Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Two American tourists (Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson) become romantically embroiled with a Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) and his unstable ex-wife (Penélope Cruz). Master filmmaker Woody Allen has made his share of duds, and this is one of his dudliest. As the characters dance a round robin of romantic triangles, the most striking thing about them is their bland dullness—Allen, as always, attracts fine actors (Patricia Clarkson and Kevin Dunn are in there somewhere too), but rarely has one of his scripts had so many completely uninteresting characters. While Allen swoons over the art and architecture of Barcelona (beautifully photographed by Javier Aguirresarobe), the insights into character are told rather than shown, by an omniscient narrator who makes the movie feel like an illustrated audiobook.