Here I Sit, Broken-Hearted

The legend of Pauline Kael and the cinematic artistry of Quentin Tarantino will not come together in a forthcoming QT film called The Movie Critic. It was a nice Borys Kit speculation while it lasted, but nope.

World of Reel Jordan Ruimy is reporting, in fact, that the main character isn’t even a movie critic. The story is set in 1977. Filming will begin in Los Angeles next fall.

Tarantino clarified things during a special book-promotion appearance on Wednesday, 3.29 at the Grand Rex in Paris.

I’m a little bummed, I admit, but I’ll get over it.

Deranged Egoism

It’s obviously tragic when a person has slipped into such a dark and seemingly irredeemable place that he/she feels that suicide is the only option. Alas, that’s an old-hat approach. The 21st Century has introduced a new concept — “I’ll be taking several innocent people with me as I leave this mortal coil” — that turns tragedy into something evil.

Friendo:

Total Hate Watch

I was going to avoid the nausea and the spiritual depletion of sitting through the nearly three-hour John Wick: Chapter 4. I can sense what’s waiting for me, and I hate the mere idea of submitting to this shite. I “know” (i.e., am strongly suspecting) that my reaction will more or less align with David Poland’s 3.24 review.

But too many fools and knaves are kowtowing, and so I’ve accepted the unfortunate burden of having to sit through the damn thing (allegedly a Gray Man-ish pummeling) sometime this afternoon. Talk about a ghastly prospect…

Poland excerpt:

Buried in Time Rubble

Nobody remembers that one version of the Tootsie ad copy (seen with my very own eyes a week or two before the 12.17.82 opening) described Dustin Hoffman’s “Michael Dorsey” as a “desperate, out-of-work, hopelessly straight actor.” Columbia marketers didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.

Updike Said This In The Late ‘50s

Manhattan was affordable back then, not just for moderate income types but hand-to-mouthers. It was partially affordable in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Things started to get tough in the ‘90s, and rents have become more and more ridiculous over the last 20-plus years. Now when you read about the rents that 20somethings are paying, you can’t help but think “they’re kidding, right?” I’ll never live there again. Too many one-percenters, not enough soul.