@avclub-c156902f5b20b572848be18c11634dfb:disqus I hear you on being overly negative toward religious people. Nothing annoys me more than the old "religion is responsible for 90% of suffering in the world" line. I mean, yeah, it has caused a lot of suffering, but it's also prompted plenty of goodness and charity. Take…

I liked Todd's contribution to this article quite a bit, actually, as his experiences mirror my own. My fundamentalist dad's bigotry was an extremely destructive force in our family when it turned out that my adopted brother was gay. To this day, it's one of the main reasons why I stay out of churches as much as I'm…

This movie completely flew under my radar, but I'm always willing to give Paul Bettany a chance. He was terrific in Master and Commander, an under-appreciated classic, and he usually makes an impression even in light, fluffy stuff (A Knight's Tale is a favorite put-it-on-in-the-background selection for many reasons,…

"Hey old man! I've been playing my bass at a volume that's unreasonable!"

A Ryan Murphy show on HBO? I hope the increased freedom allows him to explore the psychosexual nuances of tearjerking.

Be careful. Jesus gets pretty cranky when figs aren't to his liking, and Poop Sandwich appears to be Robert Powell Jesus — the best kind of Jesus.

I'm like you, @avclub-43465afbef176647281f961fabbb8a94:disqus. I love horror, and I've seen a lot of it. But Inland Empire is full, unrelenting nightmare territory. That movie is, what? Almost three hours? And at least two of those hours are pure pants-soiling madness.

Inland Empire is the most terrifying movie I've ever seen. There, I said it.

Well done, my good man.

I caught it on VOD. Unfortunately, a theatrical screening is not in the cards for me.

Plus, with The Innkeepers, he proved that he could accomplish a true rarity in horror: really likable characters. I enjoyed the two leads in that movie as much as the scary bits.

Yeah, the first installment was a real bummer for me. I was really excited for it when it started getting some buzz, and even more excited when I learned Ti West was one of the directors. The first installment did have some clever ideas, but I didn't care for it at all on the whole.

I enjoyed the first segment, even though the flaws you point out are completely valid. When it comes to jump scares, I don't really mind them as long as they serve as punctuation to a well-made scene of suspense and tension-building. I thought it did that pretty well, even if it was full of cliches and lazy devices.…

If it's jump scares you hate, Phase 1 Clinical Trials is not for you, but I don't think you should have a problem with Safe Haven. It gets pretty graphic with its imagery, its use of a very authentic-feeling cult is pretty disturbing, and it has loads of creepiness throughout its examination of cult life. But as I…

I saw this over the weekend, and I was really impressed by it. After the first V/H/S was a massive disappointment, I didn't know what to expect from this one. Turns out it's pretty great from beginning to end. Even the wrap-around segment has one very creepy moment.

The real emotional core of the third act is when he gets poisoned by his constituents.

I typically don't have much interest in cop shows, but Luther won me over pretty quickly, and it's probably about 75 percent thanks to Elba.

Heartening to see a pretty positive response so far. I'd like to see a big blockbuster this year that isn't an established franchise be critically and financially successful. Sorry, Lone Ranger! You gave it your best shot. …Well, a shot, anyway.

I'd say the worst of the entire run came during the Sci-Fi era, but they also had some all-time classics. Werewolf in particular had wall-to-wall great host segments (Where-oh-werewolf and Chip Hitler being high points) and Tom's defense of Canada in The Final Sacrifice is very funny.

Sex for sundries is fun! Hey!