Pickleball, I mean. I hate it (shudder), and if anyone ever suggests a friendly game of pickleball I’ll almost certainly say “thanks but no thanks.” It’s not the activity but the sound of it. I think I can safely say I’ll never, ever play this game. And I don’t want anything to do with pickles either. I’m serious. It’s a very strong feeling.

…and you’re basically Jeft with a pinker, smirkier, glossier, sexually averse Poor Things. Don’t get me wrong —Barbie is fine but but compared to the sumptuous banquet of Poor Things it’s fast food.

Thank you, God, for pulling cosmic levers and bringing about changes that are helping to restore our shared cinematic soul. Tears streaming down my cheeks.

…except for the riffs about Poor Things (#2) and Fallen Leaves (#5). Putting Past Lives in the #1 position represents a break from reality that is almost surreal. Nobody feels this way….stop it.

In May ‘22 “Paramount Presents” released a 4K Bluray of John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (‘62) that didn’t pass muster. Restoration guru Robert Harris called it technically flawed (de-grained with an overlay of fake amoeba swirls). Three months hence (3.5.24) a remastered 4K disc (sans amoeba) will go on sale.

HE reminder: The last name of John Ireland’s “Cherry Valance” in Red River (‘48) is pronounced Val-ANCE while the surname of Lee Marvin’s arch-villain in TMWSLV is pronounced VAL-unce. Exact same spelling.

Bad 4K Valance:

Good 4K Valance (3.5.24):

My first thought was “oh, poor Dean Baquet” in She Said (‘22). Tough break. Too young. Startling and quite sad.

“Meditations,” Book 3, page 20:

9 days ago::

Today: