Duh, of course you're right. I've seen the film many times but the last time was a while ago, and I got thrown by the early reference to Park Slope ("division two Manhattan"). Now that airport makes a lot more sense.

Actually, they do have a book, and there's a brief scene in the movie where they look at all their unsold copies of it.

He's* wearing a full-body panda costume, minus the head. It's that kind of movie.

Yes, he appears a couple of times in archival footage. If I remember correctly Berg didn't talk to him on-camera (or if I'm wrong and she did, she didn't use much).

This is not as bizarre as you seem to think. For example, the Maltin Guide gives it 3 stars out of 4, which is basically the same as a B.

Mike D'Angelo may not want to spill the big secret, but it's still pretty freakin' transparent from this review.

Sorry, I guess I screwed that up. Will try to get it right next time.

I used to have one, but it disappeared at some point. I'm not technically on staff so I've never pursued it.

The idea is never remotely credible. The fact that a couple of people independently jumped to that conclusion doesn't mean anything. There's zero evidence.

You'll want to check in with the site's Watch This feature tomorrow (I think).

But it placed 10th in the year-end list. Keith was an outlier on that one.

The only eligible Maddin film was Keyhole, which is pretty weak by his standards. His new one, The Forbidden Room (due out later this year), however, is fantastic.

Wasn't eligible. Films had to receive a commercial release in the U.S. by 31 December of last year; What We Do in the Shadows opened here this year.

I think you're awesome at your job generally and I love your writing, but those Up and Wall-E references makes me think you haven't seen anything actually good from the previous decade, like by Aleksandr Petrov, Masaaki Yuasa, Jan Balej, Koji Yamamura, Mirae Mizue, or Adam Eliot.

It really is odd that Criterion has never released a Tsai film. Must be a rights issue; I can't imagine they wouldn't want him on their roster.

Which do you think are missing? I would have voted for Up and Wall•E had they been made a few years later; nothing from the past five years has been in that ballpark imo.

I will now see if I can get on your good side by noting that I was one of the few people who did not vote for The Master. (And we each submitted a list of 100 films.)

Skip this!

Bear in mind that the writers who voted on three of the five previous lists to which you refer did not vote in this poll. It's mostly an entirely different group of people.

I hate to shock you but there are great films that never get released in the U.S. to be reviewed by anybody at all.