"The first Terry Gilliam film I ever saw. I was ten years old, and it’s still my favorite (Brazil comes in at a close second). What ten-year-old wouldn’t want to be Kevin, pursued by a godlike figure, with a band of pirate dwarfs, while hopping from one major historical event to the next? I can’t remember how many times I’ve seen this, but it’s probably the same number of times I’ve watched The Goonies. —BF"

"Scott Z. Burns’ “The Report” tells the story of the Herculean efforts of Daniel J. Jones to make sure that the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture saw the light of day. Its powerful resonance with “right now” is because it makes us imagine how many thousands of unseen Daniel J. Joneses — mid-range white-collar workers with normal values and decent character — in government are leaving in droves from Justice, State, FDA, EPA, DEA … etc…"

"Preston Sturges at his best. This was the first of his films I ever saw, in a revival at the Regency in New York, and it was a revelation. You’ve never heard dialogue so funny or move so fast. Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda are hysterical, and it has maybe my favorite line ever in a movie—Fonda asks a fancy old society lady at a dinner party if he’s missed anything. She says, “The fish was a poem.”"