I've never seen this movie, but I always have to remind myself of that fact because I saw that goddamn, twist-revealing trailer so many times I feel like I've seen it about a dozen times.

Yeah, and I remember liking it, but I saw it many years ago, before I knew who Blatty was.

"Dusty" is right. Dusty, spooky, creepy, creaky — these are the words for The Changeling.

I was just looking at Peter Medak's IMDb, and, boy, he's had a pretty odd journeyman career. From The Ruling Class (which is the movie I most associate him with) and apparently some other dark comedies earlier in his career to this to Zorro, the Gay Blade, to a bunch of crime dramas I haven't seen, to Pontiac Moon, to …

Exorcist III is really great. It's too bad Blatty hasn't had (or taken) the opportunity to direct some more because the direction of that film is stunningly assured. The hallway scene, the long dialogues between Dourif and Scott, even the studio-imposed freakout at the end is pretty well-done (if definitely weaker…

Everything @avclub-a1967e6de4ca99fb2635d94b99453928:disqus said.

Your interpretation seems plausible. To me, it was sort of like the film equivalent of "War Pigs" (a kind of post-war pigs) — the shadowy, witch-like figures ("politicians hid[ing] themselves away") control the fates of the poor. Institutions are all corrupted, and the generals are gathered in their masses, just like…

Very cool! Any interesting tidbits from the Denis Q&A?

Hey, everyone knows Inception was inspired solely by that one Scrooge McDuck comic.

@avclub-a1967e6de4ca99fb2635d94b99453928:disqus I don't think you heard it from me. It's a totally ludicrous standard, but the jury applied it correctly in the Zimmerman case as far as I can tell.

Hot Coffee is a great documentary. It's astounding how widely misunderstood that case is. Now that it's on Netflix, I hope lots and lots of people watch it.

The best part of Stage Fright is that creepy scene with the bloody doll.

I think the verdict was inevitable mostly because of the craziness of Florida's self-defense law. The burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove that it wasn't self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. When you have no eye-witnesses, that's pretty much impossible.

Hey, I watched part of Beginning of the End on MeTV this weekend. Unfortunately I missed my favorite shot — the one of the grasshoppers crawling on a postcard.

FRIDAY
Kill List - Enjoyably demented little thriller/horror/domestic drama. As is my wont, I enjoyed the occultish stuff more than the hitman stuff. Also, the client/cult leader guy looked distractingly like Joe Biden. Like Joe Biden as seen in a nightmare.

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Pfft…this movie sounds exactly half as good as Time Code.

It's hard for me to imagine a film this year moving me as deeply and giving me as much to reflect on as that film.

I hope you like it. It such a lovably scruffy oddball sort of movie. It won't be everybody's cup of tea, but I had a smile on my face the whole time.

I've been curious about the director's cut. Sorry to hear it dulls the impact a bit. I feel like every single scene in the shorter version is absolutely essential to the film. Every moment tells you something new. That's a big part of what makes it a masterpiece.