There's only really one moment in which there is, in fact, a Duel going on here.  In this Steven Spielberg film, David Mann's red sports car is perpetually tormented by a large truck, the driver of whom is never visible.  They are never equals: the truck is bigger, faster, more capable of handling sharp turns and … Continue reading Duel (1971)

In Bullets Over Broadway, John Cusack plays a playwright named David who wants so badly to be an artist and to have success that he is willing to compromise the quality of his play by casting a mob boss' young girlfriend to get the mob boss' financing for the otherwise unbankable play. The first thing David … Continue reading Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

I didn't realize Zach Braff was in the movie, but there he is, playing Woody Allen's and Diane Keaton's son.  I was so surprised that this was Braff when I looked it up that I had to rewatch the scene again.  I found a brief interview with Braff about this film in which he describes … Continue reading Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

In Husbands and Wives we observe the break up of one marriage and the renewal of another.  Both marriages seem a bit destined to fail, though. The story begins with a dinner amongst those two couples.  Jack and Sally are in good spirits as they announce their plan to split up.  Gabe and Judy (Woody Allen, Mia … Continue reading Husbands and Wives (1992)

Back to black and white, Shadows and Fog is apparently an homage of sorts to German expressionist cinema.  These movies include Nosferatu (1922) and M (1931). Okay, so I haven't seen those films, but I'm loosely aware of them and Shadows and Fog looks like them.  The whole thing is dark and shady.  It's just... shadows and fog.  It's like Woody is … Continue reading Shadows and Fog (1991)

Alice is another film about an affair, but at least this time the titular character is at least reluctant to get involved with another man.  Alice (Mia Farrow) is fueled by good old Catholic guilt.  It's the main reason she won't leave her husband, Doug (William Hurt), even though he's like a venus fly trap, … Continue reading Alice (1990)

  About two months ago I went on a weeklong road trip through California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.  I was by myself, so that meant when I wasn't driving, I was checking to see what was in theaters. I first saw Hell or High Water in Albuquerque.  There was a trailer for a movie called Keeping … Continue reading The Trailer for ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’

You could make a tasteless, true story disaster movie marathon with Deepwater Horizon, World Trade Center (2006), United 93 (2006), Captain Phillips (2013) and to a lesser extent Sully (2016).  You could also include Lone Survivor (2013) and the upcoming Patriots Day (later this year).  Those last two movies, along with Deepwater were directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg. We keep making these movies … Continue reading Deepwater Horizon (2016)

We are the sum total of all our choices, big and small.  That's what Professor Levy puts forward in his interviews with documentarian Cliff Stern (Woody Allen). Cliff is one of two main characters in Crimes and Misdemeanors.  The other one is an optometrist named Judah (Martin Landau).  Their two stories seem to have nothing in … Continue reading Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Whereas the piano-laden score to open up Manhattan suggests a city overflowing with life, Another Woman's piano score suggests a life devoid of any actual living. We Meet Marion (Gena Rowlands) under the sounds of Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 as Marion tells us about her life.  The piano piece is quiet and moves slowly, like a turtle stuck … Continue reading Another Woman (1988)