The film of the week this time is TIDELAND.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410764/

Terry Gilliam is one of the most imaginative directors out there. There aren't many directors who can make a film where you really feel like you are in another world or some warped version of our own. Tideland is one of his worst reviewed films, but I quite like it. I think many will hate it but if you are weird like me then you will find it oddly appealing. It's a story of a young girl with druggie parents. One day her mom overdoses and the father takes her away to the countryside to escape. While there he pretty much sits in his chair having his daughter help make various drugs for him.

She starts to retreat into her own mind and meets the various locals. This is where the plot gets bizarre. Gilliam can sometimes can lost in his own visuals, but most of the time it helps get you involved in the film. Tideland is just as visually brilliant as his other films. It is also very disturbing in many ways. I won't spoil it for you, but it involves the young girl interacting with an older mentally not all there man in some creepy ways. It's a very dark film but if you like creepy and grim films then I recommend seeing this. Ignore the bad reviews.

The film of the week this time is DINNER RUSH.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229340/

I am quite fond of food of all kinds. Not many films have managed to capture the great feeling that food gives you. Sure plenty of films have food, but not many make it interesting. Big Night is one that does since it is all about a restaurant, but this one Dinner Rush does a good job too. It stars Danny Aiello, who is one of those actors you have probably seen many times in various films without knowing his name. He has been in The Professional, and Once Upon a time in America. He plays Louis the owner of an upscale restaurant in New York. His son Udo has become the head chief and his unique recipes are starting to define the restaurant. Louis cant stand Udo's cuisine, and he seems to be one of the few who doesn't.

He has another son Duncan who runs with a dodgy crowd who come to the restaurant one day and tell Louis that his son owes them a lot of money and if Louis doesn't make them partners in the business then someone will be killed. There is a fair amount of characters and story happening. It's not as consistant as Big Night, but it's a fun dark comedy about the restaurant business and a bit of the usual gangster shenanigans. The cast isn't given much time to develop their characters but they all do a good job with their roles. If you want a good dark comedy and you find the restaurant business interesting then I recommend this.

The film of the week this time is CHARLEY VARRICK.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069865/

Walter Matthau has a great acting face. That might sound vague, but he has one of those faces I instantly recognize. He wasn't handsome but he had a a disgruntled charm that worked wonders in comedies. Charley Varrick is a departure for him where he plays a man who robs a small town bank with several other men. What they think is a small amount of money they can divide amongst themselves turns out to be mob money. This is easily Matthau's best performance. Charley Varrick has a cult reputation among people like Quentin Tarantino and several others. It was directed by Don Siegal who most would know for making Dirty Harry, but he made a few other good films too.

Joe Don Baker plays a ruthless hitman who is hunting Charey Varrick and his crew. He is chilling in this role. It's the performance that tends to get forgotten since he is one of those actors who you have probably seen many times without knowing his name. We are never really sure exactly how much Varrick knows or whether he is one step ahead of everyone or not. He is the hero of the story yet he does some pretty twisted things to get his way. Pretty much everyone in this film is morally corrupt in their own distinct way. This is definitely one of the best crime films of the 70's.

The film of the week this time is NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048424/

Sorry for the delay this week. I was going to think of an excuse but then I realize I couldn't be bothered. Anyway, this is quite an interesting film. It was the only film that Charles Laughton directed, which is a shame because he clearly knows what he is doing. Laughton was a terrific actor but I think he should have directed more. Apparently this film was poorly recieved when it came out and Laughton was so dissapointed that he vowed he would never direct again. Whatever the reason we have The Night Of The Hunter, a fantastic and eerie film. Robert Mitchum stars as religous fanatic who marrier a woman so he can find out from her children where their real father hid a large sum of money. Mitchum was a very odd actor. Unlike most he had an indifference to the hollywood system and those who worked in it.

He was very self deprecating, and critisized many famous actors like John Wayne, and Steve McQueen. He also tends to give a very subdued performance which can sometimes border on being very wooden. Almost as if he is bored by the role. Here though he takes over the screen. He has a terrifying presence that burns with an inner rage. The scenes between him and the kids are especially creepy since a lot of people hate seeing children in peril. If you like a good creepy character based drama then I recommend this. Did I mention the film looks stunning? Not many first time directors can achieve the kind of visual splendor displayed in this film.

The film of the week this time is SAVE THE GREEN PLANET!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354668/

This is a crazy film. It's about a man who thinks his wealthy industrialist boss is an alien in disguise. He tricks his girlfriend into following his disturbing schemes. All the while he does drugs, robs banks to help take care of his mother who is in a coma, raises bee's, and makes mannequins. That should be enough to convince you that this is a really strange film. The story is fairly simple with the main character kidnapping his boss because he thinks he is an alien, but then starts to torture him and the film gets crazier.

The tone shifts from goofy comedy to brutal violence in a way that can be quite abrupt and hard to follow. The plot gets pretty convoluted later on but it is such a strange and crazy film that is has to be seen to be believed. The violence may put you off but trust me it's a real gem.

The film of the week this time is THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068853/

It's sad that most people my age that I know only associate Paul Newman with various jars of a sauces and other culinary delights. He was the kind of actor you don't get much these days. The kind of guy who combined substance with charm better than most. This film is one of his most underrated, however it's not perfect. The plot is fairly simple. A former petty criminal Roy Bean decides to appoint himself the judge of a small town in Texas. The rest of the film is pretty much just Roy Bean being the judge and taking care of various criminals and low lives who wander into town. It's a very odd film because the tone is more satirical than serious yet Newman brings a sense of clas to it.

