy with a remarkable performance from Diane Keaton, just a few years shy of her landmark role in Annie Hall. Some of the jokes went over my head but the entire enterprise is so light and breezy, it remains fun until the end.

9. Scoop; 2006, with Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen and Hugh Jackman

tied with  Manhattan Murder Mystery; 1993, with Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, Anjelica Huston and Alan Alda

These 2 comedies, featuring a group of inept but plucky amateur detectives trying to get to the bottom of a mystery which may or may not exist, are what critics like to call "slight." They don't have any Grand Statements About Humanity. They give off the feeling that Allen got together with a bunch of friends or people he likes, threw a script together and went a-shootin'. Of course, the mysteries in these films are genuinely interesting and clever. Plus these movies are funny and they get funnier with time.

8. Deconstructing Harry; 1997, with Woody Allen, Billy Crystal, Kirstie Alley and Judy Davis
A twisted take on Ingmar Bergman's classic Wild Strawberries, Deconstructing Harry is perhaps one of Woody Allen's most "different" films. It features a large supporting cast, most of whom play characters written by Allen's character. The humor is edgier and R-rated and the film takes an extended trip into Hell. Deconstructing Harry is a bizarre but insightful comedy about what it takes to be a genius.

7. Match Point; 2005, with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathon Rhys-Meyers, Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode
After a string of mediocre to bad comedies in the late 90s and early 2000s, Woody bounced back with this tense erotic drama-thriller about class and entitlement. With knockout performances, including one from a neurotic, shrewish Scarlett Johansson, and an air of claustrophobic paranoia, Match Point is unlike any other movie Woody Allen had ever made. It feels almost Hitchcockian with its suspense and convoluted but believable plot. I credit Match Point for reinvigorating Woody Allen's career and it is really a reminder that Allen has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

6. Radio Days; 1987, with Seth Green, Mia Farrow, Danny Aiello and Dianne Wiest
Woody Allen has never been shy about quoting his influences in his films. And like he did with Ingmar Bergman and Alfred Hitchcock, Allen is directly referencing Federico Fellini's classic Amarcord here. Radio Days, about a young boy living in Brooklyn in the 1940s, is a series of vaguely connected vignettes about WWII America. It's a personal film, the closest Allen ever got to a full autobiography. The large cast and the sharp, insightful script make the 1940s come alive

5. The Purple Rose of Cairo; 1985, with Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels and Danny Aiello
A sensitive, romantic but tragic piece, Purple Rose provides 80s-era Woody Allen favorite Mia Farrow with her best performance and role. It's a quiet film about the love of cinema and all that comes with it. The air of doomed romance hovering over this film gives it a melancholic beauty that had been missing in Allen's work since the late 70s. Purple Rose is a gem of a film, a sweet story with a dynamite ending.

4. Annie Hall; 1977, with Diane Keaton, Woody Allen and Tony Roberts
For a lot of people, Annie Hall is THE Woody Allen film. Its nonlinear narrative, use of flashbacks and split screens, fantasy sequences, musical selections and sad ending were all unique to the film industry at the time. What makes Annie Hall so special is just how ordinary it is underneath all the technical mastery. Annie Hall and Alvy Singer feel like two people you might see on the street. Of course, this is Diane Keaton's signature performance. Her work here as a woman who learns so much from her lover that she surpasses him professionally, intellectually and emotionally is especially brilliant. The script is as powerful as ever and the jokes remain fresh and funny.

3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona; 2008, with Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Chris Messina
Using Spain as a backdrop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is without a doubt the best looking film Allen has ever made. The vibrant colors and stunning locales make a perfect setting for this existential romance about five people all searching for something they can't identify. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall giving the best performances. The music is sublime, trading in Allen's usual  jazz for the Spanish guitar. Crushing doubt, insecurity and loss is at the center of this film, themes that Allen has touched on in a few of his previous films. Of course, Spain and the beautiful cast make such emotional crises look glamorously surreal.

2. Hannah and Her Sisters; 1986, with Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Barbara Hershey, Michael Caine and Woody Allen
Hannah and Her Sisters is like the 80s version of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. But instead of the Spanish summer, this film covers an entire Manhattan year. Woody Allen movies tend to be a little on the cynical side or at least have some kind of bittersweet ending. But Hannah is a much more optimistic film, even though the characters suffer from a general malaise throughout. Dianne Wiest is the standout here as a neurotic, doubtful woman who comes into her own just before a total meltdown. This film is contemplative and thoughtful, with chapter headings and inner monologues. It plays out like a novel, going from character to character, subplot to subplot with ease and swiftness.

