The Movie Log

01/02/2013: American Mary [2012]

So, it's been a long few months since I've taken the time to write something, which is a real shame. Every time I watched a fantastic movie and felt inspired I didn't take the time then, and didn't find it later. But, after watching American Mary, I remembered how much it thrilled me when the Twisted Twins themselves read and commented on my review, ironically about how much my thrilled them. So Ladies, here it goes.


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The List of Things I Liked in 2012 Part 3

Mr. Darko's Favourite 5 6 T.V. Shows of 2012

As usual I watched a lot of T.V. this year including a couple entire shows that I had missed over the years. However this is the list of the best 6 T.V. shows currently airing that I excitedly waited to watch each week and I can't wait for the next season.


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The List of Things I Liked in 2012 Part 2

Mr. Darko's Favourite 6 Indie, Low-Budget, Whatever else of 2012

 This list consists of all the things I didn't consider a big blockbuster that came out this year, but that doesn't mean they are below any of the movies on part 1. I just didn't want to have to mix these movies together into one big list as I felt that certain things would get left out that shouldn't. That's also why this list got extended to 6 as well. Below are the 6 movies that you likely didn't see this year, due to a limited or non-existent release but are definitely worth the trouble to seek them out.


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The List of Things I Liked in 2012 Part 1

So after a longer than planned hiatus I have returned to blogging for the new year and will start by wrapping up the last year of movies. I remember having some difficulty making up my list for 2011, and whether I just didn't see much or there wasn't much to see I can say I enjoyed 2012 a tremendous amount more. While I didn't get to see everything I would have liked to, I saw a lot and was very pleased with what both Hollywood and the rest of the world turned out. So here is my list of my favourite 5 blockbusters, favourite 5 indie movies and my favourite T.V. shows from this year.

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I'm Back! Soon.

Just thought I'd give you an update on when you can expect some new things. For those of you who waited patiently, thanks. Do to a trying month at work I wasn't able to write much, but I did however continue to squeeze in a movie or two every so often. Actually, it was a total of about 30 movies over the last month since I posted. Since some of them (or most) were movies I think everyone should be aware of, I'll be doing a couple of summary posts with a small bit on each, which I hope to start rolling out in a week or so.

Below is what to expect. Let me know if you want me to cover anything specifically with more than a paragraph be it your favourite movie or something you are thinking of seeing.



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007 Favourite Bond Films

In preparation for the coming release of Skyfall, I spent most of last weekend watching my way through the last five decades of James Bond movies. It has been quite a year for James Bond with 2012 marking the 50th year since Dr. No was released in 1962. While I had intended to watch a couple of Bond films a month since the summer, I only made it through the first four, and so in a last minute rush I piled through a total of 6 this weekend, (one per actor), in preparation. Instead of reviewing them all, I'll instead list the top seven films in the series.

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09/11/2012: Skyfall [2012]

Skyfall marks Bonds return after a 4 year wait since Quantum of Solace, and what a return it is as Skyfall resurrects Bond to the top of his game. There should be no debate, as Skyfall is sure to please both Bond fans and newcomers alike with it's exciting action sequences, beautiful cinematography, and its return to both the feeling of a classic Bond movie and a more modern and gritty take. 


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20/10/2012: Killer Joe [2011]

I just finished watching Killer Joe, a film that has been dividing audiences as it made it's quiet way around festivals and a limited release, being praised by some and disgusting others. However I don't think William Friedkin gives a damn whether you like it and I think Tom Bonnington put it best when he said Killer Joe "not only disregards Hollywood?s current blandness but shoves its greasy, poultry goodness down the throats of an audience not ready to consume this neo?noir masterpiece. Yet."


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15/10/2012: City of the Living Dead [1980]

The month of October is almost over and Halloween is fast approaching. As always this means that I watch even more horror movies than usual, bringing out some old favourites and discovering new ones. This October has definitely been one full of Lucio Fulci, with City of the Living Dead marking the third movie of his I've seen just over the last couple months. The more I see, the more I love his work, and City of the Living Dead has me craving more.

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14/10/2012: Vampire Circus [1972]

I'm clearly not adverse to old movies, seeing as I spent the last dozen or so movies traveling through some highlights (and lowlights) of the 70's, I had not until today seen any Hammer Horror. Now, for many horror fans, Hammer Horror represents a golden age of horror; when Christopher Lee played Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster roamed the world. For some reason, I had never ventured to this period in horror, but it seems like a movie promising both vampires and a circus was just what I needed to get there.

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13/10/2012: Soylent Green [1973]

Charlton Heston, you must pick roles specifically based on the memorable ending lines. After leaving such an impact on cinema as Taylor in Planet of the Apes, Heston returns to another dystopian envisioning of earth, a world with just as dark a secret as the Planet of the Apes. While Soylent Green may not be the widely famed classic Planet of the Apes is, I don't think anyone who watches it will ever forget the ending.

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Top 5 Movies by the Splat Pack

In time for Halloween comes my list of the top five movies from the Splat Pack. The unofficial group of filmmakers who have created some of the scariest and bloodiest horror movies of the last decade, bring the current horror genre back to a state where it can rival the golden ages of violent, boundary pushing horror long gone. Check these out if you're looking for something more current to check out this Halloween.

