If you look at the movie poster for Deep Impact it shows a meteor colliding with the earth, sending giant ocean waves crashing into New York City.  So we know it's going to happen, it's just a matter of time. In most films, the movie poster will show an event that happens roughly 1/3 of the … Continue reading Deep Impact (1998)

Well, I finally saw Annie Hall.  It's one of those movies I'd always meant to see, and I did it. It was pretty good too. It's a romantic comedy about a neurotic comedian named Alvy (Woody Allen) dating a singer named Annie (Diane Keaton).  They meet playing tennis one day, and Annie is very affectionate towards … Continue reading Annie Hall (1977)

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) needs to grow up, but she doesn't realize it. Mavis lives in a lonely high-rise apartment in Minneapolis, working as a ghostwriter on a young adult book series.  She writes about Kendall, the most popular girl in high school.  Even though we see glimpses of Mavis overhearing teenage conversations and incorporating … Continue reading Young Adult (2011)

"Good 'ol yesterday," Steve (Steve McQueen) tells Jane in the middle of the night as they consider what it means now that there is a monster in their small town. See, I think I figured it out.  The "blob" is modernity and the ever-changing landscape of America.  It's this mysterious and barely definable gel substance … Continue reading The Blob (1958)

Hell or High Water is about sides.  You pick a side or you're assigned a side, whether it be financial, racial or maybe you just want to shoot someone. Chris Pine plays Toby and Ben Foster plays Tanner.  They rob banks. The first shot of the film is a long one, tracking a middle-aged woman … Continue reading Hell or High Water (2016)

The alternate title for The Red Flute is Mest, which is Russian for "revenge."  It's a much more explicit title, but it's also only one facet of what this film is about. It's like calling a movie about Catholicism, "pew." This film is about... well it's mostly about a kid named Sungu as he grows from an … Continue reading The Red Flute (1989)

We meet Oliver as he walks through his recently-deceased father's empty home.  It's quiet and ghostly, with echoes of a life once lived. Oliver meets the world when he meets Anna at a costume party and thinks to himself, "someone flashy walks into your life, and you're just going to fall for it."  He is at once … Continue reading Beginners (2011)

If you're making a movie on a budget, you've got to try to cut corners.  Do we need this many characters?  Does this scene have to take place in space?  Do we really think we can afford the rights to "Eight Days a Week?" Or maybe you just write a movie about a kid all … Continue reading The Silent Earth (2012)

Mississippi Grind begins with a static shot of a rainbow over a farm.  The rainbow seems to get a little brighter over the course of a few seconds.  Then we cut to black before being introduced to Gerry, a down on his luck gambler in Iowa.  Gerry sits in his car listening to an audiotape … Continue reading Mississippi Grind (2015)

I hesitate to start each of these write ups with "I liked this movie" or "this movie was hilariously terrible."  It doesn't really matter what I think, but no one's reading this so maybe it only matters what I think. I liked this movie. Billy Crystal plays Harry and Meg Ryan plays Sally.  They have great … Continue reading When Harry Met Sally (1989)