I think he moved the entire bed, then removed the mattress and put it on the floor back under the leak, so he could use the bed frame to air out the newspapers without anything dripping onto them. He misses realizing that keeping the mattress off the floor allows it to air out and dry more quickly though. Although it didn’t sound like the leak was so bad that it’ll really matter that much.
They were referring specifically to the British Film Institute (BFI) greatest films list, which is fair to say one of the most highly-respected. Hol being a film critic, she would be somebody who votes (I gather it’s like the academy from the academy awards). They vote a new list only every 10 years, which lends it some gravitas.
In 2012 Vertigo replaced Citizen Kane at the top of the list (Citizen Kane held the top spot for decades), which is why those two are discussed in the book. Some of the other movies mentioned are in the top 10 too, and then several in the top 50 too.
I suspect Hol told Kit to hold off on Tokyo Story, number 3 on the list, because it’s about children visiting their dying parent and is very, very sad (though I highly recommend it).
I think the section about their taste in films was quite revealing; Hol does seem fairly stereotypical, but when you get really into film like she has (I took a bunch of film courses at university myself) it’s fairly inevitable. There’s plenty of room for disagreement but the masterworks really stand out when you’re trained to notice.
This compared to Kit, who appreciates a lot of what Hol suggests, but likes Star Wars and superhero stuff way more. That’s partly due to his age, I suppose. But it’s also partly his way of looking at things being different. He notices all the “flaws” in Casablanca (and IMO his analysis of some of the things he points out is just wrong) and finds it hard to look past that to see the overall sweep of the film, which is really wonderful in so many ways. But then likewise, Hol finds it hard to look past what would be considered by serious film critics to be flaws (or at least shortcomings) in Star Wars, and fails to see the overall wonderful sweep of that.
My personal taste is sort of a cross between the two, then. I feel sorry for people who find it hard to sit through long movies, as Kit says about himself, specifically referring to Lawrence of Arabia among others (though he loved The Godfather, also long). Lawrence of Arabia is possibly my favorite film and it just doesn’t feel that long to me (though it is 222 minutes), and couldn’t be a second shorter. I have fallen asleep watching 2001 too though.