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13/10/2012: Hell (Bright) [2011]

One of my favourite genres of film is post-apocalyptic and I'm always keeping an eye out for new films in the genre. Sometime a couple weeks ago I read about a German movie titled Hell, which is German for Bright, a movie where, in 2016 the earth's temperature has risen by 10 °C. The movie follows the journey of a group of survivors who are trying to make their way across the wasteland in search of... well, anything.


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08/10/2012: Dawn of the Dead [1978]

This weekend I got around to re-watching one of the most exciting and terrifying social commentaries ever made, George A. Romero's satirical film about consumerism. With an epidemic of zombies rising from the grave and society as we know it collapsing, four people seek refuge in an abandoned mall as they try to survive against the living and the living dead alike.

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06/10/2012: Death Race 2000 [1975]

Why is it all dystopian fiction seems to set itself only about 25 to 50 years in the future? Do they really imagine that such radical change will happen that rapidly? I for one hope not, and I can safely say we are not any closer to the dystopian world of Death Race 2000 than we were back in 1975. Yet, it still remains a very entertaining movie that can still make you think about society and many of the questions it raised are still relevant today. So maybe they just got the date wrong.

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30/09/2012: Tombs of the Blind Dead (La Noche Del Terror Ciego) [1972]

While perusing my local independent rental store the other day, I happened across a copy of Tombs of the Blind Dead an intriguing Spanish documentary about the handmade mannequin industry in the 70's. The movie follows the story of hard working Bet, as she meets an old friend and decides to take a vacation and head out into the beautiful countryside by train. Along with a dramatic retelling of Bet's life, we get the world's first view inside the mannequin industry that dominated Spain in the 70's.

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16/09/2012: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [1977]

"A long time ago" in our galaxy, George Lucas changed cinema and the world forever. Could I get a more cliched opening than that?  But as cliched as it might be, the statement remains true today as pop culture has never been the same since Star Wars was released back in 1977 and so, I will play the 10 hour loop of the Mos Eisley Cantina song as I tell what you should already know, and maybe a few interesting facts you didn't.

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15/09/2012: Thriller: A Cruel Picture (They Call Her One Eye) [1974]

Well, it warns you right in the title and this Swedish exploitation film is merciless in it's cruelty, and as it also states, has no limits to evil as we watch the disturbing story of Frigga unfold. This was the first half of my Saturday night double feature, after which I had to watch Star Wars for a much happier change of pace, but even that however will probably never erase some of the images Thriller burned into my retinas. Thriller is one rape and revenge story you won't forget, and as underground as it might be, it's influences are still visible in the mainstream today.

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14/09/2012: A Fistful of Dollars [1964]

Westerns are one genre I have watched very little of. I've seen a few but in general I have little knowledge of the genre beyond visuals of cowboys and gun fights. So, in order to correct this and broaden my film knowledge I figured I should check out a healthy slice of westerns. I have however decided that that slice will be the Spaghetti Western sub-genre, and what better way than to start at the beginning of it all with Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars.

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28/09/2012: Looper [2012]

Looper was steadily holding my mild interest for a while now, until it premiered at TIFF and the reviews started rolling in. The ratings held very strong, and the reviews raved and so I decided I would see Looper opening night, already worried the movie wouldn't live up to my expectations. However, Looper met them in everyway, and has probably just snatched itself a place in my top movies of the year. So, how did Looper successfully close the loop?

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09/09/2012: Father's Day [2011]

I was extremely excited the other day when I got my copy of Father's Day in the mail. The film has spent the last year screening at festivals and events, but like any low-budget, "tasteless" and extreme grindhouse films it never received a wide enough theatrical release for me to see it. Tonight I got my chance, as I watched Astron-6 make a movie truly worthy of the grindhouse and with Troma Entertainment behind them there were no limits.

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07/09/2012: Zombi 2 [1979]

Zombi 2 is the film that put Italian horror master Lucio Fulci on the map, widely regarded as his greatest film, Zombi 2 went far beyond being just an attempt to cash in on the success of Dawn of the Dead and made the man a well known horror icon. In honour of everyone's favourite holiday, Shark Week, and the start of my month or two dedicated to watching the filmography of Fulci, I decided to end the one and start the other with the only movie to contain a zombie shark fight. I'd say it is rather fitting.

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25/08/2012: Porky's [1982]

Porky's is the original raunchy teen sex comedy, the movie that starts with morning wood and ends with cherry popping. Released in 1982, Pork's predates the movie many see as the start of the sub-genre of teen sex comedies, American Pie and in my opinion Porky's is actually superior to American Pie.



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30/08/2012: Iron Sky [2012]

When I first watched a trailer for a movie called Iron Sky in which the Nazis had hidden on the dark side of the moon sine 1945  I'm not sure what I thought. It was an intriguing concept, and the trailer had a lavish display of special effects, but I just added it to my watchlist and figured it would be just another sci-fi comedy B-movie I might one day get around to seeing. After watching it, I would say that Iron Sky is at the forefront of a new era in cinema, where original independent movies should be able to easily compete with and dominate any large budget Hollywood CGI fun-fests.


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18/08/2012: The Five-Year Engagement [2012]

Remember two days ago when I asked "what two names would make me watch a rom-com?" Didn't take long to find out. The Five-Year Engagement has a lot of things going for it. The two stars are some of my current favourite comedians, relative newcomers Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. Also the trailers looked promising and things seemed about as original as they could get.This time, it wasn't a disappointing let down.

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