"I’ve seen this movie more times than I can count. I think it’s the best movie about being a kid ever made. It’s a fairy tale and a nightmare and a totally believable portrayal of a Swedish family in Uppsala at the turn of the twentieth century, all at the same time. It has always reminded me of one of my favorite novels, Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks. It’s also a movie about the weird magic of theater . . . Both the opening sequence and the reading from Strindberg at the end kill me. And the way Bergman shoots inanimate objects . . . The statues and the toy angels and the clocks and the puppets and the lamps . . . They’re all watching Alexander, the whole movie."

"Since I started writing about politics full time (a terrible place to live!), I always, always, always have a fantasy novel queued up in my audiobooks app. I listen to snippets when I’m getting dressed or washing the dishes or driving, and I set the sleep timer for 15 minutes every night so I can fall asleep in a story, whether my husband likes it or not. Shadow and Bone—about a young woman who discovers remarkable powers in a world plagued by darkness—is a flawless escape: adventure, romance, a captivating magic system, and enough emotional complexity that it stays under your skin even when you’re back in the real world. "

"It’s known as the lost Scorsese movie. It’s a documentary he made about his friend Steven Prince, who worked in the music business in the ’70s – the height of their drug use. Marty, who was already a hot filmmaker then, is in it and talks 200 miles a second. The main character is fascinating, and so honest, snatched out of the Hollywood and music business and drug culture of that time. Steven Prince tells the story that Quentin Tarantino used for the needle in the chest in Pulp Fiction (1994); it had happened to him, he had put a magic marker on a girl’s chest and plunged an adrenaline needle into her heart."

"My older sister and I watched this movie endlessly. We didn’t have a VCR so we had to rent one with the movie from the video store. My parents probably thought we were crazy for continuously renting the same movie…but thankfully they let us, and we loved it. Wonder, magic, fantasy, heroes, villains, and saving the day. That about sums up what I love most about movies. I love being transported to another place and living an adventure vicariously. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and team were a wonder and a great gift to film and television. I’m sure this movie has helped foster creativity within me and a sense of wonder and possibility for greatness."