Exactly. I see self-aggrandizement/self-destructiveness masquerading as “religious fervor.”

Is anyone loving Aunt Hilda like I’m loving Aunt Hilda?

Oh yes The Blackcoat’s Daughter!!! Absolutely one of the scariest films I’ve seen in a while. Shipka really pulled off that role in a deeply creeply manner!

Thank you for this terrific and incisive article. I am not a Disney fan and have little to zero interest in the Disney princess franchise. I rented Enchanted several years ago on a whim, and had the most uncanny experience watching it: I cried through practically the entire film! I began unexpectedly blubbering again…

That’s how I feel about Carnaval in Los Angeles. The crush of inebriated, howling, bizarrely costumed revelers gets denser and denser as one follows the parade into the Festival. It’s a recipe for a 3-alarm panic attack.

If any of your abusive relationships were with alcoholics/addicts, I strongly recommend you attend an Al-anon meeting in your area. It will help you to start understanding why you repeatedly find yourself in this type of relationship – and find a new approach to living and loving.

Personally, I like to think that I’m very selective with the company I keep. And I wouldn’t associate closely with anyone that I thought had violent/abusive tendencies.

He’s a lawyer and a judge. If anyone should know the correct “formula” for avoiding prison, it would be him.

About a decade ago, my brother’s orbital bone was broken in a car accident when his face hit the steering wheel. It didn’t knock him out but he was completely disoriented when he got out of the car, staggering about in circles and muttering incoherently. Later, at the hospital, the bone had to be lifted out and set by…

Enter my name in the column entitled, arugula. I’m from L.A., so that might have something to do with it.

I’m not entirely sure it aligns with strict zombie cosmology, but It Follows (2015) successfully met, for me, the criteria you describe above.

Catherine Breillat came to mind several times while watching the film!

And people wonder why her interviews have a defensive tone.

Frankly most of her interviews are kinda like that...

I’m with you. Never understood the appeal of The Family Stone or its characters. It just seemed like an awfulness casserole.

Yes, I think you’re right. I loved the ending. But also, what gave the original its pathos was, in part, the unadorned... Plain Jane quality of the central character. It’s a little odd seeing the stunningly gorgeous Julianne Moore starring in the American trailer. It’s almost like a satire on Hollywood remakes. Maybe…

The similarities, even in the trailers, are a little suspect. I adored the Chilean-Spanish version of Gloria (2013). Deeply affecting, upended by a defiant, embrace-no-illusions ending.

Madness.

The Overnight (2015) is one of my favorite recent comedies. It sends up LA, marriage, friendship, polyamory and a whole lot more. I did not know that Adam Scott and Jason Schwartzman’s penises were prosthetic, but lemme tell ya, the conceit worked because the nude swimming scene had me shrieking with laughter.