Vertigo: Symmetries, Synchronicity, and an Appointment in Samarra

Warning: Spoilers!!! Warning: Spoilers!!! Warning: Spoilers!!! Warning: Spoilers!!! Warning: Spoilers!!! I first watched Vertigo (1958) probably about fourteen years ago. The film is one of the more unusual Alfred Hitchcock films of his oeuvre (alongside The Trouble with Harry (1955) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941). Upon re-watching it, all of my original impressions–the clever symmetrical plot line, the ominous mood, the off-brand character played … Continue reading Vertigo: Symmetries, Synchronicity, and an Appointment in Samarra

Us: It’s What Happens When Patty Duke meets Zombies and they take a trip to Metropolis

Warning: Spoilers!!!!!!!!! Warning: Spoilers!!!!!!!!! Warning: Spoilers!!!!!!!!! There’s something about twins that resonates with audiences of theater, fiction, television, and drama. Whether it’s Viola and Sebastian in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1602), Spiderman, Susan and Sharon of The Parent Trap (1961), or those cousins, identical cousins, Patty and Cathy (The Patty Duke Show, 1963-1966), they keep reappearing in story after story. Many of these stories speak to … Continue reading Us: It’s What Happens When Patty Duke meets Zombies and they take a trip to Metropolis