I liked it a lot. It gets somewhat unwieldy by the end, but that's more a "too many ideas" situation from a young, talented author. It have a very melancholic tone for most of it (Pierson does very well showing the alienation felt by the sleepless boy, imo), something that the movie version appears to utterly lack.

I'm certain I won't be the only one pointing this out, but our own beloved poster Cookie Monster (with underscore) is much, much more than a gimmick, is all.

"Talk Talk", by Talk Talk, from the album Talk Talk.

Blazing Saddles - fifth or sixth or whatever time I've seen it.  Never ever gets old.

I felt pretty much the same as you do, re: Before Midnight.  I figured I just got my expectations waaaay up there and was inevitably let down, and it was my fault.  I don't know, maybe that's still the case.  But I'm looking forward to a rewatch once it's on dvd.  And Sunset is my favorite, too.

@avclub-f73c955e2c1f51451a682f5c1ce0e867:disqus Aw.  C'mon, it came up organically.

Me too exactly.  Holy cow, I was singing that to myself while reading the article.  I'm not alone… *sniff*

This ritual is called… Crossing the Desert.

Watched two movies this weekend:

Yes indeed.

Now I'm dying for a new set of Grammar Rock cartoons.

@avclub-ec160682cb3586d851071e80ec63d6c0:disqus Thanks for the recommendations.  I had a quick look at your Fiend review (I'll read it through after watching the movie - don't want it spoiled, y'see); I saw "that one guy" from Alien Factor glowing and sorta melting in the pic atop the review, and now Fiend is sitting…

I saw Woody Allen's Bananas for, I figure, the sixth or seventh time.  Not my favorite of the Early, Funny ones (Love and Death!), but really good nonetheless.

I haven't experienced any unadorned Dohler - I've seen two of his films filtered/improved by masterful MSTical riffing - Alien Factor via Cinematic Titanic (maybe my favorite CT dvd), and Galaxy Invader through Rifftrax.  Any pure Dohler I should see?  I guess Night Beast for sure, right?

"Julie Christie… the rumors are true"

I love, really love, Spinning Away by Brian Eno and John Cale.  I don't know for certain if a specific van Gogh work was its inspiration (though "the night sky at Arles" is mentioned, so maybe Cafe Terrace at Night?), because I think the song is about more than one single work of art, but about art in general - "I…

Books - The Sensual World (Ulysses) and, obviously, Wuthering Heights.  And I figure Cloudbusting, being inspired by The Book of Dreams by Peter Reich (Wilhelm's son) counts too.

http://www.youtube.com/watc…

Mm hm.

One of my favorites.  The turnaround in three sentences, from defensive to dismissive, is absolutely beautiful in its economy.  Funny funny funny.