After his disappointing “To Rome with Love,” Woody Allen is back in top form with this heartbreaking comedy, loosely based on “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Our modern-day Blanche DuBois is Jasmine (she changed it from Jeanette), played to perfection by Cate Blanchette.  We first see her prattling on to an unlucky seatmate aboard a plane landing in San Francisco, where she will seek the kindness of strangers and her estranged sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins, always wonderful).

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” (they had to add the director’s name to the title to avoid conflict with an earlier movie titled “The Butler”) is a heartfelt and often moving story about an African-American White House butler who served eight presidents -- and about the civil rights struggle that he and the nation witnessed during his tenure.

It also features an all-star cast, with some of Hollywood’s biggest names in the roles of assorted presidents, plus Oprah Winfrey.