The second book in James Ellroy’s Second LA Quartet is coming out in June - This Storm. I’m actually kind of ambivalent on Ellroy in general, but I’m a sucker for stories set in 40's Los Angeles, and the first Quartet undeniably had a real power and force to it. 

I really liked his work in Agent Carter. That show did a really good job - especially in its first season - of showing Peggy Carter struggling against the entrenched sexism at the SSR while also showing that the sexist assholes holding her back were also smart, competent and good at their jobs. It sounds like a small…

I’m pro-Jessica Jones, but the very first line of the series is Jessica in voice over saying, “They say New York is the city that never sleeps. But it’s definitely the city that sleeps around.”

I did appreciate Rosario Dawson’s befuddled contempt for Danny and everything going on around him in the first season of Iron Fist. Her last scene in that season is basically her telling Danny and Colleen, “You two are goddamned sociopaths, you need some serious help and I’m out of here.” 

The kid from Batman Begins grew up to be King Joffrey, though. 

Defending 27 Dresses? Is this the moment when our beloved Caroline flies too close to the sun?

I second Game Night (which actually tries to do some interesting visual things as well) and would throw in Blockers, which I tend to group with the first movie. It’s a little ambitious in its attempt to give six different characters some sort of arc, and John Cena’s never going to be The Rock, but I really enjoyed it.

They spoiled the joke in the trailer, but her horrified/flattered reaction to the mook saying she had a great ass was some pretty great comedic work.

Her comedic style might not ever be entirely my cup of tea, but there’s no doubt Leslie has improved a thousand percent at the basic mechanics of the show. That Weezer sketch would have been a disaster if they had tried it a couple years ago.

This year I read The Ground Beneath Her Feet as part of my recently acquired infatuation with Rushdie. Wonderful book, with that quintessentially Rushdie combination of the epic and the personal.

The core character stuff works pretty well (as it almost always does in the MCU), I enjoy James Spader as Ultron and I respect how the final battle in Sokovia is as much about saving civilians as it is fighting Ultron - the moment where Fury shows up with the helicarrier, and Quicksilver and Captain America go, “This…

What I always come back to with The First Avenger is the ending, which is tragic and inspiring in equal measure - the entirety of that last conversation between Peggy and Steve is a tearjerker, and Hayley Atwell sells the hell out of it, backed by one of the MCU’s best musical tracks (and the Agent Carter series Tom…

Yeah, I’ve found Twitter pretty invaluable for following news and developing stories. But it’s important to keep a well-curated feed, both in terms of quality and quantity - you shouldn’t follow awful people, but you also don’t need to follow EVERYONE who’s kind of interesting. The people who follow 10,000 Twitter…

God save me, I would read that list. 

It does return - in the belly of Cheddar, The Corgi.

I’m always kind of struck by the intensity of the loathing I see for Mumford and Sons around the Internet (and, yes, that includes this here website). Like, there’s this sense that what they do is inherently...I don’t know, illegitimate?

I pretty much hated Bohemian Rhapsody, but the Live Aid concert was a highlight, no doubt.

I’m pleasantly surprised to see the Infinity War ending here. Most professional critics rushed to greet it with proud cynicism.

He went into the ice before they even had a date. 

It’s funny - I actually have this notion (that I’ve given way too much thought, admittedly) that Captain America is a virgin.