Wasn't expecting that the biggest thing I'd take away from this are it's comedic/camp aspects. There's just something about a bunch of scientists watching a film of one of them having sex with a elderly woman (for science) while Neeson (as Kinsey) dryly explains the female orgasm when Timothy Hutton sitting with one leg crossed and a pipe in his mouth interrupts to ask "but what about the vagina?".

Margaret Atwood, we (sort of) meet at last. She's been an ever-present figure in my life (mostly due to having to know most of her books for trivia/quiz bowl purposes), but I have never gotten around to actually reading any of her things. The look and tone of this movie reminded me of something almost immediately, but it took a while to figure out what it was. This feels like a feature-length Outer Limits episode. From it's bland Canadian-TV-looking sets to its Canadian-TV kind of acting, I felt at home. I'm going to go ahead and say what everyone says when a very highly regarded book gets turned into a bad-mediocre film, it's probably all in the writing.

Similarly to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World I feel that I'd have much more appreciation for it if I had much of any relation/connection to the comedians that this movie uses (save for Groucho). Groucho as god is genius casting, but he's left with nothing to do but exude his presence. The concept of old-school personalities coming into to direct contact with the new generation is great, as is the tone this movie takes towards it (even if some of its characterizations are misguided), but the story that surrounds all this is, to put it kindly, a slog. To say nothing about that LSD sequence, though the singing trash cans were a nice touch, but going by this and Popeye I do not have an ear for Harry Nilsson.

For some reason I feel that seeing aged Paul Newman is just more affecting by itself than it is for other actors of his ilk (save for maybe Jack Lemmon). He manages to create a good mix of a loveable rascalness and past-his-prime world-weariness (he probably doesn't even need to try to do that). The movie is all him, he elevates every small-town character or caricature he comes across. Without him this could've ended up with the same small-town feel as Doc Hollywood.

This is supposed to be a remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, but really in basic premise only. I wasn't expecting much, but Tom Hanks' reactions to everything going wrong around him really gives me more appreciation for his comedic talents. From his maniacal laugh, what he does to pass the time when trapped in the ceiling, his one liners and all the small character interactions in between. The stuff that works the least are the big attempts at comedic set pieces. The movie doesn't descend into the comedic-why-god-why-is-this-happening-to-me despair that usually accompanies these kinds of everything that can go wrong will go wrong type comedies and for that I'm thankful.

Can't remember who I read recently that described the stereotypical festival film, but this fits that description perfectly. Long master shots, little dialogue, non-actors, humorless, very sparse plot punctuated by a scene of violence.

Delphine has almost two months of vacation (fucking France!), but her plans fell through. She doesn't want to stay in Paris, she doesn't want to go alone and she can't find anyone to go with her. She is both simple and complicated, easy to please and demanding, lonely and wants to be left alone. Rohmer is like Mike Leigh, all his films feels similar, lack any driving narrative, mostly focused on improvised conversations, but they all explore how different kinds of personalities make it through the world.

A mix between David Lynch and Gaspar Noe. Some very interesting visuals (everything is underlit, shots out of the car turn into abstract visuals) and moods (great use of Bauhaus and other menacing music) all in the service of a stale concept (let's experience what the serial killer's experiencing, maybe we'll even sympathize). For a film filled with sexual violence, it doesn't linger on the violence (sex turns into violence and suddenly it's all over).

Like a 1970's Brief Encounter (which they watch in the film), except replace the romantic yearning with a desire for extra-marital sex. A best picture nominee that time forgot. Very much reminds me of a lesser, but more sexually blunt Neil Simon movie.

There are some great sets (especially the windmill/lab) and a few good scenes (most of which were spoiled by Young Frankenstein), but it didn't do much for me. It's very short, which is a positive if you're just waiting for it to finish, but it also doesn't give characters or motivations any time to develop and become anything above surface level. I'm also curious how the book ended up being turned into this, they only resemble each other in the vaguest of senses.