One of our favorite bespectacled directors (Woody Allen) is back to the big screen this week with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," a sensual romantic comedy about two girls on holiday in Spain for the summer who fall for the same guy (Javier Bardem).
The girls (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) also don't realize that their love interest's ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) who, oh yeah, tried to stab him, isn't completely out of the picture yet. She arrives and decides maybe she knows what's best for him after all. And yes, there is one particularly racy scene involving Scarlett, Penelope and Javier, but we hear it's been talked up quite a bit more than it deserves.
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was not only shot in, but is a literal tribute to, Barcelona. Keep reading to check out some ideal stops there.
Penelope Cruz and recent Oscar winnerJavier Bardem read together on a beach in Nice over Easter Weekend. The couple met in 1992 on the set of the Spanish movie "Jamon, jamon."
If you're on Spring Break in the U.S. (and for some reason you're reading this), you're probably seeing record crowds as the classic spring-vacation window has narrowed. If you're in Europe this week, though, it's business as usual, since in most European countries it's traditional to vacation the week of Holy Week (or at least the weekend of Easter). Plus, with the mighty euro, you probably wouldn't be running into many of your compatriots.
Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley create a new Hispano-British axis of power at the Berlin Film Festival. In their new movie "The Dying Animal," based on a Philip Roth novel, Kingsley's mania spins out of control when the professor becomes obsessed with a beautiful student (Cruz).
The Berlin Film Festival continues till next Sunday. Last year's Best Director prize film, "Beaufort," is one of the Best Foreign Film nominees for this year's Oscars; who knows what you'll find at the fest this year?
