4. To Rome With Love (2012)
No matter what you think of Woody Allen, he's at least dedicated to his art. It seems not a year goes by when he hasn't released some gentle new romantic comedy. Churning them out so frequently is admirable to a degree - he could have just retired about 40 years ago - but I think it's fair to say that some his numerous efforts would have been best left on paper. Less is more, etc., etc. To Rome With Love is one of those films. The first warning sign is hearing it described as a "magical realist" rom-com, but I'm happy to suspend my disbelief on that count. Aladdin was good, after all. What it's not so fun to do is sit through a film where the basic premise is "isn't Italy nice?" The ensemble cast are pretty good, but they're in such muddled and, dare I say it,
boring roles that it's hard to end the film caring.