i haven’t felt this disappointed in a long time. i figured going into it that this would end up being my least favorite tortellini, but i had no idea

anyone could have directed this. it feels completely inorganic when related to him, except that it’s clearly playing out a nostalgic hollywood fantasy, feet and all. and even if he tried a new route by throwing out his old signature styles, whatever replaced it here is completely unoriginal. a lifeless corpse of a plot, build up that goes nowhere. characters underused and even dialogue underdeveloped. a crescendo at the end that feels lackluster and unearned, leaving me feeling nothing but bitter. the performances are sometimes great, but with nowhere to go. i can understand seeking this out for some of the main actors, but besides that it feels like a waste of time. and if anything, this simply proved to me that without his old motifs in play, he’s really not good at directing a straightforward drama. it’s not even that i miss the motifs, it’s that he’s nothing without them

i felt embarrassed, thinking back to all of his previous films that won me over every time, even with their massive flaws. how resentful i’ve always been that his movies were a big reason i got into film as a teen. how conflicted i still am that some of them mean so much to me. but after this hot fucking mess, and especially with the controversies surrounding him like a swarm, i’d be fine if he never made another movie or got another accolade. throw in the towel dude, because this was just sad

(and cue the arguments in the comments section in 3.. 2.. 1..)