I will still do film of the week though. I think it's best to focus on that.

The film of the week this time is THE COLLECTOR.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059043/

The Collector is one of the best films of the 60's. It stars Terence Stamp as a lonely Lepidoperist aka man who studies butterfiles who kidnaps a woman played by Samantha Eggar. He doesn't want to hurt her though. He just likes her company. He has had a crush on her since he was a teenager. There isn't a lot of plot is this one, but it is so damn good because of the two main actors. Stamp's character is almost sympathetic because he just wants to connect to someone for the first time in his life, and Samantha Eggar is equally brilliant. The way they play off each other works perfectly.

This was directed by the great William Wyler, who is a director that more people should know of. The man has never made a bad film. Everything I have seen of his is worth seeing, yet I never see his name mentioned as one of the greats. Even by today's standards, this film is pretty disturbing. Other than Peeping Tom, and Psycho I can't think of many films around that time that stood out as much for how disturbing they are. I can almost see this being a play since it is only two main characters. The book by John Fowles is worth reading too.

The album of the week this time is...

AMBULANCE LTD- NEW ENGLISH EP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLfX9Jw359o&feature=related

I rarely ever buy EPs, but this is an exception. Ambulance LTD are a band from New York that released 2 EPs and an LP. Sadly, they are not around any more. Their EP's are actually better than their one studio album. What makes this album is how homemade it feels. The songs are damn good too, but it has a lovely sound that manages to feel more genuine, without sacrificing audio quality. It is one of the only EP's where all the songs are good. The studio album of theirs suffers from having mostly bland, and generic songs but this avoids that. Sure it doesn't sound too unique, but what does these days? If you want a solid rock album that has consistantly good songs then get this. It mixes genres like Jazz, country, pop, and some psychedelia. All that with just 7 tracks. Shame they didn't last longer.

The film of the week this time is NETWORK.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/

I will not write too much about Network since it is very late and I have to get some sleep because I have to be up in 4. What makes Network so great is how it seems to get better with age. Satire is tough to write because even if it is sharp, and timely it can seem quite dated very soon. Even the best satire films have parts that seem dated. Network actually seemed to predict how crazy the news would become in later years. In a way the film is better these days because of how accurate it was. People like Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly are creepily similar to the Howard Beale character in Network. I'm afraid I must sleep now. I must apologize for this brief one, but I promise I will write more next time. If you want to see one of the best satires ever, then see Network.

The album of the week is...

PHANTOGRAM- EYELID MOVIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvSgLHWR16o

There is a small chance that I won't be able to do these much longer depending on various circumstances I won't expand on. That I why I will be doing some slightly more obscure albums for a bit. Or maybe I won't, to be honest it depends on my mood. I might forget and post a Beatles album next week. What makes this album stand out to me this week is how it somewhat changes my mind about electronic music. For the most part I find electronic music pretty bland. Even the bigger artists like Daft Punk tend to bore me after a while. I'm not saying it doesn't take talent, but I just find it monotonous.

This album counts as electronic, but it also mixes in other genres in a very odd way. Most of the time it works well too, except for the occasional bland track thanks to the male singer. His vocals don't really add much unfortunately. Other than that though I recommend it. I like it because it has a slightly dreamy sound that stands out from the crowd.

The film of the week this time is ANIMAL HOUSE.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/

Animal House is one of those films that many have tried to imitate over the years. It is still the best comedy about college. I have no idea how accurate it is to how college life is, but it's a damn movie so who cares? Let's get the obvious out of the way first. John Belushi as Bluto is one of the funniest film characters ever. Everything from his facial expressions to the way he delivers his lines makes me laugh. A lot of comedies don't age well over the years. Satire especially tends to date very fast since it can make fun of something that people cared about at the time.

This is one of the few comedies that has aged very well over the years. Heck I actually find it funnier now since I see so many comedies that try to do what Animal House did years ago. The film is low brow with it's humor, but for some reason it never feels insulting to our intelligence.The characters are one dimensional, but they are written so damn well that it doesn't matter. Even the gross out humor like the famous zit scene makes me laugh quite a bit, and I don't tend to go for gross out humor. This is a bit of a safe choice for film of the week, but I was also in the mood for something light. Just because I love a good indie or foreign film, doesn't mean I can't enjoy something goofy and fun.

