KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Martin Scorsese, 2023)

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(**+ / *****) :: With some notable exceptions – the sheer power and importance of the story; the performances of Lily Gladstone, Robert DeNiro, and Jesse Plemmons (in a just world, he and DiCaprio, whose more-caricature-than-character performance veered into parody, would have switched roles); Robbie Robertson's (RIP) score; and the radio show postscript at the end – FLOWER MOON left me underwhelmed. Don’t me wrong: this story needed to be told and deserved to be told by a master like Scorsese; I only wish it hadn’t been told by a master seemingly second-guessing himself at every turn.

complete, 34 years later

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Decided that one of my bucket list items was to complete my collection of Playmates’s 1990 DICK TRACY line. And, while an autographed Paul Sorvino action figure was a wonderful balm, it wasn’t The Blank, the unicorn of action figures.

Short version of the infamous story, to the best of my recollection: Playmates made the figure, but since it came with a removable mask revealing Madonna to be The Blank (and I’ve read different sources saying she hated the likeness) and was thus a spoiler for the film, they held off releasing the figure in the US, releasing only 3000 of them in Canada as a Sears exclusive. Unfortunately, this delightfully odd little line wasn’t generating the sales Playmates had hoped, so the line was scrapped before The Blank could make it to my grubby little hands, making it one of the rarest mass-produced action figures in the world (indeed, of those 3000, legend has it, about 2800 were opened, leaving +/- 200 carded figures in circulation).

OK, make that +/-199 figures in circulation because, after 34 years, I can cross this one off the bucket list. The Blank is mine:

As to why this particular (MOC, unpunched!) figure was worth spending an arm, a leg, and both kidneys of my first, second, and third born (which might be a problem since I don’t have kids): growing up, one of my father’s work colleagues - a writer, natch - had an amazing office: toys, comics, everything; to say it left an impression on me is an understatement. Both he and my grandfather are the sources of my love for Dick Tracy – and my lifelong love of movie serials; my grandfather with 1940’s MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR SATAN and friend with 1941’s THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL – and when Beatty’s film came out, he - dad’s friend - and I geeked out over the film and the toys, but as the story of every Dick Tracy fan in the US went at the time, we could never find The Blank. Didn’t know why, back then, of course, figured it was typical rural Ohio being typical rural Ohio; never thought of going to a Sears in Canada.

But she’s here, now. Home. In The Paintshop, the centerpiece (ok, one of several centerpieces) of The Collection. Other interesting thing: The Blank is the only one of the 14 characters in a trenchcoat in a toy line based on a movie in which most of the characters wore trench coats, notably an iconic yellow one; why they all are in shirtsleeves is another of the great mysteries of life. But for now, this search has concluded – and brought with it many fond memories.

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Made the first attempt at my last-ditch effort to safely – with NuHerbie the Insulin Pump in tow – add mileage (back) to my run: drive up to the running trail (half mile away or so), park, and slowly add loops and mileage (as opposed to adding mileage by running the roads around my slice of wanton heartlandia as I have the past decade). At least this way I don't have to take "blood sugar ok enough to get home" into account: even if I do go low, I keep glucose shots in the truck - at it's furthest away from me, it's a few tenths of a mile away – and sit it out in the truck until it pops back up. Plus, it's nice to not have to think about school traffic or to interact with anyone. If I can add one more loop, I can get back to my previous daily mileage (six miles), though I'd be ecstatic with a consistent daily five.