Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

[Movie 200 / Day 212]


The first Woody Allen movie I've seen didn't really impress me. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the story of two best friends who spend the summer months in Barcelona and fall in love, out of love etc.

Whilst there was nothing badly wrong with the story, I just disliked the dialogue (which seemed to range from stilted to totally unnatural at times) and I plain hated the narrator (who sounded extremely wooden and frankly, bored witless). Amazingly, it seems that many people are of the opinion that Penelope Cruz looks beautiful in this movie. To me, she looked at best manic and at worst witch-like; and I found her voice grating in the extreme.

My rating: 5.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 96 mins
IMDB link

The Spirit (2008)

[Movie 167 / Day 179]


An odd film this. It looks fantastic for the most part; very similar to Sin City. Unfortunately, the script is pretty rubbish. It's supposed to be a film noire detective story; but it just comes across as disjointed. The dialogue is plain terrible.

Disappointing.

My rating: 4.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.0 / 10
Running time: 103 mins
IMDB link