I know...I know...either you love him or you hate him but there is no denying Woody Allen his movie making genius :) Starting at the end of every August I get the "Woody's" (the desire to watch a marathon of Allen's movies) It never fails and this year was no different.

I started with "Hollywood Ending"...one I haven't seen as many times as the rest. True,his movies over the past 10 years have been a little hit or miss. This one was in the middle with one "laugh out loud" scene when he's confronting his ex-wife about catching her with another man in the middle of a restaurant.

"Manhatten Murder Mystery" was next. Watching Woody and Diane Keaton together is like visiting your old friends,they are delight together. Sometimes the stories don't matter to me...it's just the interaction and dialogue that keeps me glued to the screen. That's the one thing that makes these movies so timeless...there are massive amounts of dialogue and overlapping conversations going on that each time you watch them you may just find yourself laughing at a line you missed the other 22 times you watched it. So fresh!

"Husbands and Wives" has always been one of my faves. Sydney Pollack blows me away in this movie...he was such a great actor...hard to believe he was mostly known for directing. This movie is so "real" it makes reality TV look like such a scam. Brilliant writing and performances all around. 

"September" is probably much less known. Woody isn't in this one but it's another top of the list fave. Elaine Stritch is fantabulous...I can never stop raving about her in this. Need a movie to get you into a "Fall" mood? This is it! Every one of Woody's movies have this effect. There is no other place you'd rather be then in New York when he gets his yellow filtery lens on it. I couldn't be further from being a "New Yawker" but his movies make me fall totally in love with the Big Apple. Nobody makes it look more beautiful!

This is a great movie to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon (which is just what I did,lol)--Another Woman" is another one you may not have heard of. Again Woody is absent and Gena Rowlands plays the lead here. (Gush! Gush!) Brilliant performance with an intense cameo by Betty Buckley (Abby from Eight Is Enough). Both "September" and "Another Woman" are very dramatic, not comedy at all so if you're looking to get cheered up by these 2, don't count on it,lol.

"Play It Again,Sam" was one I forgot about but watching it again was such a pleasure. Tony Roberts stars in this as in "Annie Hall". Enough said...this movie needs no critique from an amateur like me. I believe this was an Oscar winner as well :)

OMG..I absolutely adore "Small Time Crooks". Has to be one of his funniest ever. There is an old black and white movie he must have taken this from called "Larceny INC" I think with Broderick Crawford and Edward G. Robinson. But this one takes it so much further. Hilarious!!

Next up is "Manhatten",gorgeously filmed in black and white this is probably the peak of Woody's career (for critics maybe...not for me!) The script to this is in a book I have (my other Bible, I call it,lol) "Four Films of Woody Allen". It's fun to read,you can envision the movie as your scanning the pages. "Manhatten" is full of laughs and I believe one of the first Allen movies I ever saw as a teenager.

No matter how many times I watch these I always come back for more. How many film makers can you say that about? Probably not too many. There aren't many people in the celebrity world I would ever want to meet...but Mr. Allen definitely tops my list. Being a writer or screenwriter is incredibly difficult  (yes,I've delved into both over the years)  so I have nothing but admiration for people who can crank out script after script. What an accomplishment!     I'll be lucky to accomplish one great piece of writing in my lifetime :) Now THAT'S winning the lottery to me :O