I agree. I thought Affleck sold the hell out of his character's feelings of rage and confusion gradually resolving into a sort of exhausted moment of clarity and regret.

Exactly, in Role Models' case the characters' transformation is an integral part of the plot, rather than a half-assed arc tossed in as an afterthought. It was a lot less cynical than your average example of "comedy protagonist learns lesson."

I'll have to give it another try at some point. I do love the "Wait, you also enjoy fiction?" joke.

I enjoyed the discussion, as well!

*pins "cool guy" badge on Argyle's sweater*

I'm kind of bitter at David Wain for the same reason. I remember how great I expected Wanderlust to be, especially coming after Role Models, only to realize that no one involved really even attempted to make a movie. It's like they thought just assembling the same funny people and crew over again would produce the…

I appreciate your perspective, and I do think a lot of your points are valid. I would say, though, that the fact that Beyonce herself is so front and center in her art is itself a part of the message. A hugely successful, powerful, proud black woman is an image that really resonates with people, and her work could…

I don't think you're really in a position to say what she has or hasn't experienced.

Is Sandler really known for his improv? I'd say it's more the Judd Apatow model. Unless mumblecore has finally asserted its influence over mainstream cinema without any of us noticing.

Maybe it was just my low expectations, but I enjoyed 30 Minutes or Less. I thought Eisenberg and Ansari made for a pretty funny duo, and the movie was quick on its feet and ended before the hijinks grew stale.

I honestly think Beyonce just got to a place where she realized she could speak to the black experience - without having to dilute the package for a white audience - and retain her success, and that's what she's doing. I don't doubt her sincerity - she and Jay-Z personally bailed out numerous arrested BLM protestors…

I finished a reread of the trilogy only a couple months ago. It's still fantastic. The only thing that stuck out to me this time around was that in The Subtle Knife I didn't appreciate Lyra taking a backseat to Will's shenanigans. Will is great, but to me the series is Lyra, so I couldn't help but be disappointed…

Now I'm thinking of Bannon and Trump as the uncle-niece duo in Haters Back Off, and it's hard to shake.

I like your take.

Man was that novel overrated. Also, the author really didn't seem to know all that much about baseball.

Clean drinking water is a privilege, not a right.

I'm guessing the proximity to Valentine's Day isn't helping.

Almost everything he said has been reported on by major news outlets, so I'm not sure why he thinks this info is surprising. The rest seems like borderline conspiracy theory stuff.

Mimic is also good. They're both solid Guillermo del Toro movies.

Heartwarming isn't the word I'd use for it (it wasn't really an "aww" moment), but I did find it effective. For all the crap people give Snyder for being all about the pretty images, when the subtext is there in his films they seem to deliberately ignore it. Learning their mothers have the same name is what enabled…