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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.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

I have read three books (two by Steven Brust, one by Glen Cook) and have seen exactly two films (Swimming with Sharks and The Usual Suspects, both starring Kevin Spacey.) that have sat me bolt upright and had me cursing out loud, usually in shock. I now have three films on that list, and the third is far superior to the first two films. Gone Baby Gone completely destroyed me.

Gone Baby Gone stars Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, Michelle Monoghan as Angie Gennaro, Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle, Ed Harris as Remy Bressant and John Ashton as Nick Poole. It was written by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard and after viewing this film I have COMPLETELY forgiven Ben Affleck for Gigli!

The movie takes place in the seedier section of Boston and begins with the abduction of a little girl. Her mother is best described as a self-absorbed, drug-addled piece of crap with all the parenting skills of a rabid badger. The child's aunt and uncle are actually more involved in the little girl's life than her actual mother and recruit Kenzie and Gennaro to help look for her. Kenzie and Gennaro are skip tracers, and they have never handled anything like this before. They're reluctant to get involved with the case due to their lack of experience and want to defer to the police. However the very concerned aunt and uncle plead with them to take the case and they reluctantly proceed.

That's all I'm going to tell you. If I told you one iota more than that, it would be a disservice to both you and the film. Go buy it and watch it.

This film is brilliantly written and has a marvelous cast. The setting is completely organic to the film and despite its lack of fantastic locations, action or comedy you are sucked into Gone Baby Gone in record time. Kenzie is established as a friendly, easy-going guy with a lot of connections right at the beginning. And the script shows him as someone with the will and the ability to get things done if he has to with a surprisingly tense scene at the very beginning of the movie.

Very little about this film feels forced. The actors feel like real people dealing with a tough situation. The people that wander in and out of their story are like the people you might interact with every day.

That said, this story is told in a compelling, efficient manner. There are no throwaway scenes in this film. If something happens onscreen, it has impact later on in the movie. This is efficient, professional and incredibly skilled filmmaking. There are twists and turns and I guarantee that if you haven't heard about Gone Baby Gone you will not see them coming. M. Night Shamalyan needs to watch this film to see how a twist should actually be done.

Finally, in spite of the stunningly good script and phenomenal cast, the best part about this movie is the choices it gives you. At the very end of this film, Kenzie is given an unbelievably difficult decision to make. To say this decision has severe consequences is the mother of all understatements. It's a life-shattering choice in every way and three weeks after watching this film for the first time I'm still unsure what I would do in his place.

Gone Baby Gone is brutally efficient, uncompromisingly smart and cruelly heartbreaking. It is easily one of the best films I have ever laid eyes upon and it stands as one of the ten best films of all time as far as I am concerned.

This is an absolute masterpiece. It's a work of art and a pure example of just how good film can be. Too often I feel like I throw too much praise at a film, yet Gone Baby Gone leaves me struggling for words to describe just how superb it truly was.

Gone Baby Gone will haunt you. It is just that powerful.