Mockumentaries and found footage

A film that made dry humour incredibly popular. I'm certain the Simpsons wouldn't exist without this film. Smart, well written with great characters, awesome music and very, very funny. Seriously, this movie kicks my ass.

A classic look at mondo filmmaking and a damning criticism of the media manipulating the "news" they report. Oh, and a great horror film as well.

I remember going to see a special screening of this and really enjoying it, while maybe being a tad cynical. However, the images and scenes from the film did not go away. in fact, scenes like babies crying outside tents, childrens' handprints on the walls and victims crying in the distance haunted me more once the movie was over. The whole mythology was excellent, and the ending is an absolute knockout. I think people were resistant going into the movie, the same way I would be going on a scary rollercoaster, not letting themselves get too into it, standing back and viewing it like a voyeur. In fact, I would think the idea of telling a horror story in first person, with the camera just recording the horror, making the audience more of a participant than a usual horror film would work more, but in the theater I was in people immediately started complaining. What film did they think they were going to see?

The true follow up to Spinal Tap. Great in so many respects. I love how Guest shows the egos and celebrity of small town theater. Funny as hell, and the songs are very catchy...kinda irratating, they don't really get out of your head, but I guess that's good.
CORKY!

Horrifying and hilarious mockumentary about a film crew following around a murderer. Still the best of the genre, it veers between being highly watchable to gut wrenching horror to pure vileness in the course of a couple scenes. If you like your films disturbing and haven't seen this one, do yourself a favour and go rent the Criterion DVD. It's uncut and includes both the infamous scenes.

Astonishing. Bunuel messes with the documentary with very entertaining and surreal results. One of my favorite directors of all time.

Great songs and a funny and disturbing story. Robbins best attempt at directing, some may complain that it is too politically motivated, but I don't think Robbins was trying to conceal that fact. Some people just complain and complain and complain and complain and complain.

Albert Brooks can just look into the camera and I crack up. Here he is at his best, doing a reality show (far ahead of it's time) on Charles Grodin's family. Brook's ego demands that he take center stage (shades of Michael Moore?) and he winds up distorting the reality of what he is filming. Very prophetic along with being very, very funny.
"The house is really burning!"

Peter Jackson does a perfect job telling the story of a filmmaker who rivals Erich Von Stroheim and D.W. Griffith in the epic department. Though I find it did get a little too audacious (would a movie with that much of a budget and so many extras really be forgotten?) it still played very well. Plus, I knew it wasn't true when I watched it, so I could nitpick.

Brilliant! Expertly done take on the monster movie, mixed with a downbeat docudrama of a very unhappy man. I've heard some mention the slow pace as a criticism, but I thought it was perfect in setting the mood for the whole piece. I enjoyed the camera following the lead to the power factory on his motorcycle (with a beautiful score) as much as I loved the fight once he "powered up". I loved the interviews as much as I loved the ludicrous monsters. Hell, I just loved it. Touches of black humour (the scene with his daughter) do elicit laughs, without interrupting the downbeat drama aspect of the film. Simply fantastic. And oh what an ending.
I'm anxiously awaiting the director's next film, the guy is an incredible talent.

You put a giant rampaging monster in your movie = you get my money.
Excellent, kind of a mix of Miracle Mile, Blair Witch and Godzilla. If you like your rampaging giant monster movies there is really no reason not to see this in the theater. Except talkers of course, damned talkers.
Just as an addendum, I'm getting a little perturbed by everyone saying that Cloverfield will revive the giant monster movie genre. The Host already did that, I'm sure that's partially why Cloverfield exists.

Great, slow burn horror film about a bunch of young adults staying in an isolated cottage to win a contest. Their every move is being recorded for the internet and if someone leaves, they all lose. I thought the film was pretty good on first viewing, but it's on of those rare films that the more I see it the more I love it.

Very funny follow up to Waiting for Guffman, thought those are pretty huge shoes to fill. Still, big laughs and very endearing characters.

One of the first Woody Allen films I ever saw. Haven't seen it in a very long time, but I still remember being very impressed with the filmmaking and story.

Wernor Herzog, coward. Zak Penn, hero. That's all you need to know. A great look at one man's courage.

Possibly a bit too smart for it's own good and a little late on the draw of being a post-modern slasher film, Behind the Mask is still a good time that wears it's heart on it's sleeve. A sleeve covered in blood!

Another great Japanese ghost story. This one is really creepy, using the 1st person style of storytelling. First rate pacing and some images that will stay with you.

A great improvement over the mediocre Fragiles and a return to form for director Balaguero (that's right, I loved Darkness. Take that so called "horror fans"). Good characters, great action and horror and an excellent ending that makes the film feel more cultural as a Spanish film, which was an interesting take on the zombie genre. The whole cinema verite shooting works really well and adds a whole other element that Zombie Diaries and Diary of the Dead completely missed. An excellent film and I look quite forward to the remake by the director himself.

Almost 3 years after hearing about how good this film was, being told it was being shelved to make way for a remake and then finding out it's getting a tiny, tiny release, I finally got to see it. Though it will inevitably be compared to Blair Witch I found it much closer in tone and spirit to The Collingswood Story and Ghostwatch, both of which I enjoyed tremendously. Unfortunately with PA, I had been looking forward to it so much and for so long I was expecting a masterpiece and what I saw was "only" a very good film. There isn't really anything (I should discuss anyway) that I had any problem with, and I would consider it a must see for anyone who enjoys any of the previously mentioned films.

