Actually part of the reason I think this is that Shia is a perfectly fine actor who has appeared in some very dumb movies and happens to also be an incredibly punchable human being. There is definitely a charisma gap, and it's hard to predict whether Shia will age out of any of his douche-iness. But for whatever…

I have a depressing prediction: Shia LaBeouf is going to morph into a respected actor who carries big budget dramas and prestige thrillers, in the Tom Hanks mold. I really do think this is going to happen, and movies like this are going to ease the transition.

Free love on the free love freeway,
The love is free and the freeway's long…

Upstream Color was very good, but Stories We Tell hit me like no other movie I saw this year. And the last scene was indeed one of the best ever movie punchlines.

Heh. I love this sort of shit. I really was just offering one man's opinion here, but since I seem to have some superfans on the hook, let's keep going.

I'm not trolling. You do grant that some comic book movies are good and some are bad, and you can't just wave away the badness by saying that they're based on comics and meant to be fun, right? You also presumably understand that suspension of disbelief is a somewhat and delicate and curious thing, and while most…

I don't think this was a huge complaint about Iron Man 3 per se. Just a complaint about how inherently silly the series became when it mashed a Norse God, giant gamma ray monster, and other assorted superbeings into a single timeline. Just about everybody in the world seems to have given the Avengers a pass because it…

I…love you too.

There is no way this gimmick will ever get old.

There was a lot to like about this book, but jesus did the ending not work for me. At all. Hated it. I won't say anything else because spoilers, but I foresee some major reworking to turn this into a movie.

Yeah, I know I'm going to see this, but I firmly expect that this will leave feeling the way I have after other Del Toro movies: entertained and slightly underwhelmed. Great visuals and a sense of fun can partially make up for weak plotting, but only partially.

Yeah, I feel like it's one of those "everyone really ought to read this book even if they think they have no interest in the subject matter because it will expand your view of humanity" books. I won't say much else about it, other than if you're worried about it being a grim slog, don't be: it is a gut punch, but it's…

On the non-fiction side: Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a remarkable book.

I find it extremely amusing that the third review starts with the boldfaced warning: "This review may contain spoilers." As though it's possible to spoil a movie called "Dog Fucker" whose one-line IMDB plot summary reads, "A free-spirited woman enthusiastically engages in torrid interspecies sex with a delighted dog."…

> That insult hot dog place

Am I allowed to hate the song for reasons that have nothing to do with the lyrics?

I just realized that the exact same description could equally be applied to Brad Pitt. Huh.

Cameron Diaz really really is fine. Decent comedic chops, interesting taste in scripts, easy on the eyes. History's greatest monster, she isn't.

@avclub-cd3625144831df8821a27bcf76c5e653:disqus — I thought the Atlantic had your back?

It's amazing how many people swear they actually know the person who knows Lemonjello. I conclude from this that all people are liars.