I was dead sure that belt was going around his neck, following by a violent jerkfest.

Jimmy
Just can't get into his character and his storyline. It's boring and unoriginal. Eliminate him from the series and you've got yourself a winner. More Michael Shannon never hurt anyone, and without Jimmy and his heart of gold around, we could have more oddball moments from Van Alden and keep all the action in AC.

Coming next week
Interview: Paul Peter Porges.

Wow
No more reading these reviews.

Gotta go with …
… Million Dollar Baby. I was a huge hater the first time around (due to my disdain for Hilary Swank and the semi-cliched script) but realized after a second viewing that it's a great film. It's like a modern-day Rocky, but the storytelling style is different and the more I watched Swank get into her…

Inspiration
He's a big reason why I got into standup comedy. I think Greg Giraldo suffered through his vices and probably thought he should have been more well-known than he was in reality. But bottom line: He was fucking hilarious and one of only a few insult comics that was consistently on the ball.

Adam Sandler …
… did a mean Peter Brady impression on SNL. That sketch was a favorite of mine for combining the Bradys and the Partridge Family, complete with Chris Farley as Mr. Kincaid.

Family Mixup
Nicely done, Todd. But I believe Irina and Svetlana are cousins, not sisters. Either way, keep the reviews coming. I just finished watching Season 3 for the fifth time and am looking forward to your take on "Pine Barrens," a.k.a., the most sneaky funny TV episode in history.

Interesting take …
… by Leonard. I feel "Band of Brothers" is the best of the three. The acting and storytelling has much more of a flow to it then "The Pacific," which is clunky by comparison. The real strength of "BOB" is in the casting; lots of personal faves sprinkled throughout the series. A lot of people put a…

Zodiac has one of the best intros to a film. So does Fight Club. At the very least, Fincher can claim that as an artistic success.

Platoon
Tom Berenger overhears a potential murder plot headed by Charlie Sheen, walks into the bunker toting a fifth of Jack Daniel's and proceeds to scare the shit out of all of them with his "You wanna talk about killin'?" routine.

JAPAN SCHOOL CULTURE
I live in Tokyo and teach at public schools, and it's disturbing to say this would probably happen if the premise became a reality. Things can be brutally clique-ish in Japanese public schools, with bullying a long-standing yet largely avoided issue. The movie is definitely popular over here…

CHECK OUT HIS LEGENDARY DVD
… "I'm Over Here Now." I got stoned and drunk during a spring blizzard in Colorado with a buddy and we were dying. Sober, it's probably awful. But I always liked Dice.

Clifton Collins Jr.
… has a tremendous role, though I second Scott's opinion that it's probably not essential to the story. Worthy choice for the canon.
"AN ASSHOLE! RIGHT HERE! (points to elbow)."

Children of Men
No one shouts a better (or, as we find out, fake) "JESUS CHRIST!" than Ejiofor did in "Children of Men." It's during that sweet carjacking scene.

Tracking shot
There are some strong resemblance between the tracking shot in I Am Cuba and Boogie Nights, right down to the festive music. Has Paul Thomas Anderson ever commented on IAC's influence? I'd be curious to know more about a film that has obviously inspired some talented directors.

Worst episode
Lost if OK in my book. But man if that episode where Kate robs a bank doesn't just kill me. What shitty/improbable writing. It was so cliched I thought the episode might be called "The Quick and the Dead." Thankfully, the rest of it's ai'ght for the most part.

The sad thing is …
… this worthy flick has more people commenting on Mr. Tobias' story than people who actually saw it when it was released. That's cult defined, right there.