Ahhhh, Woody Allen. It’s easy to forget how tremendously awesome he is (especially when he churns out Scoop and Cassandra’s Dream), so it’s good to get a reminder every few years when he creates a film like Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Set in Barcelona and among the typical Allen faire of society’s upper strata (where even the starving artists live in enormous villas), Vicky Cristina Barcelona explores themes of love versus romance – of how passion isn’t often pragmatic or even ultimately fulfilling. Scarlett Johansson stars as Cristina and Rebecca Hall as Vicky, two young women visiting friends in Barcelona who quickly fall into the sights of artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Naturally things get complicated from there, with Juan Antonio’s ex-girlfriend (a fiery Penélope Cruz) arriving on the scene and getting all spicy and fast-talky-Spanishy. While the storybook narration does get a bit overbearing (“Nothing much happened for a while, until something happened”), the script is tight, the acting su-poib and Barcelona absolutely gorgeous as a backdrop. Woody Allen: You’re tremendously awesome.