Speaking of blasphemy… I know I'll be in the minority with this statement, but I HATE The Shining. I hated it at the theatre, where I saw it twice with friends and I hated it on cable. I just hate it. It's a stupid, lumbering movie that bears very little resemblance to the book (which would be fine it if ended up…

There are a couple of moments in each film that gave me a genuine chill down my spine. I'll take that over cheap "boo" scares any day.

I have always loved this movie. Nice creepy vibe and several effectively chilling moments. This pre-dates Poltergiest, so if you're looking for that kind of over-the-top mayhem, don't bother. This is a far more subtle kind of movie. At this point in his career, Scott could have been phoning it in, but his performance…

This is the first movie I saw upon turning 17 and being able to get into an R rated picture alone. I  pretty much went to see it for two reasons: 1) I was gay and had a crush on James Caan, and 2)  Valerie Harper, Rhoda of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was in it and I liked her a lot. Valerie Harper plays Alan Arkin's…

When it gets to the choking, I'm going to root for Stephen Stills to turn the tables on him. If you can't be with someone who loves your song, choke him to death.

I actually saw this movie when it came out. It arrived on the heels of Julia Roberts' Best Actress win for Erin Brockovich (which is probably the best work she ever did). I'm not a particularly big fan of Roberts — thought she deserved to die in Steel Magnolias — but I was really interested in seeing this because of…

This show is funnier than just about any sitcom on the any right now. Laugh out loud funny. Just three examples:

A couple of things that stood out for me in this episode…

Well, I wouldn't say Pete and Bob are similar, except in their desire to succeed in business. I mean, Bob's pretty easy on the eyes and good in a crisis. Pete's charms have escaped me entirely, and he's petulant. So the short answer is: we have two episodes left in the season to find out if Pete is maybe repressing…

I thought about this myself and found the logic in it. Of all the men in the office, Pete Campbell is the one who  appears to be all about the work and moving up. That would appeal to Bob Benson. Also, Pete is a bit of a dandy. As a gay guy myself, I could see how he might set off another man's gaydar.

With all that was shocking and wonderful about this episode, the one small moment that made me laugh out loud and love the hell out of it was when Sally's little friend picked up the bottle of wine from the dinner table and refreshed Megan's glass. It was goddamn perfect.

I'm not sure why it takes twelve paragraphs (!) and a sextet of stray observations to dismiss a pretty solid — and often wildly entertaining — episode. Mad Men has always been a show that has a cumulative effect, so when I see phrases like "table-setting," I sense that the writer is watching the wrong show.

Well, it's not actually his first time at bat. He already killed his father with a blender. I  kind of like the fact that there's some wiggle room now about whether he killed his teacher or not though.

I knew something important about "B" was going to come up in the episode because in the "previously on Bates Motel" clip they made a point of showing us Bradley saying to Dylan: "B!" Who is B?" B, I'm guessing, with be a focal point of season two. Which I'm totally gonna watch.

How do you know he threw away the money? It could have just been a bag with a pillow in it like the one Norma brought to the scene. I thought the scene was awesome, but I don't necessarily believe he'd toss $150,000 in the water.

I was thinking exactly the same thing last night. He was always a good looking guy, but he's almost unrecognizable from the season in which he originally joined the cast. He's like a Norse god now. I wonder if the actor asked to grow the beard or if Weiner just told him to do it. Either way, Stan's beard is upstaging…

Sadly, I can totally relate to Sue. I received perfect attendance certificates all through high school and they passed them out in an assembly, which just illuminates your dorkiness. In my senior year, I actually had a half day off for some reason and all I did was go home. Even my mother thought that was odd.

I think Twin Peaks is one of the most overrated and frustrating series in the history of television. It never should have been anything more than a miniseries of about 7 or 8 episodes. The second season is terrible, saved solely by the reveal of Bob. Truth is, the musical score does most of the heavy-lifting when it…

I thought Weiner was smart not to repeat the same beats as the recent  MLK episode. The reactions of Pete's bewildered mother and Megan were all that was needed here.

I liked the Megan/Don scene at the end. It subtly reinforced (for me, at least) the idea that Don has pretty much emotionally abandoned Megan and isn't even interested in comforting her while she's grieving over the Kennedy assassination. It was an interesting juxtaposition to Sylvia dumping Don.