Vicky Cristina Barcelona

The Woody Allen/Scarlett Johansson pairing is about to go down as one of the most iconic writer-director/star relationships since Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe. He's the master filmmaker that even his most loyal NY critics had started to write off as no-longer-capable of connecting with his audience. She's the hot young star with the velvety voice and looks that redefine photogeny. Together, they have reminded us that when a genius meets a muse, magic happens. Their first two pictures, Match Point and Scoop, were just a warm-up leading up to Vicky Cristina Barcelona, one of the sexiest and most thought-provoking films about relationships to hit American theaters in who-knows-how-many years. It tells the tale of two young female American students with opposing views on love, who get involved with an intense, horny and older Spanish painter while spending a few soul-searching days in Barcelona. Suffice to say that the script is phenomenal, the directing smooth as an Exxon oil spill and Scarlett is... well... Scarlett is....Scratlet si...shrikpfxssss...................... Sorry. I drifted. Woody, at age 72, has silenced his critics. He remains a loud and original voice in American cinema, a species in serious danger of extinction. Whatever ideas Scarlett triggers in him, one can only hope they will keep on coming.