Good call on “Babygirl” and “Backseat” near the top. I don’t like the top 3 as much; “I Love It” would have been a suitable #1. “After the Afterparty” and “Doing It” are both pretty bad, but on the other hand I have a soft spot for “Drop That Kitty”, even if it kind of wastes both XCX and Tinashe. I also enjoy…

I thought it was an imitation of the movie Varda actually made about Jane Birkin - “Jane B. par Agnes V.” (“Jane B. by Agnes V.” (the English version of the title appears to be “Jane B. for Agnes V.” for some reason that may just be a confusion of “par” and “pour”)).

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend isn’t a cartoon but I’m still going to mention Room Temperature

Devin Ratray too, who was a highlight in Soderbergh’s Mosaic, and also Buzz from Home Alone.

I dunno, it seems like they’ve been on an upswing in the last decade thanks in part to streaming platforms, which they’re well suited for. Netflix’s “Set It Up” was quite enjoyable, and their “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” seems to have been a genuinely big hit that was perfectly palatable.

Yeah, I was going to say that the book was interesting but very dour, and that might be wearying over a full series. But it also seems like this might be a somewhat loose interpretation (although it’s hard to say since a) I don’t remember the book that clearly, and b) they may be trying to make the trailer opaque).

The only way I could get my last CD into a store was to take one in there and leave it. “Sir, you forgot this!” “No, I did not. That is for sale. Please alphabetize it.”

The Art of Self-Defense is a favorite recentish movie of mine that nobody seems to talk about - it’s hilarious. I accordingly look forward to seeing Dual. (Columbus was quite good too, in a very different way, so I’ll keep an eye out for After Yang too.)

In case you’re still on the fence, I’d suggest waiting. The show changes a fair amount of plot points from the book, some for the better and others for the worse. But to me it also falls short in trying to replicate some of the feel of the book while also trying to have the look and feel of prestige TV, which often…

Even with Caroline’s warning about the hair in this movie generally, I was still taken aback when I looked up the clip.

Ellen Gasrot

My much simpler tips, which are especially helpful if (like me) you take milk in your tea, are to warm your cup before putting the teabag in (I usually pour in some hot water from midway through the electric kettle’s boiling cycle, then dump it out when the boiling water is ready) and to cover the cup while the tea’s…

Stevens is one of the film critics I go out of my way to read, and I love Keaton, but it’s still not totally clear to me what the point of this book is. I imagine there are more thorough books about early Hollywood out there (e.g. I never read all of Miriam Hansen’s Babel & Babylon but should) and I imagine the…

I will definitely not hold my breath, but this is still good to hear. Night Time, My Time is one of my favorite albums of the last couple decades.

Eerily, Meat Loaf wrote this at the end of a piece he wrote for Rolling Stone on Steinman’s death: I don’t want to die, but I may die this year because of Jim. I’m always with him and he’s right here with me now. I’ve always been with Jim and Jim has always been with me.

See, I can understand those criticisms even if I disagree - it was more the juicy/titillating claims that threw me.

Yanagihara’s first novel, The People In The Trees, focuses on the abuses of colonialism, culminating in multiple horrific rapes of children. Her second book, A Little Life, grandly exploits the suffering of gay men, leaning once again on childhood sexual abuse. But while those books are in bad taste, voyeuristic,…

Mr and Mrs Smith at least had the good sense to base itself almost entirely on Pitt’s and Jolie’s chemistry. I don’t think it’s an awful movie, but it certainly did nothing to suggest any particular talent from its writer.

My pick would probably be 333 by Tinashe, who’s been really consistently strong over the last decade. Think nocturnal R&B with great hooks, sort of Velvet Rope-era Janet Jackson meets Girls Aloud.

Pig’s is a great choice, probably the key scene of the movie. I can’t argue with Titane’s pick, but I’d have picked something else from French Dispatch (the chosen scene felt a little secondhand Tati to me), maybe the scene depicting what Jeffrey Wright’s character cut from his story.