Really? I can't go higher than C-. In fact, I didn't. Now that AVClub lets me rate episodes, I slapped my first D on this episode.

LatelyI'veBeenThinking, while I think your arguments are well-stated, they are ultimately not directed at the initial complaints we have been making here. Nobody is complaining that MAD MEN is hard to watch while doing the dishes. It's a safe assumption that we are here arguing about Season 3 because we already made…

Disappointing for me
I'm getting used to being on the outside of the critical consensus when it comes to these MAD MEN episodes (and even, sometimes, the series as a whole). I restlessly shift my way through an episode, hoping, hoping that something will truly engage me before that hour mark creeps up and throws the…

I agree. To me, this was the first really good episode of the season. I liked the premiere well enough, but I was discouraged by the past two weeks. As soon as this episode ended, I fired off "Sunny's back!" texts to my Sunny-watching friends. Then I sat down for "Sweet Dee Has A Heart Attack", one of the all-time…

I am actually quite surprised to read so many positive reactions. I watched KINGS RANSOM last night with a few friends, and we were disappointed across the board.

This is amazing. Based on some of Herzog's previous comments, I'm sure they'll be walking up a mountain to hold boxing matches on the summit. The losers have to eat their shoes before they can walk back down.

I think it is an unfortunate reality of the series that as long as they need to keep pushing the mother-reveal back, many of the "dramatic" moments that come before will recede in significance. I love the climactic episodes of Season 4 dearly, but I'm prepared to accept that Ted meeting Stella under that umbrella…

Robin, no question.

Ted's teaching moments were all gloriously cringe-inducing. I have to say I was shocked that the most painful one (for me) was the "can't spell P-R-O-F-E-S-S-O-R" gag. So simple, and yet so, so nerve-wracking.

You know, I had very much the same reaction Donna had when I read this book for the first time. So much to love in the early-going, and, since it is a youthful novel (and - even better - one about youths) you can really FALL in love. Then, like many an inexperienced and/or idiosyncratic voice, Chabon allows himself…

I'll jump on board with littlealex and TomWaits. There is a significant difference between "extremely bleak but there may be hope for ultimate recovery" and "inescapably bleak, but there is dignity in what can be forged in the darkness."

Does it have to be 3D?
I was fucking worried about this. When UP went 3D it bummed me out, and when they announced 3D theatrical releases of the first two TOY STORY movies, I suspected they might be sticking to the 3D for many (if not all) of their projects in the near future.

Paul Schneider
Is the reason I'm still planning on seeing BRIGHT STAR.
He was so good in GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS, but did anyone think back then that he was going to become such a reliably positive presence in a wide range of supporting roles?

Are they doing two-eps a night again this season?
That was some sweet smut, but it all went by so fast (and left us with so long to wait).

Last season fell off so hard in the second half that I didn't even make it to the finale. I thought I would just cut my losses and pick up a few new shows this fall, but now, with the premiere approaching…I'm tempted to give it one more shot.

tibber, I've never been crazy about the song either, but one of my good friends swears it's magic when you play it on the record. You flip to Side 2 after the jagged, psychedelic madness that is "She Said She Said", and there it is "bum-ba-bum-ba-bum GOOD DAY, SUNSHINE!" I can kind of see it.

PLEASE PLEASE ME - A
WITH THE BEATLES - A
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - A+
BEATLES FOR SALE - B
HELP! - B+
RUBBER SOUL - A+
REVOLVER - A-
SGT. PEPPER'S - A-
WHITE ALBUM - B+
LET IT BE - B-
ABBEY ROAD - A+

I wouldn't say you necessarily started with the wrong album, but any DBT album has its challenges for a newcomer. BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK is a very long album, with a wide range of material, so it requires time to take it all in (even if you like it from the first).

Zodiac, if I told you that Up and Ponyo both feature rampant scenes of ownage, could I convince you to see them?

Wait, really? The therapy sessions in The Sopranos, while certainly more restrained than, say, Good Will Hunting, do in time wander into seemingly every cliche and falsehood imaginable. Not to mention their veiled purpose from the outset - cheap exposition for a character who won't otherwise express his real…