So yeah, easily the worst episode this season, possibly the worst in a long, long time.  First we'll partner you up, then tell you that it doesn't really matter, because it's just an easy way to divide people into top and bottom that ends up having no impact whatsoever on the judging.   Then we'll shock you with a…

'Happy Together' is even crueler, because it sorta suggests that there's someone better and healthier for Tony Leung's character, but he may not be gay, so we cap off a self-destructive spiral with that trademark Wong Kar Wai unrequited love.  Which is worse, the self-destructive guy, or the likely off-limits guy?…

I hope so… It was just so tonally off, especially that last shot.  Arbitrarily mean in a way I'm used to in other shows, but not this one.

I dunno…  This group has always been dysfunctional, but with genuine sweetness to round out the occasional cruel edges (see also: their treatment of Fat Neal).  Now it seems like the cruelty is getting the upper hand, and the final scene left a bad taste in my mouth.  It's like the writers are trying to go full Sunny…

I think it's because the last episode made the connection pretty explicit: Stan's parents break up over a discussion that's hard NOT to connect with the product (I forget the line, but something about doing the same thing, year after year, just getting more ridiculous about it… while the britches thieves sneak out the…

Nope, it's because Sean Maher came out as actually gay, instead of just playing one on tv.  He ruined it for everybody.  Sorry, folks.

"What I learned is that our minds seem to retain countless memories lying dormant until something triggers them."

It's an odd duck of a film, and it seems to contradict its own moral lessons.  But I like it a lot, and there's no doubt Browning cared a great deal for all his actors in the film.

You'll enjoy it, 40 years or no.  Pushkin is razor-sharp, which is a quality sometimes lost in translation.  And don't forget this cardinal rule: the real hero of Onegin is Pushkin himself.  If you read it that way, the rest starts making sense.

Despite its reputation, Pink Flamingos is probably the worst of Waters' pre-Hairspray films.  Polyester is the best.  Female Trouble is comedy gold.  He's really, really good - but PF is just so-so.

Unless the meaning of the word "perfect" is different in your part of the world, then no, it is most definitely not that.

I do like the opera, with a caveat.  It's good for what it is: a Tchaikovsky opera about unrequited love, and he's a helluva composer.  The novel is definitely not that, though (it's much deeper and more complicated - the romance is secondary), so I have to compartmentalize.

Have you read Onegin?  It's not so much romance as thwarted romance, but it's exceptionally good.  There's a reason many Russians consider it superior to Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.  If you do, get the Falen translation (the others aren't nearly as good).

My biggest problem with this season so far (apart from the uninspiring challenges and uninspiring designers) is the editing.  We know from previous contestants that the judging takes hours, so there's no lack of material.  But when the editors assemble the session with no eye toward what the actual results will be, it…

I tried so hard with that book, but couldn't finish it.  Not for the form (I'm a HUGE fan of Pushkin's Onegin, which Seth based it on) but something just didn't click for me.

Yeah… I'm not much of a romantic, but both movies make me feel all woozy.  I'm waiting for Weekend to open here so I can bring a whole bunch of people.

One thing: Stephen King is wrong.  The movie's ending is most definitely not better than the original novella's. In fact it's the biggest problem with the movie.

Nathan, since you referenced Before Sunrise… Have you had a chance to see Weekend yet?  A lot of people are using that as a point of reference.  They're very different movies but it's easy to understand the comparison.  Both movies have minor construction issues, but I really fall for the characters and I could listen…

Any thoughts on whether Weekend could sneak its way into a writing/acting nomination, especially if the field is weak?  It's been getting rave reviews all over, but it may be a little too niche and a little too small to attract much attention.  Which would be too bad.

Kill him, for sure.