4. Blue Jasmine

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FER3C394aI8&w=584&h=390]

Woody Allen’s 46th movie shows the director unexpectedly blazing new trails. His first San Francisco-set movie is also his most topical, a recession drama that plays like A Streetcar Named Desire as directed by John Cassavetes. As Allen’s woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Blanchett is the best she’s ever been. She gives what’s sure to prove the performance of the year as a rich woman who loses everything, including her sanity.