Shadows And Fog

This is the third Woody Allen movie I've seen. The first was Everyone Says I Love You (which I watched only because Tim Roth was in it; I can tell you he sings at one point and that's all I can tell you about the entire movie. I don't remember who else was in it or what the plot was. I can't even remember what song Tim Roth sang or if he was any good at it) and the second was Scoop (which was okay but I didn't like the ending). Of the three, I definitely liked Shadows And Fog best.
There's a killer on the loose. Mostly he strangles. And all the men in town are forming a vigilante group to catch the killer. They wake up Woody Allen in the middle of the night and drag him into their vigilante group. He has an important job to do, but nobody will tell him the plan or his part in it.
Meanwhile, Mia Farrow and John Malkovich are circus performers. She wants to settle down and have a family and he mostly just wants to have sex with Madonna. So Mia Farrow storms away into the city, not knowing that there's a killer on the loose.
The movie is more talk than plot; there's something about it that really appeals to me. I'm not usually into talky movies that get philosophical, but this one was done in a way that suits my needs. The philosophical talk only got a little bit pretentious in a few scenes. I think having a lot of the talk come from a house full of sassy prostitutes played by actresses I like (Jodie Foster, Kathy Bates and Lily Tomlin) really helps.
The cast in this movie is crazy. My friends and I spent the whole movie recognizing people: Donald Plesance, Wallace Shawn, Kenneth Mars, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Kurtwood Smith, Julie Kavner and the aforementioned hooker trio. (And Ezster Balint, but she was more of a "she looks really familiar" situation; I didn't know she was her until the end credits.)
So I guess not all Woody Allen movies are as forgettable as the first two I saw. I'd even watch Shadows And Fog again sometime. Maybe I ought to give him more of a chance.

End of line.
-Sally