There are also some odd casting choices like Anthony Perkins as a Methodist minister, and a bizzare cameo by Stacy Keach as the albino bandit Bad Bob. Not much connects the story, which makes it quite fragmented and more like a series of shorts. I don't mind that because the film is quite fun, but some may want a stronger plot thread to hold the film together. There is a also a terribly cheesy musical number for no reason, a bit like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Despie these flaws though it is a lovely and quirky western that stands out thanks to it's sense of humor.

The film of the week this time is BAD BOY BUBBY.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106341/

Bad boy bubby is one of the darkest comedies I can think of. Imagine if David Lynch directed Being There. That kind of describes this film. It's about a man who has lived with his mother for his whole life. She has convinced him that the air outside is poisonous, which tricks him into staying inside for more than 20 years. This whole time she abuses him in various twisted ways. After his estranged father, Bubby is forced into the real world. He finds the outside world strange and can't figure out how to function in society. Nicolas Hope plays Bubby and he is brilliant. Bubby eventually joins with a rock band and begins his journey of self discovey.

This is where the film gets really weird. Once he is outside, a different director of photography was used for each scene, giving them all a unique look. I've never heard of this being done before but it really makes the film stand out. I will warn anyone who wants to see this film, it is very tough to watch at times. It deals with incest, murder, and various other twisted acts. As long as you don't mind a large dose of dark comedy and insanity then you will like this film. It's unique in many ways but it's a fascinating story about alienation and how the world treats someone they don't understand.

The film of the week this time is BABY DOLL.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048973/

Elia Kazan is a fascinating director. Hollywood seems to have mixed feelings about him due to how he sold out many people in the entertainment industry during the red scare. Many talented people were blacklisted because of him, so naturally I can see why some would not be very enthusiastic about watching his films. Baby Doll is one of his that doesn't get a lot of recognition. It was written by the great playwright Tennessee Williams and it's was pretty out there for it's time. That is one of the aspects of Kazan's films that makes them stand out. Many of them were very ahead of their time or they used actors who were either not very well known or were mostly known for playing a certain kind of character. Baby Doll is about about a frustrated older man Archie Lee living in a crumbling Southern plantation. He manages to trick an old man into letting him marry his teenage daughter Baby Doll. She doesn't want him to touch her until she turns 20 and he promises to bring the plantation back to it's former splendor.

One day he burns down his competitor Silva Vaccaro's Cotton Gin and Silva comes to the plantation soon after looking for answers and see's her. This is a film about sexual repression, which got it a lot of bad press and controversy when it came out. It was Eli Wallach's film debut as Silva and he is brilliant. We hate him but he is also oddly compelling. Carrol Baker plays baby doll and she radiates innocence. Apparently Marylin Monroe was meant to play her role, but Kazan wanted a newcomer. We really feel for her as she is constantly surrounded by horrible men and her situation gets more and more desperate. This is actually more of a dark comedy that gets very goofy at times to be honest, which is good because it wouldn't really work as a drama.

The film of the week this time is HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068699/

High Plains drifter is a very dark western. Much darker than most before it. I think it is one of Clint Eastwood's best westerns, but it doesn't seem to get the appreciation of his other more popular films like Unforgiven. When it came out it was critisized by John Wayne who said that "the townspeople did not represent the true spirit of the American pioneer, the spirit that made America great" which to me is a bit of a dumb statement of his. That's why I respect Eastwood more than Wayne. His westerns tend to have a bit more depth than Wayne's. Anyway though, back to the film. The story in Drifter sounds a bit generic at first since it is the typical western setup of a stranger arriving in a town who is soon hired to protect it.

What makes this film stand out is how the people in the town are not good people. They are hiding a grim secret that you find out later. Eastwood's character does some pretty messed up stuff later on too. The film also has some really great atmosphere with the constant feeling of dread mixed with the music. I highly recommend this if you like westerns. It's not a typical one, but it's one of the best of the 70's. It's a shame that not many people seem to know about it. Eastwood also directed it and even know he is clearly influenced by others like Don Siegal, and John Ford he manages to establish his own look and feel without ripping off those who influenced them.

The film of the week this time is PORT OF SHADOWS.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030643/

Lets get back to some arty obscure films. Port of shadows is a fantastic and bleak film that was very ahead of it's time. It's about a military deserter Jean who is hoping to leave on a boat from Le Havre. The city he arrives in however is a dark and morbid place full of violence and dread around every corner. The only true friend Jean has is a small dog he saved from almost being killed. The mood is generally pretty downbeat, so don't watch this if you want to see a nice light romantic comedy. There is romance here, but not the most cheerful kind. Jean eventually meets a woman Neily who unfortunately has two men who love her and don't want to see her leave. This of course creates more tension between her and Jean.

She is constantly surrounded by men who want her, including a gangster. He wants her to leave the city with him, but she isn't as willing as he is hoping. Pretty much everyone else in the film is morally corrupt in some way. You really have to be in the right mood to see this film. If you like dark Noir films then this is the one for you, just don't expect anything nice to happen. It's a tragic masterpiece with some of the best atmosphere I've ever seen. The constant smoke just adds to the dreary mood making escape from the city seem impossible since every road leads to more and more fear and dread.