‘Rifkin’s Festival’ (2020) sees romance as ageless
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): Allen’s writing and directing skills are still sharp in his seventh decade of filmmaking.
Romance
‘Everyone Says I Love You’ (1996) celebrates heart’s desires
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): While still recognizably an Allen film, this one focuses on the positive side of love enough to make you want to sing and dance.
‘Absent in the Spring’ (1944) a never-dull dive into one woman’s mind
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): In her third Mary Westmacott novel, Christie holds a reader’s attention the whole way by exploring inner thoughts.
‘Giants’ Bread’ (1930) a tragedy of love, creative drive
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): We take a temporary break from sleuthing to examine Agatha Christie’s excellent first Mary Westmacott novel.
Allen skewers star-making culture in ‘Celebrity’ (1998)
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): It’s sometimes more absurd and sometimes more accessible than “Stardust Memories.” In the end, it’s a great companion piece.
‘Deconstructing Harry’ (1997) puts typical Allen situations through blender
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): This film overcomes its hard-to-grasp structure to become great for a basic reason: It’s darn funny.
‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ manipulative but undeniably pretty
Movie review: Although too beautiful to be a shunned “Marsh Girl,” Daisy Edgar-Jones steals hearts in this adaptation of a Sixties-set murder-mystery novel.
Penn starrer ‘Sweet and Lowdown’ (1999) turns out sour
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): Penn and Morton are decent, but where are the laughs in this faux-historical piece that’s structured like a comedy?
Pugh elevates oddly regressive ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Movie review: Olivia Wilde’s latest film thinks it’s better than it is. On the other hand, Florence Pugh does make every movie she’s in better.
Sorvino magnetically ridiculous in ‘Mighty Aphrodite’ (1995)
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): It includes a lot of Allen staples, but Mira Sorvino’s unusual Oscar-winning performance makes this film stand out.