Pitch-perfect Woody Allen - more nostalgia & romance than humor, but a delightful 90 minutes. Plenty of love letters have been written about all things Paris - particularly Paris in the 20’s - but Woody Allen has the courage and the chops to one-up all of them. Owen Wilson perfectly cast, and the historical characters come to life - from Hemingway to F. Scott and Zelda - are just as you’d like to imagine them. Great performances all around and a brave message at the core: yearning for the “golden days gone by” is a human nature flaw that is doomed to repeat itself from generation to generation.

James L. Brooks has made some of the best, smartest, adult, drama-comedies in the last 30 years. His “Big 3”: “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News,” and “As Good As It Gets” = yes, please!

“How Do You Know” is…horrible.

It’s hard to imagine how such a talented film-maker, and a world class cast, could make such a dud. And no one escapes the carnage. From a grossly mis-cast, Reese Witherspoon, to a phoning-it-in minor role from Jack Nicholson, this film also shows the limits of two of America’s “leading men” - Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. As a viewer, you’ll find yourself straining to find elements that resemble Brooks’ award-winning films, and even imagining the shared embarrassment that all these talented artists had to feel when the credits rolled at the red-carpet screening. Facing “the press” and “selling” this film was the most impressive performance by anyone involved in “How Do You Know.”…Save yourself 121 minutes of your life and choose to watch one of the Big 3 from Brooks for a guaranteed enjoyable movie-watching experience.