Hilarious. One of the first mockumentaries I saw years after Spinal Tap, so it was bound to stand in it's shadow. Years after, now that there are mockumentaries coming out all the time I'm certain this could be looked upon more favourably. Still, a very funny look into a big budget disaster.

"I don't care about the size of breasts as long as they're enormous". Very funny parody by good ole Buck Henry. Much in the vein of Everything you wanted to know about sex...but were afraid to ask.

Very funny look at 2 Canadian headbangers. FUBAR!

Decent first person film with interesting performances. Sort of the Blair Witch version of Joshua.

The film Blair Witch apparently ripped off (when it's not being accused of ripping off Cannibal Holocaust). This is fairly entertaining with a few creepy moments. Worth a watch.

Decent, slow burn, creepy stalker flick. Probably scarier for females than males, the way it tells the story through hidden cameras (planted by the stalker) is reminiscent of My Little Eye. Plus, there's a couple shots where Colin Hanks looks the spittin' image of his daddy.

Decent Man Bites Dog update. The killer isn't as charismatic as MBD's, but the same satiric edge is there. Worth watching if only to compare the two.

This movie is terrible until the pretty cool ending. We spend close to an hour with totally unlikable characters before anything of real importance happens (and I know the characters in Cannibal Holocaust are unlikable too, but at least they were evil along with being assholes), but when the payoff comes, it's pretty satisfying. Director Hensleigh made the same mistake with his Punisher film, showing way, way too much horseshit before getting to the meat of the movie (wow, seriously, that pun was not intended) and losing half the audience. It's okay if you're developing story or characters, but this is just padding, and annoying padding at that. I wish padding were more like Pad Thai, I love Pad Thai. Nevertheless, I don't remember any Jungle Cannibal movies that I dislike and I would hate to break that record, hell I even liked the awful Cannibal Terror. Until the cannibal genre is run into the dirt along with it's kin the zombie film, I shall still watch, and probably love and cherish, every cannibal opus to be released. Have I mentioned Pad Thai? I love it.

A movie about a Japanese game show where contenders have to survive being stalked by insane murderers. Kind of a Running Man meets Friday the 13th. And it's Canadian!

Decent Canadian film about a television show whose goal is for the contenders to kill off one another. Unfortunately it becomes too comedic by the end, but all in all it's a decent watch.

I didn't know whether audiences would ever see this one. I remember it being advertised over a year ago, then disappearing completely. Maybe it would have worked better back then, though I doubt it.
A fake documentary on a brilliant serial killer who is always several steps ahead of the authorities is interesting, but not engrossing. I was waiting for some kind of revelation, some new development that would make it go beyond just a make believe serial killer, but it wasn't to come. It was rather disappointing that I had to view the torture and deaths and then in the end, there was really nothing to them. Just, "Boy is this serial killer ever smart". Whoop-de-do. Still, it's well made and as long as your hopes aren't high it's moderately entertaining, though not one of the better serial killer mockumentaries.

This movie makes the mistake of making the film about characters rather than using a formulaic plot, and then doesn't ever really develop them. I was constantly forgetting who was who and the people I did recognize, I really never knew that much about. Too bad, being the first to essentially rip off the Z War novel could've given them a much cooler place in zombie cinema history.

Not as big a fan of this one as most people seem to be. In fact, I didn't really care at all about what I was watching and if it wasn't for the shock ending it wouldn't be very memorable at all.

If you were to get a phone call telling you that your most loved person on the face of the planet was dying from ebola, and by the way, you have aids, that would be funnier than this film. A look at a film shoot going wrong that seems like it was written by someone very new to film. Nothing is that funny, and character's reactions to potentially humourous situations dispel any attempt at comedy. Really seems like someone's student film.

I'm certain I saw this, but I'll be damned if I can remember anything about it.

Laugh...paint drying...chuckle....more paint drying...laugh...is it dry yet? Borat stretched out to 85 mins really overstays his welcome. Sure there are a couple of laughs, but the overall story is so boring and the jokes become repetitive. Like a dirty version of Yakov Shmirnoff. Plus I find there is a certain amount of smugness and superiority Cohen feels towards the other people. For example, I never once bought he was "really" Borat (the character) so when he broke a bunch of stuff in an antique store I was thinking more, "What an asshole" than finding it funny. Tom Green and The Jackass crew seem to be having fun, even when poking fun, Cohen really just seems like an asshole in this film.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this film would be so terrible. Romero uses the whole cinema vérité gimmick to the worst effect I've ever seen. There is nothing at all natural about the actors let alone even slightly realistic. I did not believe I was watching anything but a movie during the whole film, and a bad movie at that. Preachy, pretentious with an unlikable cast of characters that Romero actually expects you to like. I'm a huge Romero fan, I even loved Land (which everyone to my surprise hates), seeing it as Romero finally bringing his original "Day" script to life with an all adult cast doing things people would really do and fun social commentary and gore. This is trash Romero thinks audiences want to see after Lands failure. Awful and since my disappointment is so massive this is easily the worst film of 2007. A better title would have been Diarrhea of the Dead.