The film of the week this time is THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062153/

I find the cold war a fascinating era of history. It seems like it was such a strange time for the world, yet it really wasn't that long ago. There are tons of cold war films like Dr. Strangelove, and Fail Safe. This one doesn't seem to get mentioned as much, which is a shame since it is one of the best about that subject. James Coburn stars as Dr. Sidney Schaefer, who has the job of giving the president someone to talk to. He likes the idea of this at first, and see's a lot of honor in it. However, he realizes that his life is actually a lot more lonely than he thinks. His room is bugged by the FBI, and his girlfriend is hired by the CIA.

After a while he starts to go a tad nuts. Coburn is fantastic in the lead role. I find him a bit bland at times, but here it looks like he had a lot of fun with the character. The satire in the film has aged surprisingly well. Sure it's about an era that many don't find relevant in our time, but the paranoia aspect hasn't aged in the slightest. You can really tell it was made in the 60's though by some of the visuals. That doesn't make the film any worse though. I highly recommend this to fans of dark comedy.

The film of the week this time is SALVADOR.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091886/

I have never been able to get into most of Oliver Stone's films. I find they either try to hard to have some kind of message or they are way too visuals over substance like Any Given Sunday, and U Turn. The only films of his I like are Salvador, Platoon, Talk Radio, and Born on the Fourth of July. I haven't seen Wall Street yet though, which some say is very good. What makes Salvador my favorite film of his is that the message never feels forced. The film feels just as angry as his later work like Natural Born Killers, but here it actually feels more justified and engrossing to watch. I find journalism a very interesting subject, especially when it comes to war.

James Woods if great as Rick Boyle, a journalist at the end of his rope and out of work. With nothing else to do, he decides to head to El Salvador to try and find work. James Belushi plays his friend Doctor Rock who at one point busts him out of jail. When Boyle arrives in El Salvador, he tries to get one last shot at greatness by using his contacts to get a press pass. He has an ace photographer friend played by John Savage, and a local woman who loves him which makes this a lot easier. Boyle's character isn't always likeable, and he doesn't always treat his friends with respect.

However, we learn that he was one of the last journalists who stayed behind in Cambodia to help people. Eventually he gets more involved in the events and chaos around him, which is where the film really shines. It brings up topics like how can we trust out media, and is it right or wrong for a journalist to get personally involved in the situation he is supposed to be covering? It's a shame that Oliver Stone doesn't make more films like this. He has a passion that I respect, but he hasn't applied to very well in his films recently other than W.

The film of the week this time is THE DIRTY DOZEN.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061578/

Lee Marvin is one of the the manliest actors ever. He just looks like someone who could beat you up by staring at you. Speaking of badass, this film also has Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, and John Cassavetes. It's an overdose of testosterone. Really that should be enough to convince you to watch the film, but I suppose you probably want to know about a plot of some kind. The Dirty Dozen is about a US Army Major who is assigned to train a dozen convincts to do a mass assassination mission of German officers in WW2. The director of this film Robert Aldrich is quite underrated. He made this, The Longest Yard, Kiss Me Deadly, and a few other films I really like.

What Makes this film so good is the characters. They don't exactly have a lot of depth, but to be fair there are a lot of them. The German assassination mission is the reason these men are together, but the best part of the film to me is how they are forced to unite against American General Staff who want to shut the operation down. Heck their mission isn't really mentioned until later in the film. The men's anti establishment behavior toward the American General staff makes this film very entertaining. It helps that the action scenes later on are very well done, and have aged surprisingly well.

The film of the week this time is LITTLE BIG MAN.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065988/

Little Big Man is one of the most underrated Westerns. It got very good reviews when it came out, but I never see it mentioned among the great Westerns. What sets it apart from other films is it's sense of humor. The story is played out more like a tragic comedy. The film is about an old man, Jack Crabb, looking back on his life. Crabb is played very well by Dustin Hoffman, whose accent does border on ridiculous at times but it fits the film's tone. Jack Crabb is a very interesting character. We learn that he was raised by Indians, and eventually fought with General Custer. I think this is a much better film than Arthur Penn's most famous film Bonnie and Clyde. While that film has a memorable ending, Little Big Man is filled with memorable moments.

The film manages to balance comic moments that parody Western cliches, and more emotional moments with ease. I never felt that the tone of the film was inconsistent. Some films that try to balance comedy and drama end up lessening the impact of both by not doing either well enough. One of the reasons I like this film so much is the recurring characters. Crabb meets a few people who show up throughout the film. Each time we see how their lives have changed and how he is affected by them. I highly recommend this film to people who love a good Western. It might become a favorite of mine eventually.

The film of the week this time is SWORD OF DOOM.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060277/

I love a good Samurai film. Out of the many I have seen, I think Sword of doom is easily the best. It is about a sociopathic samurai who is scheduled for a exhibition match at his fencing school. The wife of an opponent begs him throw the match. I won't spoil what happens for there, but I will say that if you like samurai films, you have to see this. What makes the film interesting is the main character. He is determined to be in a path of self destruction. He only knows the way of the sword. It's all he has ever needed to live, which is why he never shows compassion to anybody. He always wants something to fight for, but because he inevitably destroys anything in his path, there is a sense of tragedy to his character.

