The funny thing is if this were a movie, I'd totally be rooting for them to get together by the end. Something about it being a series (though probably not for the long haul, alas) makes me want to see it be more of a friendship/mentorship thing because that is just frankly a more interesting dynamic to watch.

"It doesn't look like anything to me."

Nah, spatial smarts are different from book smarts. You *can* have both, but it's not guaranteed. (You can also, of course, have neither.)

Every single review or comment I've read about this movie has been a rave. Until out of morbid curiosity I decided to see what Armond White had to say about it. I really wish I hadn't.

"William, still trembling at the cusp of relevancy." Hahahaha, so true.

I'm still not over the fact that that HAD to be the year that Gregory Peck was nominated (and won) for To Kill a Mockingbird. Both great acting, so how the hell do you choose? (Still, I'd have given it to O'Toole.)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is probably my favorite Sean Penn performance. He should do more comedy. Maybe that's why I also really liked him in the Harvey Milk movie - it was a bit capital G-Great Acting-y, but there was a warmth to it that he doesn't show that often.

On the other hand, in a similar category to Hopkins is Ralph Fiennes, who can be veeeerrry hammy but is also capable of being wonderfully subtle. I still think he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for A Constant Gardener, where he broke my heart.

And Gary Oldman, at least in some stuff. (I was so pumped when he got the nod for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - though speaking of Alec Guinness, both my parents and my husband say Oldman wasn't a patch on him.)

Watch A Room With a View, it always puts me in a good mood.

I love Artist of the Floating World, but it basically is a dry run for Remains of the Day (Ishiguro himself admits it, he said it at a reading of his I was at) - only set in Japan instead of Britain. Still worth reading, though.

Is the longer version not going to be IMAX?

I got that, but as a woman I got really tired of seeing Rachel get dumped on and wallow endlessly in her complete lack of dignity and self-respect. I get that a big part if not most of that was her alcoholism and depression, but still…it just got tedious after awhile. By contrast, the main character in Gone Girl was…

This bothers me as well. Although the book does describe her as originally attractive, but got fat and sloppy because of the depression and alcoholism. I remember trying to imagine who could plausibly play her and came up with bupkes. Partly because no Hollywood actress in her 30s would ever let herself go like…

But a sentient one? (or one who's becoming sentient?)

It's the accent (which is not her normal accent when she's speaking English). It's throwing the delivery off.

I'll be surprised if it matches Game of Thrones. It's a thinky sci-fi show, and the pacing so far has been more slow-burn despite the violence and shoot-em-up scenes. It does have the potential to pick up a Lost or Battlestar Galactica type of fanbase/cultural cachet.

And Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses. Ok, maybe that is not a net win.

Some pounds? Ahem, I have no answer to that. Though my own husband said "She got old!" for which I gave him hell despite his excuse that he hadn't really seen her in anything since she was a teenager. I personally think she looks fantastic.

Yes, but I really wish HBO could just for once skip going to the "rape the heroine" well. Ok, not just HBO: cable TV generally.