There are two reasons I love The Martian. First and foremost, it's a great story. Fresh, original, somehow weaving dense science into a...

Sergio Aragone's Groo is a childish, ludicrous figure. He is irredeemably stupid, slovenly, and clumsy, an intentional homage to Conan...

Let's face it - Ripley is a badass. She's not getting rescued by the hero, she's the hero doing the saving and surviving. All of this has...

My attachment to Gone With The Wind stems largely (though not entirely) from a 1989 viewing in the balcony of the late, lamented Ioka...

Let's face it, we all know Smurf Village is a Communist enclave. It's not even a Democratic Socialist society, with elements of regulated...

I was slow to warm to The X-Files. I eventually started watching it because Jen was a faithful devotee, and if she was making this list,...

Basil Fawlty owns a hotel. At least, his wife Sybil does, and she allows him to think he does too. Running that hotel would be a joy to...

I'm not a huge fan of the Hunger Games books or movies. Katniss is a bit too Mary Sue for me, and Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal a bit too...

In 1816, young Mary Shelley and her lover Percy Shelley visited Lord Byron at Lake Geneva. Byron suggested they write ghost stories. Mary...

How I Met Your Mother was a great show, then a decent one, before descending into mediocrity for the last third of its run. Most viewers...

Indy's true love, Marion was a throwback to the tough-broad school of 1930s Hollywood serials, less damsel in distress than land mine in...

Ladyhawke is an underrated classic. The plot is simple and effective, the cinematography is consistently beautiful, Rutger Hauer is at...