The conscionable killer side of me was really raring for a bleak Woody Allen drama, and "Blue Jasmine" seemed to fit the bill with a luminous Cate Blanchett as the titular Jasmine, a former society maven whose marriage, finances, and family unravel ever-so-uncomfortably due to her hamartias of denial and hubris, as well as her odd habits of babbling to herself and others and dabbling in arts and phaux-philanthropy. Blanche(tt) is a frothy but formidable mix of Blanche Dubois and Blanche Devereaux, glistening with that fine-bone-structured charisma but also big ol' bullets of desperate perspiration.

Sally Hawkins is quite brilliant and subtly perky (unlike over-the-top perky in "Happy-Go-Lucky"). Bobby Cannavale is brutish yet sensitive. The script is cerebral yet natural. The comeuppances do indeed come, yet I'm still unsatisfied.

*SPOILERS*

I said "seemed" earlier because the ending is more of a non-ending. Nothing is truly resolved. I expected the movie to end with Jasmine dying by accident or committing suicide ala "Cassandra's Dream," thus rounding out a tragedy that is Greek in scope. OR I expected that Jasmine would get off scot free, marry Dwight, and live happily ever after without him finding out her sordid past ala "Crimes and Misdemeanors" or "Match Point," thus rendering the tragedy ironic.

Instead, we get a quivery close-up of Jasmine sitting alone on a bench - a sad tableau to be sure, but no definitive statement of her future. And Woody is never afraid to make a definitive statement, so I didn't appreciate the bland open-endedness this time. Nothing too terrible or wonderful is going to happen to her. She left the apartment door open, so I'm sure Ginger and Chili will go looking for her; it's not like they had the worst of falling outs. They'll probably take pity on Jasmine for another couple of months, then commit her to a sanitarium, which is already a classic American denouement for the former of the aforementioned Blanches.

Clary Fray discovers that she comes from a long line of shadowhunters, and she must save her abducted mother by confronting the demons and "down-worlders" in her past (while wearing the hell out of some hotsy-totsy ensembles).

Clary is a decently badass chick who is just fragile and girly enough to still want love, and Lily Collins plays her with winsome gusto. I think I'm officially a fan of Collins' heavy eyebrows and distinctly Audrey Hepburn air. The legs of the love triangle, played by Jamie Campbell Bower and Robert Sheehan, are satisfyingly edgy and adorable, respectively. JCB is actually rather funny in a cold, sardonic way. All the rest of the supporting cast are great: Jonathan Rhys Meyers is sexy and evil; Lena Headey is daring and angelic; Jemima West is bold but understated; and pantsless Godfrey Gao is a charismatic new guard of the Asian Persuasion.

Having never read the books, I was pleasantly thrilled and surprised by all the twists and turns. I also give the books and movie kudos for GOING THERE, you know what I mean? The twistiest of turns is balanced and open.

Anyone who doesn't love "Casablanca" should...stay in Casablanca? I don't know if this is the original give-up-the-girl-for-the-sake-of-the-Resistance story, but it's certainly got the most class. My favorite scene is the one in which the Germans are carousing to their anthem, and Victor strides up to the band and tells them to play "La Marseillaise." The band leader looks over at Rick, and he nods, almost imperceptibly. Vive la France!

Upon recent viewing though, I noticed several instances of vague show coupled with obvious tell - spoken recaps of the previous scene just in case an audience missed the subtext.

SO RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY! The music and lyrics are beautiful and well-paced, save for a few woolly reprises. No one is too evil, except for the freakin' Nazis, and rightfully so cuz the enemy OUGHT to be bigger than us all! I rather love Charmian Carr as Liesl and "Sixteen Going On Seventeen," but my stomach just wells up with anger during that flirtatious little number, knowing that Rolfe is gonna become a little Nazi bitch. Watching as an adult now, I'm also pleasantly surprised at how subtly sexy that whole dance scene between Maria and Captain Von Trapp out on the terrace is.

Love Marilyn Monroe - the sexy, the innocent, the Silver Screen star, the controversial pop icon. Her performances of "Runnin' Wild," "I Wanna Be Loved By You," and "I'm Through With Love" are cheeky, seductive, and wistful, respectively. She overacts badly a bit during the yacht seduction sequence, and the gangster chase drags (heh) on a bit only to end with a much too easy resolution, but still, they just don't make 'em like this anymore.