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

THE ZOMBIES- ODYSSEY AND ORACLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaZANBaF_0Q&playnext=1&list=PLA6AF70EBEAD4E395

This is one of those albums that many people don't know, but just as many have heard the songs from it without realizing who it is. A lot of great bands from the 60's have been forgotten. The Zombies are not exactly unknown, but they certainly don't get the recognition that The Beatles get. This is pop at it's best. These days it seems that people go out of their way to avoid pop music. Many people I know call The Beatles a glorified boy band. In some ways they are right. However that doesn't make this a bad album. I love it because despite it's radio friendly sound, and simple instrumentals, it finds a way to hook me.

I'm not sure what it is, but something about this album stands out more than most albums from the 60's. It's hummable, but not cheesy. Melancholy, but not too dreary. There is nothing wrong with a great pop album. The term has been distorted by people today, but there was a time when the popular bands put out good music. Then again what is good music? People hate on mainstream music today, but it still remains popular despite that. I don't personally like most of it, but I won't ignore it's existance. Anyway I will end this now before I start ranting. If you like The Beatles, and other 60's pop bands like them then you should get this album.

The film of the week this time is BURIED.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462758/

Buried is one of the best and most underrated films of 2010. Sure it got a lot of good reviews, but people seemed to forget about it. What makes it so damn good is how it mixes it's technical acievement of having the majority of the film shot in a coffin, with a really engrossing story. I have never liked Ryan Reynolds much, but here he is fantastic. His character goes through a huge variety of emotions as he tries to get to grips with his situation.In a way this film is almost like a radio play. It could almost have been adapted to that format since most of it is Reynold's character talking to various people on the phone, which is how the story moves forward as we find out why he was put in this coffin.

Some may find it tough to watch because of the close quarters of the setting, but I still recommend checking it out. I liked how it didn't even show who was on the other end of his phone when he was talking to them. The film builds suspense brilliantly with just dialogue. Tension and suspense are hard to do well, especially in a damn coffin. Ryan Reynolds manages to make his character interesting enough to watch for the whole film, which is good since the whole film relies on us wanting to watch him. If you want to watch a good thriller, and dont mind the coffin part then I suggest watching this.

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

THROWING MUSES- RED HEAVEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfUPKNmxFk0

Throwing Muses were one of the best and most underrated bands of the 80's, and 90's. Unfortunatley their name appears to have been forgotten. Well, maybe forgotten isn't the right word. They were quite popular among fans of Alternative rock, but mainstream wise I don't hear their name mentioned much. Red Heaven is an interesting album of theirs. Most people would mention The Real Ramona, which is another great one of theirs. What makes this album better to me is how it feels a lot more like a rock album. Some critisize it for being a poorly disguised solo album of the lead singer Kristen Hersh, but to me it is their most consistent work.

They had a band member called Tanya Donelly who co founded the band. She was not part of the band when this was recorded, but not having her around actually makes the album more focused. She contributed a lot of great work to the band before, but once she left she started another fantastic and underrated band called The Breeders. This album mixes the brilliant, and somewhat surreal songwriting of Kristin Hersh with their usual alternative rock sound. I highly recommend checking out this group and all their other albums. People sometimes the 80's a crappy era with nothing but cheesy synth pop, but this group and many others I will surely mention later show that the decade had it's fair share of great bands.

The film of the week this time is THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105121/

I think Wes Craven is a very overrated director. This is one of the few films of his I like. It is a surprisingly good horror/comedy about a group a boy and two adults who break into a house that is owned by a brother and sister who keep children under their stairs. What makes this film stand out a bit more than Craven's other films is how it almost seems like a dark fairy tale at times. Many critics dismissed it when it came out, but I personally think it is one of Wes Craven's best. The main kid is a bit annoying at times, but not enough to make the film too much worse.

The fairy tale aspect is a bit odd. The main kid, whose name is fool, tries to break into this house to steal money so his family can pay the rent. While in the house also has to try and save a girl Alice. I highly recommend it if you want to watch a good horror comedy. It isn't a great film, but I quite liked it. I would say more, but it's tough to without spoiling it. I will say though that if you like the idea of a film that mixes Home Alone, The Goonies, and Texas Chainsaw massacre then see this. I know that sounds like an odd combo, but trust me, it's worth seeing.