"This is the film in which Rohmer’s mapping instinct went into overdrive. Perhaps even more so than The Sign of Leo, this film feels like it’s primarily about the spaces of Paris, and only secondarily about its main characters. Very interesting shooting technique too – Rohmer and his tiny film crew just went out onto the street with the main actors, followed the story, and found locations as they went along."

"Naked directed by Mike Leigh. Apart from the rape at the start, I love the main character so much. I never really pay attention to actors but this must be one of the greatest performances ever. I’ve really enjoyed watching Mike Leigh films this year. They’re very British and I’ve been away from home so long that it feels a bit like going home when I watch them."

"Rocky one — it feels ridiculous to have to qualify Rocky with a “1,” but the subsequent sequels have smokescreened the truth that the original Rocky won the Oscar, is a monumental humanitarian story, and most importantly… Rocky does not win the final fight with Apollo. Some people literally don’t believe me when I tell them this. If you’ve forgotten this, please re-watch it. I promise you won’t be disappointed."

"A perfect black comedy with one of the most underappreciated central performances in film history, by Dennis Price (and a handful of genius ones by Alec Guinness). Truly funny and as dark as sin, this is a film that still feels ahead of its time. The attached “American” ending helps remind us just how annoyingly safe and predictable American tastes can be—did we really need to be reminded?#"

"Reading this feels like going down a rapid, the way it flows. It’s so freed of expectations in a way that makes it very refreshing. It’s almost like jazz, full of nooks and crannies, sort of unpredictable but beautiful. There’s a fellow comedian, Jaqueline Novak, whose work I really like, and watching her perform a set I think, ‘Oh, she’s kind of the Clarice Lispector of the comedy scene.’"

"Parker is, quite simply, our best working poet, and she just blinds me with her skill. She somehow makes a book about deep psychic pain (also a meditation on a broken society, no biggie) into something that feels celebratory and joyous. I’m nominating her for the best pop references in poetry award! She is also the funniest on twitter and echoes my judge-y, agoraphobic general mind state, only with pizazz."

"Reading this novel is like going back to a life I didn't have, but one that feels eerily familiar, as a teenager in high school. There's such a force in her writing, which is the force of Novak—she looks like a sweet person on the outside, which she is, but inside she is a tornado of passion and strength enough to crush the planet with her pinky finger."