1. Manhattan; 1979, with Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway and Meryl Streep
Shot in a nostalgic black and white, Manhattan takes aninsightful look at the relationships of a few flawed but self-aware individuals. It features my favorite performance from Woody himself as a man who just can't seem to get it right when it comes to women. The soundtrack is absolutely magical, the dialogue is poetic and lyrical and the film has a sprawling epic feel even though its themes and situations are decidedly small-scale. Manhattan is famous for being loved by the public but inexplicably hated by Woody Allen. I'll never understand what Woody sees in Manhattan that makes him hate it so much. But for me, it is his definitive masterpiece.

With a career that goes back into the late 60s, it was extremely hard to pick just 10 movies for the list. I tried to take a few from each decade that represented his best from that period.

Here are some honorable mentions:
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Interiors (1978)

Blue Jasmine is now playing in NY and Los Angeles and should be heading into wide release either August 2nd or August 9th.

"This is the End": Satire of Celebrity Lifestyle

A comedy about a bunch of dudes who try to survive the Apocalypse. That was probably the pitch for "This is the End." And it stars a bunch of comedy actors who range from "oh, right, that guy" to A-listers: James, Franco, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel.

That's a movie that could be made today. End of the world movies are hot right now and those guys are (relatively) likable. But the interesting thing about "This is the End" is that all these guys are playing themselves or, rather, fictionalized versions of themselves. And there are a bunch of cameos from other Hollywood types like Michael Cera, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Channing Tatum, Paul Rudd and Emma Watson.

Here's what I like about celebrities playing themselves in comedies: it shows a great deal of self-awareness and good humor. Some of the guest appearances, most of which are at a big Hollywood bash at Franco's house, make the star look kinda dickish. But it's really clever to do a self-deprecating cameo. You watch Michael Cera as Michael Cera being an asshole and you think there's no way he (or his PR team) would let himself be portrayed like a total jerk if he really were a total jerk. Playing yourself in such an exaggerated fashion is like saying to the audience "hey, I'm actually really cool because I can laugh at myself!"

The other cool thing about stars playing themselves is that you get to see them interact with each other in cool ways, like Jason Segel making jokes about HIMYM to Kevin Hart or Rihanna smacking Michael Cera pretty hard for touching her inappropriately. Because these are popular actors, musicians and comedians, they bring their careers and personas with them. It's like when random celebrities tweet each other and it's like wow they're all friends!

"This is the End" is a very funny movie. Seeing these six guys play off each other is great fun and the whole thing has a "let's put on a show" vibe. For a while, it avoids taking everything too seriously and almost plays like a stoner parody of an Ingmar Bergman movie. There's tension and claustrophobia and limited supplies and everyone goes a little crazy.

One of my favorite lines from the film is when the Apocalypse starts to begin and the guys all think it's just a massive earthquake. Jonah Hill figures that the first people to get rescued will be them because they're popular actors. "George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, me and if there's room, you guys" he says. This theme of celebrity entitlement hangs over the entire film. Because these guys are in the middle of the Rapture, the big joke of the movie is that no celeb at Franco's party got ascended into heaven because they're all bad people, even though they act like they're, to quote Brandy, sitting on top of the world (top of the world).

If that sounds really cynical to you, I definitely agree with you. One of the major flaws of "This is the End" is that its morality is way too heavy-handed. The stuff about the Rapture and being ascended into heaven is played way too straight. Mixed in with that is my least favorite trope of end of the world movies: the relentless bitching and nastiness that comes when a bunch of people are stuck in a place faced with utter destruction.

Like I said, the movie is absolutely hysterical but at the same time, it can get exhausting. 107 minutes is too long for a movie with such a thin premise. Writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg try to stretch out the story with some friendship drama between the guys (though that stuff was done better in the pair's earlier movie Superbad and of course, Bridesmaids).

"This is the End" works as a satire of celebrity entitlement and it's funny, clever and inspired. But at the same time, it's really self-indulgent, believing that we the audience really care whether or not Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel (who, despite starring roles in How to Train Your Dragon and She's Out of my League, is still kind of a nobody) can mend their broken friendship and ascend into heaven. But perhaps that's part of the satire. These guys are so egomaniacal that they think they can get a hit movie out of airing their dirty laundry on the big screen.

It worked I guess. "This is the End" currently has grossed over $90 million off a small budget of $32 million.

What Can Hollywood Learn from Flops like The Lone Ranger (and White House Down and John Carter and After Earth and Jack the Giant Slayer and Battleship)?

The Lone Ranger has officially been declared a box office flop. The reboot of the 1930s radio series and 1950s TV series was made for a whopping $215 million and on opening weekend grossed a disappointing $49 million (plus an extra $24 million coming from foreign box office). That's a depressingly low number for an action movie directed by Pirates of the Caribbean helmer Gore Verbinski and starring his frequent leading man Johnny Depp.

