Their bench is pretty rich, but my favorite NYRB titles are (alphabetically):

If they hadn't brought her back for All Stars, we'd never have gotten the Teletubbies line, and we'd all be poorer for it!

They're doing a tremendous job combing the archives for books that either haven't been published in English or haven't been republished in years. Whoever does their acquisitions is a saint. For the same imprint to put out first English editions of Krzhizhanovsky's work and to re-print Renata Adler's - it's like they…

I'd also add the show's done a pretty good job of keeping the "failed" contestants as part of the brand, which goes a long way to making it easier for a variety of people to be successful after the show. It's the opposite of what some other big-name talent-based shows do, where the winners are often same-y and the…

If we're talking living French writers, I'd add Le Clézio to the list. It's absurd to say that Nobel Prize winners need more recognition, but after both Modiano's and Le Clézio's wins, certain English-language media lamented the fact that the prizes went to "nobodies" that they'd never heard of. Harumph. (I like both…

Not only has it worked, but it's worked against Stallone himself, over the screenplay for The Expendables (see: David Callaham).

Nope! But it's one of my favorite scenes in the movie, after the absolutely terrifying moment when the alcohol-sipping doctor stares directly into the camera as it pulls out of the room. All mood and construction and … that vent is probably his most Lynch-ian moment so far, which is why it creeps me out.

I absolutely loved the last half hour of Boonmee (I've seen it two or three times now), but the rest didn't hold my attention as consistently as his other movies.

I don't know how he does it, but something about his sound design and framing choices make even his long shots of trees feel rich and compelling. Tropical Malady ends with a great one, and then there are a few tree shots in Syndromes I really love. Which sounds like a weird thing to say, but there you go.

I second Dowd's statement that Tropical Malady is his finest hour, so definitely seek that one out.

Chips Hardy does indeed have an Amazon page - not sure what happened on your end - but only one novel listed there, from 2007. The Guardian sorta reviewed it here. MetroUK reviewed one of his plays here.

It’s that it’s the type of rousing, breakout performance that’s very much in the Oscar wheelhouse, save for one inconvenient little detail.

Sixel herself believes The Big Short will win. Source: me, when I asked her. I don't think it's false modesty, either: it's been picking up a lot of awards.

Dunno if the tv show is going to go there, but the comics version of The Walking Dead's Jesus is gay, and badass. He was just introduced this week on the show and is already memorable, so here's hoping.

I wouldn't say Tom Hardy's Handsome Bob from Rocknrolla was formative for me per se since I was already fully formed, but… uh, he woulda been.

Sorry! DISQUS doesn't make it easy to see if someone's already gotten a response - didn't realize someone had beat me to it.

Whether people like or dislike it is going to come down to subjective responses, so first assure your family that it's totally fine if it wasn't their thing. There are a few reasons it's getting a ton of critical support, though:

Heh. "Rescue dog", not "dog used to rescue people".

Exhibit A: What Women Want

Eh, I like this version of Max. Hardy plays him like a rescue dog - fearful of human interaction, quick to snap, but cuddly once you earn its trust. I like Gibon's Max, too (or rather: Maxes, since he's hardly a consistent character from film to film), but this one works for this film just fine.