"the snot evacuated from a large, bulbous nose"

The curious title of this post is a spoof on David Thomson's predictably snotty take on actor Hugh Grant: "An incipent sneeze looking for a vacant nose." Only my self-satisfied quote is about, well, Thomson himself.

Movie critics (or in Thomson's case, film historian), like movies themselves, are often an acquired taste. Thomson is wildly celebrated by a band of movie critics who are far less clever and much less articulate than Thomson is, and not nearly as secure in their judgments. I affectionately refer to them as "The Davidians" (a play on the infamous "Paulettes.")

Then there are those for whom Thomson's brand of "criticism" is athematic. Count me in.

Thomson, who is obviously keenly intelligent and probably makes a great sparring partner, has been churning out his torturous insults about film celebrities for 35 years now and in the latest edition of his Biographical Dictionary Of Film, he bravely takes on Elizabeth Taylor-wannabe Angelina Jolie (referring to "the carnal embouchure that is her mouth") and her rival Jennifer Aniston ("while one can make gentle fun of Jennifer Aniston, it’s hard to dislike her").

The odd thing is, I find myself grudgingly agreeing with Thomson's often-poisonous assessments. and envy the delight with which he pens them.

He's a wordsmith par excellence.

On the other hand, the cheapness of it all - glorified tabloid fodder really - inevitably demoralizes. It seems like such a waste of talent.