Woody Allen's inspiring later career winning streak

Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Blue Jasmine is just the latest late career masterpiece from Woody Allen. Not only does Cate Blanchett give a stunning performance (for which she won a richly deserved Oscar) but the film is a testament to how fresh and witty Allen's mind still is.

Sadly, his genuine talent has been overshadowed as of late by debate over his undeniably messy personal life. I won't engage in that here. I will simply admit that I am a huge fan of his and I've found his work in the last decade or so to be an inspiration. When I watch movies like the incredibly sexy Vicky Christina Barcelona, I am shocked that they've been written by a nearly 80-year-old who appears to live a sheltered lifestyle that has barely evolved in over forty years.

His work in the 1970s really established him as a filmmaking force. Annie Hall and Manhattan remain two of my favorite films of the decade. The '80s were also a fertile period for Allen, my personal all-time favorite film of his, Crimes and Misdemeanors, came out during that era, as did classics like The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters.

However, for me, his '90s output was mostly a waste. There were occasional bright spots, but for the most part he was treading water and repeating himself with diminishing results.

Woody Allen and one of his muses

So like so many film buffs I was stunned by the left curve which was 2005's Match Point. A real thriller with some unapologetically dark undertones, that movie was a real change of pace (and scenery, the film was set in the UK) for Allen. I loved Vicky Christina Barcelona even more. And then the utterly charming Midnight In Paris arrived and became the biggest hit of his career.

Of course when you release one new film every year some of them are going to miss big (Scoop, anyone?), but that's understandable. Still, after Blue Jasmine, the case could be made that this may be the best period of Allen's career.

I have no idea how the man does it. I watched an extensive documentary about his process (complete with typing out his scripts on the same old-fashioned typewriter) and still don't understand how he can remain so timely and relevant well into old age.

And he's still hilarious after all these years. I understand that his humor isn't for everyone. And there are people who, for completely respectable reasons, can't get past his off-screen problems. But for me, he is now, and always will remain, a genius.

As a filmmaker I think he is incredibly underrated. Like Tarantino (who is a big fan of Allen's), his writing is his selling point, but he's also proven to be quite adept at his staging and editing as well.

If you can tune out the drama surrounding him and look at the film Blue Jasmine on its own terms, it's an incredibly smart, funny and ultimately devastating indictment of classism in modern America, complete with a terrific supporting performance from Andrew 'Dice' Clay of all people.

Who knows what more Allen has to say after 45 years of making movies -- I have no idea, but I'm curious to find out.