Woody Allen – Hit The North

The Lolita Problem

Kidcore; Jenna Ortega as ‘Wednesday’, ‘St Trinians’, ‘Pretty Baby’, Jodie Foster in ‘Taxi Driver ‘, a young Britney Spears, Natalie Portman’s early roles, Kawaii, groupie tales, sexy young models, schoolgirl strippers, Page 3 and of course, the book from which the fetish arose- these are all massive cultural touchstones for many fans of pop culture.Continue reading “The Lolita Problem”

Worth Revisiting: Wild Man Blues

‘Grumpy Old Man B!ues’, more like. What a miserable old git Woody Allen is. That’s the takeaway from Barbara Kopple’s 1997 documentary on the legendary but controversial film director. Holding forth on his favourite subjects: New York; himself, jazz, himself, Paris, himself, travel, himself, and, mostly, himself, the camera follows him, alongside his very youngContinue reading “Worth Revisiting: Wild Man Blues”

Woody Allen’s Dialogue Problem

Culture war issues aside, there are many reasons to dislike Woody Allen these days. It’s frustrating, as regardless of his less than healthy attitudes to women and certain ethnic groups (what did Armenian people ever do to him? Seriously?) he made some good films from the seventies -nineties, and did great stand-up in the sixties.Continue reading “Woody Allen’s Dialogue Problem”