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Hollywood is a machine. Every week, every month and every year countless films are released into theatres and not every one is as successful as the studio heads would hope. Sometimes the publicity machine was askew, sometimes the movie targeted an odd demographic, sometimes the release was steamrolled by a much larger movie and occasionally the movie is flat out bad.

But Hollywood's loss is our gain. There is a veritable treasure trove of film out there that you may not have seen. I will be your guide to this veritable wilderness of unwatched film. It will be my job to steer you towards the action, adventure, drama and comedy that may have eluded you, and at the same time, steer you away from some truly unwatchable dreck.

Hopefully we'll stumble across some entertainment that may have slid under your radar. Wish us luck.

Snatch (2000)

Snatch was released in 2000 and was directed by Mr. Madonna... err... Guy Ritchie. It starred Vinnie Jones, Dennis Farina, Jason Statham and the always surprising Brad Pitt. It's an eclectic movie, well known for some truly funny and amazing dialogue, some very bizarre little plot twists and some of the strangest characterizations that have ever graced the movie screen.

It's a stellar example of talent and determination surpassing budget. The movie was made for only $10 million, and it grossed over $30 million in the United States alone. That doesn't include the worldwide gross or the DVD sales which most likely tripled the actual gross.

Guy Ritchie used this stellar success to springboard his directorial career and get engaged to and marry Madonna. Of course, this led to the filming of Swept Away, a crime for which the UN seeks his extradition to this day. Despite that unforgiveable crime against humanity, Snatch is a sterling example of an overlooked film that is aging incredibly well.

Snatch's entire plot revolves around a stolen diamond and a fixed fight. That's it. The two main stories wrap around and compliment each other very nicely as it brings into contact one of the most motley, weirdest crews of characters you've ever seen. There's a band of low level thugs teamed up with a pawnshop owner looking to score the diamond by any inept means possible. There's a hardened enforcer hired by one of the principals who had bullets that were literally shot into him removed and turned into his front teeth. There's a mob boss named Bricktop who makes Hannibal Lecter look kind and compassionate. And then there's Brad Pitt playing a Piker, which is apparently slang for an Irish gypsy.

I think Pitt's character is the best in the entire film, and that's saying something. He has a ton of dialogue, but Pitt plays his role with such ridiculous abandon that you're unable to interpret even a tenth of the things that he says. He also has one of the funnier scenes in the entire movie, as he agrees to partake in a test fight with a much larger and supposedly tougher man, then spends the first three minutes warming up while the man whales away on him. It's a terrifically funny scene that goes from hilarious to shocking to downright tense in about a tenth of a second.

One of the other strengths of this film is the way Ritchie plays with your head as you're watching things happen. He has you giggling one second and wincing the next, cheering for someone one moment and then cursing them out a moment later. It's as if he's strapped you into an emotional rollercoaster and then walked away from the controls to get a sandwich. It's a little manipulative, but it certainly keeps you invested in what's on the screen.

The movie races along like that pretty much from the word go, weaving intricate plots in and among each other, balancing them out with humor, excellent dialogue and some really vicious violence. It's a crime film like nothing else I've seen. Despite the fact that Ritchie takes this entire movie and wraps it up so neatly that he may as well have put a bow on it, you as the viewer won't really mind at all.

If there's any real criticism to be had, it's that Ritchie leaves you with literally no choices to make. The bad guys really are the bad guys, and they deserve their completely horrible fates. The good guys clearly are the good guys, and Ritchie literally goes out of his way to reward them for everything they endured in the previous 90 minutes. There's nothing vague about any character in this film. They don't really make any hard choices or grow; instead, they just react to what's happening. That's kind of a shame. Because with this cast and director, it's almost akin to taking a fine cut of Prime Rib and grinding it into a hamburger patty. It's still one amazingly good meal, but you do feel like you might have missed out on something better.

That's pretty much the best way to grade this film. It's not great, but it is really good. And nowadays I think we should take all the "Really Goods!" we can get.