The film of the week this time is ONE HOUR PHOTO!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265459/

I find Robin Williams very annoying most of the time. There are some exceptions like Good Morning Vietnam, World's greatest dad, and Mrs. Doubtfire, but his constant random energy gets boring fast. Here though he plays the role of the creepy stalker who works at the On Hour Photo lab perfectly. He knows everything about this family who come in to get their photos developed, and so he starts becoming a bit obsessed by them. He isn't just a crazy guy though. He is angry that the husband is having an affair so in a way he wants to help them, but it just comes across as being weird and crazy. The only real downside to this film is that the secondary characters are mostly pretty uninteresting, but that isn't too bad. This film is still worth watching if you like a good creepy thriller.

The album of the week this time is...

POP WILL EAT ITSELF- DOS DEDOS MIS AMIGOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L30VL4IFzkw

Many people may have heard of Clint Mansell. He did the music to films like The Fountain, Reqiuem for a dream, and Moon. However what some of you might not know is that he used to be in the band Pop will eat itself. I just found this out recently because I never got into them much when I was younger, but they are surprisingly good if you like industrial rap mixed with various other genres like Funk, New Wave, and a bit of Metal. Thankfully Clint Mansell moved on to do some quite good film music like many other pop artists like Nick Cave. I would never have guessed that this was his band. Their songs tend to be very dark and political, mixed with some random goofy humor for good measure.

Swinging it around my head. Getting butter everywhere. Jelly on my feet is lovely. Why am I not wearing pants?

The album of the week this time is....

THE DIVINE COMEDY- VICTORY FOR THE COMIC MUSE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUio0gU4NCY&feature=related

Neil Hannon aka The Divine comedy is one of the most underrated songwriters around. His lyrics mix comedy, and tragedy in a way that most songs never achieve. His songs tell stories of real people, not overly romantic characters who could never exist like in most songs. It is sad that he has never gotten the recognition he deserves. His songs can sometimes be English in a way that tends to isolate people who don't know what he is talking about. Heck the guy once made an album all about cricket. Neil Hannon, like many great Brit pop artists of the 90's never had much success outside of Europe. If you want some of the best written songs in rock history mixed with a PG Wodehouse esque sense of humor then you need to check out The Divine comedy. All of the albums are worth a listen.

The film of the week this time is LADYHAWKE!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089457/

This is one of my guilty pleasure films of the 80's. You can tell it is from the 80's because of the awful synth soundtrack, and the very young Matthew Broderick. This is the first film I saw Rutger Hauer in, and he has continued to show that he is a very underrated actor. The film is about a man Phillip Gaston who is a thief who escapes from a prison and sparks a manhunt. While on the run he meets a mysterious knight who owns a hawk. This man has a curse. By night he must become a wolf while his lover takes the form of the hawk by day. To break the spell they must overthrow the corrupt bishop. This is a very cheesy film, and in many ways it doesn't age well but it is a fun medieval fantasy.

The film of the week this time is THE DEVILS!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066993/

This is one of the most controversial films ever made. I have tons of respect for the director Ken Russell, but it took me a while to get into his films. The Devils especially was a tough one because it is pretty weird, and at times disturbing. The film is about Cardinal Richelieu and his power hungry entourage trying to take control of 17th century france. To do so they have to destory Father Grandier, who is a priest who runs a heavily fortified town that prevents them from gaining total control. They set Grandier up as a warlock in control of a devil possessed nunnery, and the Mother Superior as being sexually obsessed with him.

Oliver Reed delivers a brilliant performance. This film was heavily censored when it was released, and is still not easy to find on DVD. The only DVD version is of such poor quality you may as well get the VHS. If you can find it though you will find this film to be a unique, and very twisted experience. Just have an open mind when you see it because it is very critical of Catholicism, and religious fanatics in general.

The album of the week this time is....

CAKE- COMFORT EAGLE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p99a6K81zqM

Cake are one of those bands who have been around for years but I don't think they have ever gotten a lot of mainstream critical acclaim. Most people I know haven't heard of them. The lead singer has a very odd deadpan kind of vocal delivery. In a way his vocals remind me of bands like They Might be giants, and The Talking heads. Cake don't really sound like any other band, and their lyrics don't make a lot of sense at first. They sound like a strange mix of hip hop, funk, and ska. I think they are on of the most underrated 90's bands. Makes me miss the music of that era even more.

The album of the week this time is....

FROST- EXPERIMENTS IN MASS APPEAL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4sRBGFE534

This is for fans of bands like Porcupine tree, and Tool. In a way they are a bit like a less self indulgent dream theater. This is their second album. Their first Milliontown is fantastic too but this one is a lot more consistant. The album is pretty much hard rock mixed with some progressive rock elements. On that note i hate the phrase prog rock, it sounds so pretentious. What is prog anyway? I have noticed that hardcore prog fans can be very elitist, but don't let that turn you away from the genre. Prog has some of the best bands in rock history, and today it has some amazing bands like Porcupine tree, Maudlin of the well, and this band Frost. If you are a fan of good rock music and you want something a bit different but not too spacey or similar to Pink Floyd then I suggest you get this album. The only song I don't like from it is "Toys" because compared to the rest of the album it sounds a bit poppy.

The movie of the week this time is THEATER OF BLOOD!

This is one of Vincent Price's best films. In fact it is probably my favorite of his. In Theater of blood he plays an actor getting revenge on his critics in various bloody ways. Price is brilliant in this film. He has always been a slightly campy actor but here he shows that he can be both hilarious and creepy. This film is very goofy at times and some of the murder scenes, especially one involving a poodle are very gross. However if you like campy horror films, and Vincent Price I can't think of anything better than this.

2010 is proving to be a great year for films so far. These are my favorites of the year so far. Some more obscure than others.

1. Dogtooth

Words cannot describe how much I love this twisted film. It is exactly the kind of film I want to make.

2. Life during wartime

This came out last year at film festivals, but it is actually getting a release in small theaters this year. It is yet another twisted comedy by one of my favorite directors Todd Solodnz.

3. Micmacs

Some say this film looks great but has no substance. While I would say there is some truth to that, I also think that this film is fantastic. It reminds me of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's earlier film Delicatessen.

4. Please Give

This film came out of nowhere. It is a surprisingly touching and dark film about death, and morality. Catherine Keener is a fantastic actress.

5. Exit through the gift shop

I don't even like graffiti and I found this film fascinating.

6. The Good, the bad, and the weird

This film is crazy, over the top, and ridiculous. Just my kind of film.

7. The Girl with the dragon tattoo

I love the book series so I was iffy about it being made into a film. Surprisingly though this is a great adaptation.

8. That Evening sun

Again this came out tecnically in 2009, but it only got any kind of wider release in 2010.

9. The Secrets in their eyes

While this got nominated for an oscar last year, I only saw it in theaters recently.

10. The Father of my children

11. Mother

12. A Solitary man

13. Agora

14. Another Year

15. Winter's bone