Take a seat, pour yourself a tall glass of paint thinner and don’t you dare blink: it’s time to talk The Master on the Hollywood Prospectus podcast (1:30). Chris Ryan and I processed the heck out of Paul Thomas Anderson’s strange and powerful new movie, discussing our favorite theories, moments and performances. While we ended the talk still out to sea like Freddie Quell, one thing is certain: PTA deserves a hand, and not necessarily in the Amy Adams-to-Philip Seymour Hoffman sense, either.

Fully alive with the imagined memory of our past selves, we then moved on to the return of Boardwalk Empire (37:00): is the show merely an empty suit? And is it ever OK for a series to just be OK?

Speaking of OK, we ended with a a consideration of Kanye West’s absolutely whelming (neither over or under!) new posse album Cruel Summer (49:20). It’s not perfect, but it’s still the perfect soundtrack to these last remaining hot days before Fall takes hold. Maybe go to the beach. Rut a sand mermaid. Anything is possible.

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