Easy A - went in expecting a dumb teen movie and found it surprisingly clever. A bunch of literary allusions (at the level where I could spot them but felt smug about doing so) and some genuinely amusing dialogue (at one point I had to pause for a minute or so and just laugh); the lead's snark is implausible but can be assumed to be mild unreliable narrator. Portrays what felt like a realistic case of someone trying to do good by stepping around conventional moral rules, and finding this introduces unexpected difficulties, but without (to me at least) implying she made the wrong choice. I'm not sure whether Hollywood in general has shifted in recent years, but I was surprised by the relatively positive take on sex and the Christian antagonists. I also liked that even the "evil" characters were acting in ways that made sense; some people are quite selfish, but everyone's motivations are understandable.

• The Thing

  I enjoyed this a great deal. The special effects hold up well, I liked the suspense & paranoia especially since I had no idea how the plot goes and really was unsure who would be assimilated, and the characters don't act too stupidly for most of the movie.

• Dr. Strangelove
• Her
• Nebraska 2013 (??? My relatives say this is a good depiction of the more Scandinavian parts of the Midwest but it left me deeply nonplussed)

I got interested in Person of Interest after the recent article and binged through the three seasons.

It's definitely not essential viewing, most of it is forgettable case of the week fluff, particularly almost all of the first season, but it was fun seeing a standard procedural show gradually turn into a Neuromancer lite by the third season finale. Also, Michael Emerson makes it much better than it would be otherwise be.