"Cassandra's Dream" ** (out of four): The latest London-based Woody Allen movie is marked by Colin Farrell's best performance in years, and a sluggish, predictable script that covers some familiar crimes and misdemeanors.

As a long-time Woody Allen fan, I have a hard time admitting this, but the Woodman's films have been more than a little disappointing of late. Back in the day (say, the 70s), a bad Allen film would be an aberration ("Interiors" comes to mind but even that has its fans). Nowadays, we have to contend with new locations (London? Really?), rehashed plots (even "Match Point" had been done better by Woody himself in "Crimes and Misdemeanors"), and his unhealthy (though not entirely un-understandble) obsession with Scarlett Johansson. The buxom actress is happily absent from Mr. Allen's latest - she's replaced with newcomer Hayley Atwell, who has a genuine British accent. But "Cassandra's Dream" still represents another in a string of disappointments from the once-reliable New York auteur.

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