This longish (over six minutes) recap scene in The Big Sleep explains what’s already happened for those who may be lost or confused. And yes, Phillip Marlowe‘s meeting in the District Attorney’s office obviously fits the very definition of what a good film isn’t supposed to do — i.e., tell rather than show. Which is why it wasn’t included in the final 1946 version.

And yet the general consensus is that The Big Sleep is one of the most convoluted, perplexing, nearly-impossible-to-follow crime films ever made (even co-screenwriter William Faulkner was unsure about who’d done what), so I actually wouldn’t have minded if this scene had been left in.

As Big Sleep aficionados know, the sexually suggestive restaurant scene between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (i.e., trading double entendres about horse racing) replaced (a) the District Attorney’s office scene plus (b) Rutledge/Bacall coming to Marlowe’s office a second time.

On the occasion of Al Pacino‘s 83rd birthday, here, in this order, are HE’s top twelve Pacino performances:

(1) Michael Corleone, The Godfather, Part II; (2) Lowell Bergman, The Insider, (3) Tony Montana, Scarface, (4) Michael Corleone, The Godfather, (5) Lt. Vincent Hanna, Heat; (6) Tony D’Amato, Any Given Sunday (the”inches” speech); (7) Frank Keller, Sea of Love; (8) Frank Serpico, Serpico; (9) Sonny Wortzik, Dog Day Afternoon; (10) Jimmy Hoffa, The Irishman; (11) Will Dormer, Insomnia; and (12) Frank Slade, Scent of a Woman (“I’m just gettin’ warmed up!”).

Obviously Pacino’s peak decades were the ’70s and ’90s. He’s so far made only two grade-A 21st Century films, Insomnia and The Irishman.

There’s absolutely no need or interest in another Magnificent Seven…zero. We’ve already had three — Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai (“54), John Sturges‘ The Magnificent Seven (’60) and Antoine Fuqua‘s mediocre remake of a remake from 2016. You know what I’d like to see remade? Howard Hawks‘ Red River (’46).

CNN’s Don Lemon has been axed effective immediately. This was obviously not a good day for this to happen with the competing story of Tucker Carlson‘s departure nipping at Lemon’s heels or vice versa. Two major-media news headliner departures announced within an hour!

There are obviously four women who helped to push Lemon out, either directly or consequentially — (1) Nikki Haley, the 50something Republican presidential candidate whom Lemon claimed was not “in her prime”; (2) Variety‘s Tatiana Siegel, whose 4.5 article reported about the news anchor’s alleged “misogyny at CNN“; (3) Lemon’s CNN co-anchor Kaitlan Collins, who clashed with Lemon over bristly attitudes and diva fits, and (4) White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who recently refused to be interviewed by Lemon.

When I think fondly of the 2019 films that will endure and grow in esteem as the years fall by…well, we all have our favorites. But in my mind at least and in a perfect world, the films that should have won the Best Picture Oscar are not, no offense, Parasite, which did win, and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, the first runner-up.

I realize, of course, that almost no HE commenters agree with me, but I still say that the Best Picture Oscar champ should have been Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman.

Failing that, the most deserving winners could or should have been, in a perfect world, the following: Kent Jones‘ Diane, Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse, Lulu Wang‘s The Farewell.

It’s absurd to mention Craig Zahler‘s Dragged Across Concrete in this context, but it’s a truly jarring, trail-blazing film that I’ll never forget. I wanted to forget Parasite after my second viewing — I didn’t dislike it, but I found it underwhelming.

The Best Documentary Oscar should have been won by A.J. Eaton and Cameron Crowe‘s David Crosby: Remember My Name.

Posted on 8.18.20: A couple of decades hence young cineastes will ask their older brethren, “Explain again why a well-made but not especially overwhelming social criticism drama from Bong Joon-ho won the Best Picture Oscar instead of this obviously superior Martin Scorsese gangster epic, especially considering the fact that The Irishman didn’t have anything like that Parasite scene in which a family of con artists welcomes the one person in the world who has a motive to rat them all out, and yet they let her in during a rainstorm while they’re all drunk and dishevelled…why did everyone give that scene a pass again?”

Director-star and series co-creator Bill Hader is directing all eight episodes of Barry‘s final season, and the calibre of understated black comedy is fairly astonishing. Hader’s directing instincts are easily the equal of Steven Soderbergh‘s — he tones it down in every scene, and makes it work just so. The witness protection conference hit scene is hilarious and mesmerizing.

During last night’s Barry episode (“you’re charming“) we all saw Guillermo del Toro play “El Toro”, some kind of dandified, cane-toting, soft-spoken bad guy who visits Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Cristobal (Michael Irby) to discuss Barry’s forthcoming murder. Toro has arranged for a queasy-looking character (Fred Armisen) to perform the hit during a witness protection meeting between Barry and various law officials.

It was just a cameo role, but it was very cool to see GDT delivering lines from a place of quiet confidence and with a dry understated manner. “Holy shit…there he is!” I said to Jett and Cait. I immediately wrote GDT a congratulatory note. And yet…

Guillermo was playing an allegedly fearsome criminal, the kind of sociopath who wouldn’t blink an eye at hiring a hitman. The emphasis, of course, was on dry humor with GDT talking about the difference between a podcast and TikTok exposure, but honestly? The undercurrent of menace wasn’t there. Because Guillermo couldn’t bury his humanity. He’s one of the gentlest and most compassionate people in the film industry, and simply couldn’t manage to “become” a sociopath. But at least he gave it a shot. File this under “hoot-level cameo.”

The sacrificial departure of Alissa Heinerscheid, the Budweiser marketing vp who pushed the incendiary Dylan Mulvaney promotion, was reported last Friday night (4.21) by Ad Age‘s Jon Springer.

Two days later Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver taped a segment that criticized the American bumblefuck brigade for their bigoted reactions to the Mulvaney campaign. The show typically tapes on Sunday at 6:15 pm. Given Oliver’s stated concern about dealing with old news (or failing to deal with new news), it seemed derelict that he didn’t at least mention Heinerscheid’s decision to take a “leave of absence“, which of course was not voluntary and clearly reflected concerns by Anhauser-Busch senior management.

It was reported yesterday by The Wall Street Journal that Heinerscheid’s boss, Daniel Blake, has also been made to walk the plank.