We want to hate him because of his destructive nature, but he can't be entirely to blame since that is how he has lived. I like this more than any of Akira Kurosawa's samurai films because I find the story more involving. It's a dark and brutal film, but one I find fascinating because there really isn't another one like it. I highly recommend this film. It was one of the first films that got me into foreign cinema.

The film of the week this time is RIDE WITH THE DEVIL.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134154/

Ride with the devil is a very interesting film. It is about an era of history that not many films these days show, and it is from the perspective of the side that very rarely gets shown in a positive light. Tobey Maguire is very good as is the rest of the cast, even Jewel who does a surprisingly good job. The characters in the film may be fighting for the south, but it's more the idea of their home they are loyal to rather than a particular side. The film is about two men, Jake Roebal, and Jack Bull are friends when the cival war breaks out. Someone close to Jack is killed by union soldiers so he and Jake join the Bushwhackers who are loyal to the south.

One of them is a former slave who is duty bound to the man who bought his freedom. I won't go into the plot too much, but I will say that it involves a love story where Jack falls for a young widow, and Jake's loyalty and honor is tested as people die around him. I highly recommend this film. It wasn't very well reviewed when it came out, but I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind seeing more civil war films. It's an era of history that hasn't been explored much in film recently.

The film of the week this time is DEAD END.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308152/

Dead End is a very weird film. I bought it at a local video shop despite not knowing anything about it. Thankfully my blind buy paid off. Imagine if David Lynch made Mulholland Drive into more of a comedy. It starts off somewhat cliche, and some of the acting is quite hammy. A family are driving down a creepy road that never seems to end. As it goes on their relationships start to unravel, and they encounter many strange things. I won't spoil what they are because that would ruin the surprise, but I will say that if you want to see a truly different horror film that actually tries to do something different then I recommend this. It starts to fall apart later on, and it gets quite predictable but overall I really enjoyed it.

The film of the week this time is INTERMISSION.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332658/

Intermission is a fantasic and underrated film. It showed that Colin Farrell is in fact a good actor in the right role. It is one of those films that has several stories going on at once that come together in the end. When done right this can be great, or it can turn out like Crash. Every story and character has to be equally compelling. Most people have a favorite character from films like this, but there is usually at least one weak point narrative and character wise.

They either rely too much on coincidence, or try to make a point. Intermission is great because each character is interesting. Whether it's Farrell's character and his criminal background, or Colm Meaney and his hilarious ego and having a camera man follow him around to make him look like a tough cop. They all come together in quite a funny way in the end. I highly recommend this film to fans of In Bruges, and other dark comedies.

The film of the week this time is RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089907/

Return of the living dead holds a special place in my memory. It was one of the first films that really freaked me out as a a kid. I remember watching it with my brother, and both of us were saying how stupid it was when it started. Then the god damn tar man appears. I won't ruin the surprise of that delightful creature, but I will say that it is one of the creepiest things I have ever seen in a film. Sure this film is campy and silly, but that tar man will forever freak me out despite how ridiculous he looks. Many would consider this a cult clasic, and I can understand why. It has built up a fanbase over the years since it's release. It has a lot of charm to it because despite how creepy it is at times, it never really takes itself seriously. Not many horror films can mix horror and comedy very well, but this does it perfectly. It also has a fantastic 80's synth soundtrack. That usually annoys me since the 80's overused that to the point where most film scores sounded too similar or just terrible.

Here though it is so catchy, and cheesy that I can't imagine the film without it. Oh and it also has gratuitous nudity, which helps make it memorable. It's funny how you can instantly tell that a film was made in the 80's. It's not just the terrible soundtrack, but visually they have a look that you can usually identify as an 80's film. Some of them, like the amazing Flash Gordon, are so bad they are good. This is actually a surprisingly good film. It's one of the few cult clasics that deserves that status. How do films become cult clasics anyway? Do they have to start small then gradually built a dedicated fanbase? Many would consider the Rocky Horor Picture show a cult clasics, but that has become so popular that it almost isn't anymore. In the end it really doesn't matter what you label a film. Either you enjoy it or you don't. I quite enjoyed this film, which is why you should watch it.

The film of the week this time is MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117110/

Oh the Muppets. I grew up watching this film. It is my favorite Muppets movie to date. It's funny the kind of films you grow up with. There are some you try to avoid seeing when you are older because the idea of them is better than the film itself. This is one of the few exceptions. I can watch this film pretty much anytime and love it. Tim Curry is perfect as Long John Silver and the rest of the cast are great too. People seem to be divided on this film. Many think it relies too much on knowing the Treasure Island story to care about the film. I have never read Treasure Island, yet I still love the film.

Sadly this was made after Jim Henson died, but his son Brian Henson proves more than capable of showing the Muppets still have life in them. I heard that there is a new Muppets film coming soon, but for some reason I don't care to see it. I don't know what can be done with the Muppets to make them any better. But that's just me being cynical. I will probably see it, and who knows I might love it. I might actually see this again. I'm in the mood to watch something that puts me in a good mood.