Been soaking in some Barbara Stanwych, so it was No Man of Her Own (which was too contrived) and Double Indemnity (which I basically flat out hated) this weekend. So noir it practically hurts, but for some reason it's structured so there's no particular mystery, the protagonists are intensely unlikable, and the whole…

Sounds interesting. Wish I'd heard of it last night.

Childhood crush: Dickon (The Secret Garden), who on further reflection probably is a MPDB, but more like Magic Pan Dream Boy.

I think you're forgetting to name his most attractive attribute: THE PIES (though the adorable awkwardness is a close second). I admit, some people might consider this a drawback, but I am not one of those people.

Willow lacks the most important—- nay, central quality of a manic pixie dream girl— that a MPDG only exists to be magically sparkly and bring joy into the male protagonist's life. No matter how manic or pixie she may be (and to be honest, she's not particularly either… more nervous at first than manic, and later she…

Currently I'm all Anton Walbrook's Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorf from The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. To paraphrase Donna from Doctor Who, "a man who adores me and can hardly speak a word, what am I going to do with you"? And then he comes back all eloquent and distinguished older gentlemen-like!

Far From Heaven - Major props to the cinematography, the costuming, etc. And the acting. But the film, out of being so limited to the world as portrayed by 50s womens' melodramas (more than it is loyal to the real 50s), never makes a real case for why its relevant to the contemporary audience. So people in the 50s…

To be honest, I thought his scenery-chewing was really obnoxious, and failed to add weight to what was mostly an incredibly thin plot (the movie doesn't really seem to be shooting for real weight, so he sticks out like a sore thumb).

Drive I didn't find execrable or anything, but it's also not particularly more interesting* than a well-made music video that happens to star some pretty good actors. (Except most music videos know to call it quits under the 10 minute mark.)

I saw A Separation with a friend last Sunday, and at the scroll of the credits, the audience was totally silent (personally, I felt like I'd been through the wringer). Felt remarkably realistic and specific to the situation, but the extreme specificity is what makes you able to be really lost in the story (able to…

I care! I'm crossing my fingers for the return of British Wesley Snipes, he of the malapropisms.. though from the back I don't think Michael Sheen is that tall, so it seems unlikely. (One minor advantage of my TV no longer being able to catch NBC, no trailers spoiling stuff.)

I agree that this season of Parks and Recreation hasn't *quite* been up to the par of the last (though there have been episodes such as "Pawnee Rangers" and "End of the World", as great as any Parks has done)… but you do realize that all of the last season *also* aired in 2011, right? That includes the whole Harvest…

I suppose that's the point of these sorts of lists isn't it? Some sort of misery-loves-company catharsis.

The only movie I've seen on this list is Just Go With It. But as instantly forgettable as it is, it was still much less excruciating an experience than:

I haven't seen Being Elmo and the description of the handshake scene made me tear up. Got to go check this out on DVD, I guess, when I'm in the mood for a happy cry.

A more comedic ITMFL, I'm sold. (I too haven't heard of this movie.) Thanks for the tip.

Movies that I gave a damn about:
1. TREE OF LIFE - the religious message doesn't hit home for me, the Sean Penn portions feel unnecessary, I could do without the opera music and the dinosaurs, and the second half fall to typical 50s domestic drama feels passe…  but only because the montage-y half hour (from Jack's…

I was thinking just that about Exile, that the name change was seemingly unnecessary. On the whole, Exile was only okay though. The conspiracy aspect wasn't particularly gripping, and the romance part was totally unnecessary… I wished that it had just been about his father having Alzheimer's (wonderful performances by…

It's also interesting under the "parallel to religion" themes that this makes Connor the only true believer in Jasmine. He's the only one who's acting out of faith of what Jasmine promises.

I'm also a big fan of Angel's fourth season, and indeed the action does climax in TMB. Also the end of season four doles out resolution for the better parts ofo S2-4, so this structure really works for it.