It seems exposition scenes present some unique challenges for filmmakers, and some choose to make them interesting and revealing beyond what they say about the story. Out of the top of my head, I can think of the sequence in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Donovan explains his quest for the Holy Grail to…

None of the reviews so far this year have dipped below a C, so I almost long for a truly terrible Cannes entry here (not that I wish D'Angelo to have to sit through a genuine bomb. I do enjoy the resulting anger, though).

Does this mean you walked out of the James Franco film?

I remember Stephen King wrote in his marvelous non-fiction book "Danse Macabre" that people talking about the twist endings as the most memorable, note-worthy part of "The Twilight Zone" always bothered him. For him, what set TZ apart was its ability to subtly, but inevitably and forcefully, push viewers past the…

Wes Craven was an academic before becoming a filmmaker. It seems he retains some of that demeanor.

Thanks Juanito. I support your enterprise, although you really didn't answer my question. I'll admit, however, that my question was on a slightly different, if related, topic, since you were talking about criticism and how it might express disproportionate, misleading, and unwarranted reactions to a film.

I have a question, Juanito: do you believe fictional cinema can NEVER be authoritative enough to be considered alongside other, non-fictional sources when studying past events? Or is it possible that someone can concoct a fiction with such levels of thoughtfulness and artistry that fiction becomes a way to express and…

Somewhere in his "Histoire(s) du cinéma," which is filled with brief fragments of hundreds of movies cut together to form one of the largest video mosaics in cinema, Jean-Luc Godard includes the rowboat sequence from "Night of the Hunter" in its entirety. No other sequence from the countless movies Godard repurposes,…

Yes, Laura Linney's introductions are awesome. I actually look forward to them. Introducing shows is a genuine art form, as Alfred Hitchcock and his TV show's intro writer, James Allardice (one of TV history's unsung heroes) demonstrated long ago.

I think the show does occasionally cloak itself in some form of thematic self-importance that comes across as lecturing on precisely the issues Ms. Saraiya mentions, forcing some of us to consider if it can tell us something insightful (both on purpose or by accident). If anything, I think it should completely embrace…

I do seem to remember there were several occasions when Dr. Clarkson demonstrated limited vision and drew the wrong conclusions. There was a patient Isobel managed to treat successfully when the doctor had given up on him. So his handling of Matthew's potential paralysis was hardly the first case that compromised our…

I would add two films: "Leviathan" and "The Act of Killing."

I would add two films: "Leviathan" and "The Act of Killing."

I think you're right. And I can't think of any current director that gets that combination as well as Boorman does. Any ideas?

I think you're right. And I can't think of any current director that gets that combination as well as Boorman does. Any ideas?

Is the AV Club staff going to do a follow-up inventory on hilariously ineffective taglines, or something along those lines?

Is the AV Club staff going to do a follow-up inventory on hilariously ineffective taglines, or something along those lines?

And they also used some Swedish proverbs as taglines in early promotional material that I also thought were pretty good. My favorite: "Evil Shall With Evil Be Expelled."

And they also used some Swedish proverbs as taglines in early promotional material that I also thought were pretty good. My favorite: "Evil Shall With Evil Be Expelled."