THE DANMAN CAN

 Angelic.   Dr. Nelson Guggenheim : We're putting you on what we call sudden death academic probation. Max Fischer : And what does that entail? Dr. Nelson Guggenheim : It entails that if you fail another class, you'll be asked to leave Rushmore. Max Fischer : In other words, I'll be expelled. Dr. Nelson Guggenheim : That's correct. Max Fischer : Can I see some documentation on that, please?  Max Fischer : Sic transit gloria. Glory fades. I'm Max Fischer. Rosemary Cross : Hi. Max Fischer : Hi.    Max Fischer : So you were in Vietnam? Herman Blume : Yeah. Max Fischer : Were you in the shit? Herman Blume : Yeah, I was in the shit.   Max Fischer : I like your nurse's uniform, guy.  Dr. Peter Flynn : These are O.R. scrubs.  Max Fischer : O, R they?  "UNLOCK IT!!" Max Fischer :   The killing's gotta stop, esse. It's getting too loco. No more gats. 40  Ounce : Nigga, you the crazy one...

TRAINSPOTTING   meets AMELIE .

The Room   (2003) is a quite the experience with a large audience and the man himself, Tommy Wiseau , present. A fun event, complete with props—in the tradition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show  (1975) — and a bit surreal. Things I'll take away from this night: how cold it was waiting outside before the movie began, Tommy  walking past the line to get in, throwing a football to fans, and lots of plastic spoons.

Based on Elmore Leonard 's novel 'The Switch' , LIFE OF CRIME   (which is a dumb title) starts out with a lot of Leonard  flavor (although derivative of  Soderbergh 's superior OUT OF SIGHT ), but loses steam pretty quickly. The tone is off overall, particularly the score a good deal of the time (which also seems derivative of  David Holmes ' score from OUT OF SIGHT .  Jennifer Aniston  is serviceable but not as good as Jennifer Lopez in OUT OF SIGHT (both seemed like odd choices for Leonard  adaptations). But it is nice to see Mos Def  and John Hawkes   (who deserved to be billed higher and whom I love - he never seems like he's acting in any movie he's in) portray Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara  respectively, characters that originally appeared in Leonard 's book 'Rum Punch'   and were portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson  and Robert De Niro   in Tarantino 's adaptation,  JACKIE BROWN . And the ending is g...

Enemy  (2013) is an eerie, unsettling film that is equal parts Lynch , Kubrick , Fincher , Cronenberg and Kafka . Both films that I've seen by director Denis Villeneuve (this and Prisoners   (2013)) have been excellent.

Focus On Film   Episode 23  is up! Download the MP3  HERE . In this episode: February 2015  Criterion Collection   Titles Announcement Best/Worst Of The Month  – HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER  (1998), NIGHTBREED  - Director's Cut (1990/2014), BIRDMAN (2014), NIGHTCRAWLER (2014) "Criterion Most Wanted" Link to MULHOLLAND DRIVE Salon article "Focus On Film Theme"  & commercial music:  Daniel Sardella

Consumed  (2014) is an interesting and unique story involving insects, hearing aids, 3D printing, STDs, cannibalism, and more, which is very much a product of its maker. Mostly engaging, but I can't help but thinking with all its excruciatingly detailed descriptions of technology that it would make a better film.

Fugazi 's first demo (hence the title) from 1988, featuring demo versions of songs from their self-titled debut  EP, Margin Walker   EP Repeater , 3 Songs   EP, and more (including a never released song). Pretty great for fans.

Whew. What a lofty film. And what a love/hate relationship I have with it after my first viewing. First let me get it out of the way that I think Christopher Nolan  is a "good" filmmaker. I happen to love Memento   (2000)   and  The Prestige  (2006)—both excellent films. I think  Insomnia  (2002)   and Inception  (2010) are "very good" films. In the case of Insomnia , the original film is better, but Nolan's version benefits from some great lead performances. I happen to think his Batman films are overrated and actually don't hold up all that well on repeat viewings. What I admire about Nolan is his willingness to take chances and craft interesting and beautiful-looking films that can equally entertain and frustrate. I'll always go see his films because he's definitely not a "boring" filmmaker. Now on to Interstellar   (2014)... *SPOILERS* Essentially it's a modern version of Armageddon  (1998). It even ...