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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.

2008 in Review

2008 was an interesting year for me. I adopted a little boy, got promoted, joined this Web site as a writer and won the World Series of Poker.

Okay, okay, so maybe I didn't win the world series of poker. I did see a lot of movies that I would never have otherwise seen while writing for this column, and I managed to form some pretty strong opinions that I'm hoping to impress on you, my loyal reader. Readers. Mom too.

Also, writing a year in review piece is a really easy way to pump out a column, and I'm extraordinarily lazy, so this is about perfect. Join me as I rehash...er...take a look back at a number of things that I reviewed this year and highlight some really, good stuff. (And some really horrible dreck as well.)

The best movie I saw all year was Gone Baby Gone. In a year that featured the Dark Knight, WALL-E, Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda, this was literally the best film I watched. It had a stunningly good script and some astonishing performances alongside a truly unsuspected twist. It was topped with an unbelievable moral choice at the end of the film. This is literally the film that I judge all other films by from the moment that I watched it. I don't know how in the hell this only made about $38 million. It's a travesty.

The best movie I saw this year that didn't get a theatrical release was Recount. The movie is a superbly told and acted retelling of one of America's most important political moments. Why this wasn't released into theaters, I have no idea. It was so good, I must have watched it at least a dozen times just to hear the dialogue.

Right behind Recount was another political comedy/drama, Charlie Wilson's war, which was based on the true story of congressman Charlie Wilson's funding of the Afghanistan war. Starring Tom Hanks, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts and written by Aaron Sorkin, how could this film be anything but good? It's truly one of the more enjoyable things I've seen this year.

The one film I should have absolutely loathed, yet completely enjoyed was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I can't stand horror films, and the only thing worse than a horror film to me is a musical, yet Sweeney Todd was a truly entertaining and amusing film that I heartily recommended. Chalk up another masterpiece for Tim Burton and his usual rogues gallery.

One film that appears lost to time is Way of the Gun. This was a surprisingly taut, gritty and effective crime drama that was tense, well scripted and as morally bleak as anything I've ever seen. If you get a chance to watch this one, do so. It's surprising in a number of ways - from the chess match gunfights, to the doublecrosses piled on doublecrosses, to the confusing choice of who you're supposed to cheer for in this vicious little crime film.

So, yeah, I saw a lot of really good films here that seem to have slid under the radar in a big way. I also watched some truly abysmal crap as well. Let me point out a few of the real stinkers so that you can avert your eyes if they ever show up on late night cable wherever you are.

A colossal waste of money and talent? That would be Shoot 'Em Up. I don't know what Clive Owen or Paul Giamatti were doing in this piece of violence porn. I guess phenomenal actors have to pay the rent just like everybody else. In all seriousness, I'd seen better scripted professional wrestling than Shoot 'Em Up.

I also watched one of the only films starring Will Smith that was a complete bomb. Wild Wild West was supposed to be a tribute to the TV show, but was more of a tribute to overacting, horrible scripting and ridiculous plotting. This film will live on in infamy due to the repeated mockings that Kevin Smith has directed at it, but you may still be tempted to watch it. Please don't.

Finally, there was a film I watched this year that was as much fun as eye surgery, and that was Speed Racer. There were any number of things that I hated about this film, from the aneurism inducing coloring, to the over the top hackery disguised as acting, right down to the script and concept aimed at eight-year-olds. But the one thing that put this right into the bury column for me was the monkey. This movie starred a monkey. Prominently.