I've been wanting an expert witness on Chopped for a while and this didn't disappoint. Very interesting interview - definitely filled in some of the gaps/questions I had. He seemed like a very focused, professional guy and the coda regarding Amanda Freitag/restaurant is both sweet and fascinating - I wonder how common…

the atlanta jokes alone make The Deep South worth it

Lee Pace is a really good shout, yeah.

have a polar bear fall on them

Will do! Wikipage further piqued my interest.

My edition of the book has a weird Q&A with Catton in the back where she fantasy-casts the book. I can't remember everyone off the top of my head, but I remember James MacAvoy as Moody, Dominic West as Carver, and Brendan Gleeson as Mannering (the interviewer suggested Timothy Spall).

Samantha Morton is one of those actors who has given some incredible performances, but seems to have largely disappeared from major roles, and it's such a shame. She's incredible in In America and Longford and has memorable supporting roles in this movie and a whole bunch of other films (I really liked her in…

I basically agree completely and your characterization of Jupiter Ascending is a really interesting way of looking at the movie that, now that I think about it, is completely correct.

No you're definitely correct - I was largely exaggerating for effect. What was notable for me (when watching - I have never rewatched the film) is that, through the course of the movie he encounters a number of species and then, in the final battle (roughly) *only* those species appear. In a normal fantasy novel of…

I just finished The Luminaries, which was utterly phenomenal. Complicated, incredibly thought-out, and surprisingly breezy for its weight. Not sure what's next, but I'll wholeheartedly recommend that one.

So I really, really disagree with this (and I love the shit out of both John Carter and Jupiter Ascending, so whatever). Simplicity breeds boredom and an absence of immersive world-building: look at Avatar, which was set up as an epic with a real world and a place to get lost in, but really has about five species, and…

"1. Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer? Elementary's Natalie Dormer!"

I have no idea, which is why I want to watch in real time. I do hope so, though.

Yeah.

PSA: Citizenfour is on HBO today at 9 Eastern/8 Central. Pretty excited to see it.

It's well deserved. She's tremendous in a tremendous movie.

That's also because Survival is a masterful serial.

This was my gut reaction as well, and for reviews on other sites where I also read "Mae Whitman (Arrested Development)."

QI is wonderful. I've seen some of those eps and I'm definitely going to do it again.

this is a little amusing, because Fast Five is actually the film where they shift from straight street racing (or a pure street racing focus) to guns and things. From the wikipage (intro!):