The problem with Bucholz is he starts out as being the Mifune character (he even gets the great Mifune scene where he castigates the farmers for being afraid of them, and yet the farmers scream for them to help at the first sign of trouble), and yet about halfway through the movie, Bucholz drops the Mifune character…

One of the best parts of the popcorn scene is Fenwick's double-take when he realizes what's going on.

What I love about that whole subplot is how nonchalant everyone is about it; only Billy (and Eddie's mom, though only after Elise fails the quiz) seems to think it's crazy, and that's just briefly. Plus, Eddie's father even contributes a couple of questions to the quiz.

That parking lot conversation actually comes before the big argument scene, but it still doesn't come out of the blue. There's another great scene earlier showing how Shrevie and Beth's marriage is, if not in trouble, at least not in great shape. It's after the popcorn scene, when they've all come out of the movie…

It may seem hard to believe now, but one of the most controversial movies of that year (or, if you want to be fair, controversy as manufactured by the media at the time) was The Right Stuff. That's because the movie came out as John Glenn was campaigning for President. Now, to be sure, Glenn himself tried to use the…

It also ties into, I think, the line he'd use when describing himself, something to the effect of, "His one regret in life is that he wasn't someone else."

True story; this routine is how I first learned about JFK conspiracy theorists. Remember how Allen says he could have used the money from this because he was "working on a non-fiction version of the Warren Report"? I didn't know what that was (or why everyone was laughing and applauding) when I first listened to this…

He also popped up in an episode of Veronica Mars.

While it's not my favorite Verhoeven movie - that honor goes to Soldier of Orange - it is great, twisted fun. And to put it in even the same sentence as a piece of crap like Basic Instinct is an insult.

I am once again pissed at ABC for not recognizing the greatness of Karen Sisco when they had it on the air.

It wouldn't be my favorite, but Touch is underrated.

Very glad you mentioned The Waterdance; another film from the early 90's (Passion Fish, Lorenzo's Oil and Fearless - the Jeff Bridges one) that takes a subject that could have turned into a made-for-network-TV movie, and instead becomes something honest and moving. And Forsythe is terrific in it.

I thought Forsythe was very good as Capone, but the rest of the show didn't quite work for me.

Not a fan of the movie - not a fan of Michael Bay in general, though I concede this is his best film - but Forsythe did indeed kick ass in the film. The look he gives at the end when he realizes Cage is lying, but decides to go along with it anyway is priceless.

Very glad to see Queen's Gambit on this list. It's great for all the reasons mentioned here, and as I commented on the piece about books you can't wait to see turned into movies, this is near the top of my list. Aside from the whole "who wants to see a movie about chess?" thing, I admit part of the problem is trying…

I can see how Carver's style might be a turn-off - even though I liked it - but I'd argue it worked very well for something like "A Small, Good Thing", which isn't trying to copy Bukowski, and is a great and very affecting story precisely because he works in such a bare style in a story that could have easily become…

Every time I tried to read a Tom Clancy novel in the '90's - I have a somewhat compulsive habit of reading every book I know is being turned into a movie I might want to watch - and seeing how every character not only knew about military hardware, but could describe it in great detail, I'd think of this sketch.

That was his second choice. He loved Pelle so much he actually screamed at the end.

As someone who was in marching band for two years in high school, and also someone whose mother bought his clothes and (along with my dad) made him wear the same kind of clothes to school, I can't imagine having to go to school in a uniform. I just find it so conformist, and there were already enough things about…

Serpico, The Offense, The Hill (though make sure you watch it with subtitles), 12 Angry Men, Fail-Safe, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and above all, Prince of the City.