Desuko Movie Spot.

Metapost: What’s Next?

Desuko. — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:00:23 +0000

And with yesterday’s bonus shot of “2012,” the Movie-A-Day experiment is over. The year’s worth of movie recommendations steered me in directions I didn’t necessarily expect going in, but it was interesting nonetheless. Now it’s time to steer the blog back on course somewhat.

The Movie-A-Day project started as a way to deal with a case of writer’s block/blogging burnout, and it helped get me through the former, if not necessarily the latter. (Dealing with burnout by escalating the blog’s updates from weekly to daily? Yeah, not a solid plan.) Now it’s time to bring the focus of the Movie Spot back to where it should be, on the actual movie reviews.

When this blog started back in 2006, I kept up a thrice-weekly posting schedule. That eventually slowed down to twice a week, then finally once a week in the months before the Movie-A-Day series kicked off. But after five years of doing this blog and more than 13 years of blogging in general, it feels like time to slow it down a little bit. At least temporarily.

(Side note: This reminds me that I never did a big fifth anniversary post. I’ll have to remedy that soon, even if it winds up being belated.)

But don’t worry! The Desuko Movie Spot isn’t going away by any means. I still plan to post reviews, but they just won’t be on a regular schedule. I’ll try to post as often as inspiration and my offline commitments allow me to, but don’t be surprised to see weeks go by between updates. Just keep this site in your bookmarks or RSS feed so that you don’t miss the updates when they do happen.

To my newer readers who started following the Movie Spot for the daily updates, I apologize for bailing out on you. But feel free to spend some time in the review archive, which contains more than 300 reviews, many of which I’m quite proud of.

I should also remind you that just because I’m slowing down here for now, that doesn’t mean you can’t find me elsewhere online. I will continue to be a regular contributor to PCL LinkDump, and you can also follow the Movie Spot on Twitter, which I’m going to try to use a little more often. I’ve also become addicted to Tumblr, so you can check out Desuko’s Junk Drawer for a steady stream of pop cultural minutia – not all of it film related – and my newest addition, Earwormology, for a look at my never-ending internal soundtrack.

So thanks to all of you for your continued support and readership, and I hope you’ll stick around for what comes next. Stay tuned.

Filed under: metapost

Movie-A-Day #366: 2012 (2009).

Desuko. — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:00:15 +0000

Happy New Year’s, and welcome to the brave new world of 2012. The Mayans claim that this year will bring the end of world, and Roland Emmerich agrees, so you know it has to be true! Enjoy your hangover and your parade and your bowl games while you can.

Filed under: 2000s, camp, disaster, movie-a-day 2012

Movie-A-Day #365: Strange Days (1995).

Desuko. — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:18 +0000

Happy New Year’s Eve! Don’t bother ringing out the old year with the new Garry Marshall directed twaddle at the local multiplex. Instead go for “Strange Days” and spend your last day of 2011 with Angela Bassett kicking ass, Juliette Lewis channeling P.J. Harvey and Ralph Fiennes tracking down memory recording technology at the end of the millennium, all under the direction of Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow. It’s time to party like it’s 1999 indeed.

Filed under: 1990s, action, movie-a-day 2011, sci-fi

Movie-A-Day #364: Footloose (1984).

Desuko. — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:00:51 +0000

Today is Bacon Day! It’s time to celebrate everyone’s favorite fried pork treat in all its forms. But why not spend the day with Kevin Bacon too? So pop up a bowl of bacon-flavored popcorn and enjoy “Footloose” on an endless loop.

Filed under: 1980s, drama, movie-a-day 2011, musical, teen movies

Movie-A-Day #363: Black Sunday (1960).

Desuko. — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:00:42 +0000

The gorgeous horror queen Barbara Steele turns 74 today. Mario Bava’s “Black Sunday” catches her at her prime in a dual role as a vengeful undead witch and her beautiful descendant.

Filed under: 1960s, b-movies, eurotrash, horror, movie-a-day 2011

Movie-A-Day #362: X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (1963).

Desuko. — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:00:58 +0000

On this date in 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen published his first groundbreaking scientific paper about his accidental discovery of x-rays. His work would go on to start revolutions in both physics and medicine. And, of course, to provide inspiration for the world of science fiction, like Roger Corman’s whacked-out but completely scientifically impossible
“X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes.”

Filed under: 1960s, b-movies, movie-a-day 2011, sci-fi

Movie-A-Day #361: Morocco (1930).

Desuko. — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:00:33 +0000

Happy birthday to Marlene Dietrich, who was born 110 years ago today. “Morocco” – with its turgid love story between a cabaret singer (Dietrich) and a French Legionnaire (Gary Cooper) – may not be the best of her films, but her gender bending tuxedo musical number is rightfully iconic.

Filed under: 1930s, drama, movie-a-day 2011, romance

Movie-A-Day #360: Raging Bull (1980).

Desuko. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:00:10 +0000

Happy Boxing Day! Yes, I know this quaintly Anglo holiday has nothing to do with pugilism, but I can’t help being a sucker for a bad pun.

Filed under: 1980s, drama, movie-a-day 2011, sports

Movie-A-Day #359: Die Hard (1988).

Desuko. — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:00:23 +0000

Yipee-ki-yay and Merry Christmas, motherfuckers! And why did I pick “Die Hard” for this year’s Christmas movie over another, more popular holiday staple? That’s just the way I roll, homies.

Filed under: 1980s, action, holiday, movie-a-day 2011

Movie-A-Day #358: Go (1999).

Desuko. — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:00:03 +0000

In Doug Liman’s under-rated and under-seen “Go,” a simple Christmas Eve drug deal goes elaborately haywire, necessitating a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The ensemble cast, led by Sarah Polley and Katie Holmes, features a lot of characters who get affected in a lot of different ways, so the film repeats the caper from three different points of view to get it all. Here’s hoping your Christmas Eve is a little less manic.

Filed under: 1990s, comedy, heist/caper, holiday, indie, movie-a-day 2011