The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, maybe?  I mean, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart …. how can you go wrong?

The notion that Charulata > The Big City sits pretty squarely with most of the discussions I've come across and the relative treatments of the movies by Ray's biographer Andrew Robinson and critics.  It doesn't hurt that the source material is a Tagore story, either.

I'd agree on the Tagore link to the notion of uniting art and politics.  I'm not a Tagore scholar or anything but I know that he was a significant figure during India's independence movement and had a very significant relationship and correspondence with Gandhi for many many years.  I want to say Ray's Tagore…

I've actually only seen part of that one.  My dad recently got a DVD copy of it from overseas that actually plays, so next time I'm home maybe I'll try and give it a complete watch.

Subrata Mitra's work is terrific so I can't really quibble with anything you've said there.  I've only seen it once but (I think he was still the DP on this …? )  Devi is one of the most visually-striking movies I recall being just very impressed by.

As a Bengali, I grew up watching lots and lots of Ray's movies.  My dad always had old VHS copies laying around that we'd watch together on a lazy afternoon or whatever.  I'm thrilled that more and more of these are going to be getting the Criterion treatment.

Ah, the early to mid '00s …  In a matter of just two to three years, you had your Silent Alarm, your Apologies to the Queen Mary, your Turn On the Bright Lights, the Arctic Monkeys debut, and so forth.  I'm having a hard time thinking of a debut or breakthrough album in the past 2-3 years that's grabbed a hold of me…

Promote synergy, like a baoss.

It's competent, at best.  Nothing to get excited over.

She's really over the top in this one.  It's not a good look, IMO.

Agree.  The movie looked good but the character and plotting was average at best and the thematic stuff was really heavy-handed.  I think this grade or a B- would be where I'd put it.

The Conjuring was easily my most favorite movie from this summer.  Even if it's not original, it was at least made with tons of love for the genre.  I think you can say the same thing about Pacific Rim, which I also enjoyed, but FWIW I had more fun going to see The Conjuring in a packed theater and feeding off the…

Eiffel Tower!

@avclub-04eb71b2a84b1a60d13abf7f2d60cb5a:disqus I agree completely.  I love the movie's build and the use of sound.  The marketplace scene early in the movie, with the metalsmithing clamor, the man with the messed eye/face, the dogs fighting, etc. that all serve to lead up to Father Merrin's encounter with the demon…

I'm not religious but I do find the idea of possession to be scary.  The idea that you can not be in control of yourself in that way is unsettling.  Of course, I used to sleepwalk as a child, so there's that as well.

The interviews that go off the rails are great.  See Jeff Goldblum, Aubrey Plaza, and even some of Russell Brand's recent guest spots. And the animal guy Jarod Miller! His visits were always really great.

The (excellent) video for Bloc Party's "Flux" is pretty much a Jaeger - Kaiju dance-party and showdown.  If you haven't seen it, it's pretty sweet.

Gulf of Mexico …. Rim?

I want to make sure I understand: is the concern that someone might watch the movie and take it as earnest and believe it to be fact?  I feel like that sort of concern is easily extended to a wide host of entertainment that is already out there and available for consumption.

My crowd also LOL'd at Lili Taylor's face near the end.  It was a really strange reaction and kind of a strange moment in the film as well.  I'm not 100% sure what Taylor / Wan were after with that shot.  I felt like the actress was going for a sense of shame for what had happened but it came off looking sort of…