It is hard to think of a book that brought me less enjoyment. In hindsight, I should have read the title, Cinema Speculation, more literally because, spoiler alert, this book is filled with chapter after chapter of Tarantino speculating about movies from the 60’s and 70’s. You might find yourself thinking, “But Jack, that sounds so cool!!” Wrong. Tarantino’s discussion of each movie is based around vibes, short stories, and his perception on how the film’s provocative edginess affected him as a kid—the idea of adding directorial insight into any of the chapters must have not crossed his mind.

To clarify, I am a huge fan of Tarantino’s filmography, indeed, I have watched all ten of his movies at least twice. I hoped Cinema Speculation would satisfy my desire to learn more about movies from a unique perspective—a perspective from one of the greatest directors from the 21st century—but instead I was left with a book which could have been authored by a random seventy-year-old on the r/Movies reddit page. In sum, Mr. Tarantino chose to publish a book which analogs an abstract IMDB user who holds a nostalgic view regarding sixties cinema.  That being said, I truly believe Cinema Speculation would have made a great coffee table book: with the addition of a few more photos, the subtraction of many dragging paragraphs, and some quotes sprinkled around, Tarantino could have crafted a coffee table book that any Instagram influencer would be proud to place atop their credenza. After all of my loathing directed at Cinema Speculation, I wish to end on a positive note: I enjoyed the book's color scheme, burnt orange.