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Hollywood is a machine. Every week, every month and every year countless films are released into theaters 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.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

I know on the outside we at BOP seem like a easygoing if somewhat picky bunch, but appearances are deceiving. Behind the scenes we tend to pick the movies we love and hate and defend those positions with the kind of ferocity reserved for gladiatorial combat and pre-Christmas shopping. Recently I wrote an article on Speed Racer where I showed... let's say a large amount of disdain for the film. There was no physical violence directed at me for that little opinion, but my insurance company would really like to know who set fire to my car. Likewise, David Mumpower recently confided to me that he feels that the Star Wars franchise may be the most ridiculous in movie history. I'd generally be ok with that statement if he had just used the quantifier of ‘Except for the Empire Strikes Back', but he didn't, so now I'm waiting for an opportunity to punch him in the kidney.

You should see the office when a really polarizing film comes down the pike. It's like a less co-coordinated, tone deaf version of West Side Story. Fortunately, there haven't been any fatalities yet, but with Watchmen only a few months away I think there's a good chance it might happen. We're all over the place opinion-wise on that one.

However, every once in a while, a film comes to us so pure, so well-produced, written and acted and paired with such a compelling story that all of us line up and salute. (And not just as an opportunity to punch somebody in the kidney.) Charlie Wilson's War is one of those films. If anybody at BOP has something negative to say about this film, I certainly haven't heard it.

Charlie Wilson's War stars Julia Roberts as Texas socialite Joanne Herring, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the profound yet foulmouthed CIA agent Gust Avrakotos and Hollywood's equivalent of Albert Pujols, Tom Hanks, as Charlie Wilson. It's a more than capable cast.

Yet, with this cast, with this fine, compelling, informative and often funny story, Charlie Wilson's War only made $66 million domestically against a $75 million budget. The worldwide gross topped $111 million to thankfully make this film a slight financial success, but I have to wonder what went wrong. Why didn't more people see this film? Was the subject matter too recent? Was it marketed incorrectly? Are we sick of Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts?

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