“Starting with Magnolia my initial exposure to Paul Thomas Anderson’s films have felt like stretching exercises or mindfucks of one kind or another — never easy, always a climb or a tangle, always in front of the line and beckoning to the folks in the rear…c’mon, guys…don’t hang back. And then with the second or third viewing they seem more engaging, less gnarly…of course! But you always have to come to them — they never come to you. And that’s cool. I just wish I could have been a little more engaged as I watched Inherent Vice. I never felt like I was ‘in the car.’ I constantly felt like I was running alongside or eating the exhaust.” — from a 10.5.14 piece called “Morning After Respect.”