"Okay, I’m just gonna try to say both Incredibles and Incredibles 2. I’m just gonna put this as a whole movie together. I grew up watching The Incredibles and it was one of the best animated films I’ve ever seen. And it’s – I don’t know – the humor… it didn’t even feel like a kid’s film. It was the storyline and it was almost like an actual film. But it was more exaggerated, because it was animated. And then, years later, I saw a trailer for Incredibles 2, but it was like a sneak peek – it was Jack-Jack the baby showing his superpowers for a second, like five seconds. It was a five-second trailer and I was like, “No way!” I was so excited. And then I saw Incredibles 2 and it didn’t really have the same plot, it didn’t really relate to the first one. But those, the The Incredibles and Incredibles 2, are my favorite animated films."

"A phenomenal slice-of-life family drama directed by the late Edward Yang from Taiwan that exemplifies some of the great realist cinema that was being made in Asian countries during this time (see Ang Lee). And despite the films having very little to do with each other, I always personally associate this film with In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. Both films were released here in the U.S. at the same time, and I watched both on the same day. That was a crazy day. I still remember how the air tasted after stepping out of the theater that evening. Also—and I feel I have to mention this—I watched a third film that amazing weekend, After Life by Hirokazu Kore-eda, and it was my favorite of the three (and is one of my all-time favorites). Kore-eda has a nice movie called Still Walking available from Criterion, but I am hoping for a nice edition of After Life someday."

"This is my favorite Fellini film because it’s the one I identify with the most. On the surface, Cabiria has her act together. She insists on working for herself. She owns her own house and has savings. Even when she’s feeling awed by a big movie star, she stands up for herself and yells at him when he orders her around. But the instant she’s alone, vulnerability and self-doubt are written all over her face, and she is at the world’s mercy. Throughout the film, you feel everything Cabiria feels. For me, one of the most horrifying shots of all time is one in which Cabiria is sitting in a restaurant displaying her gigantic bundle of money to the man who is going to steal it. When I showed the film to my mother, she was traumatized by that image as well and kept saying, “I couldn’t stand to see her holding that huge money!”"