Even with Depp as the star $215 million is too large a number for a film based on a property with little recognition these days. Compare The Lone Ranger to Oz: The Great and Powerful. That fantasy film also had a $215 mil price tag. But it grossed over $490 mil worldwide. Why is that?

The Wizard of Oz still has name recognition because it airs on TV a few times a year, many of its scenes have become iconic and it has an instantly recognizable soundtrack (if you've never heard of at least Over the Rainbow, then you're crazy and I will not talk to you). Not only that but Oz: The Great and Powerful has a big star cast: quintessential cool-girl Mila Kunis, ironic douchebag James Franco and legitimately respected actresses Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. All of those things combined made O:TGAP a huge hit.

The Lone Ranger is not a known property. Maybe it has recognition for people over 45 but they're not the ones to rush out and see a movie in its opening weeks. As for stars, Johnny Depp is there but his star is waning. His complete physical transformations into his characters are more of a punchline than they are exciting. And after he hit his peak in 2007 with Sweeney Todd, his career took a creative nosedive with films like Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

Aside from Depp, the movie stars Armie Hammer. Okay, he's handsome in a yacht-owner kind of way (though that stupid mask hides his pretty-boy face). He was pretty good in The Social Network and even Mirror, Mirror. But he is not yet a box office star like Mila Kunis. The Lone Ranger even had Helena Bonham Carter to pull in audiences but the marketing hardly used her in the ads (I mean, she's no Robert Downey Jr but she did do 4 Harry Potter films, a handful of Tim Burton hits and she has 2 Oscar nominations).

The problem here is that The Lone Ranger was a risk and the studios didn't know it. But that's an unsolvable problem. Every movie in some ways is a risk. But the bigger problem is that history has been repeating itself over and over again and Hollywood still isn't catching on. The studios are failing to see the forest for the trees.

White House Down (budget: $150 million, worldwide total: $68 million) was the 2nd movie this year about the White House being attacked after Olympus Has Fallen. It technically had bigger stars than Olympus Has Fallen: Jamie Foxx was just in the Oscar-winning hit Django Unchained and Channing Tatum is coming off the hattrick of Magic Mike, The Vow and 21 Jump Street. All four of those 2012 films had budgets of $100 million or less. Both Magic Mike and Django were unique, well-made and award-winning films. The Vow was a romantic drama released on Valentine's Day weekend and starring likability queen Rachel McAdams. 21 Jump Street was an R-rated comedy based off a well-known 80s TV show.  Putting Foxx and Tatum in a generic-looking, overpriced, overlong action movie is just a recipe for undoing their goodwill with audiences.

My theory: audiences are having big-budget fatigue. When every year sees the release of a handful of big budget action movies (which usually cost over $150 mil and run over 2 hours), they all start to blend together. Especially if they star no-name actors like Nicholas Hoult (star of flop Jack the Giant Slayer), Taylor Kitsch (star of flops Battleship and John Carter, based on dubious properties: a board game and a novel from 1912) or Armie Hammer. After Earth is another example of an overpriced movie and one that stars a guy nobody really likes anymore and his non-ironic douchebag son.

Even movies that fall in between mediocre and above average can still make a lot of money. Take a look at The Great Gatsby: a smallish budget of $105 mil, features superstar Leonardo DiCaprio with somewhat well-known actors Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan, based on a well-known and relevant book, and directed by someone with a recognizable style. The Great Gatsby's worldwide total: $321 million and that's with average reviews.

Fast & Furious 6 has emerged as one of the biggest hits of the summer season, grossing a huge worldwide total of $695 million off a $160 million budget. Iron Man 3 (budget: $200 million, worldwide total: $1.2 billion) and Man of Steel (budget: $225 million, worldwide total: $586 million) both are doing really well. But these successes are not a surprise. All three have name stars (though the big names aren't in the lead role in MOS's case) and are reboots/sequels to well-known properties. One unexpected hit is Now You See Me, which grossed about $170 million off a $75 million budget because of the large cast (including Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine and Melanie Laurent) and a cool concept (magicians who rob banks!).

 The Lone Ranger, White House Down, Jack the Giant Slayer, After Earth, John Carter and Battleship all had potential to be hits (and some even had the potential to be, you know, good) if they had smaller budgets. Small budgets force the filmmakers to rely on old-school ways of pulling in audiences: good acting and strong scripts. As much as audiences like eye-popping visuals and innovative use of IMAX, 3D and IMAX 3D, when a movie is bad, it's bad.

I doubt the failure of The Lone Ranger will be the straw that broke the camel's back. It seems with each new flop, the question isn't "how can we fix this broken business model?" but "what other old-school property can we remake?". It's like they keep digging for gold in the same spot because one guy struck it rich one time even though there's a huge pile gold untouched somewhere else.

**All budgets and box office totals are taken from Box Office Mojo.