A Dark and Comedic Mix of Michael Shayne
596291
Like the other Shayne films I've seen - those released in the boxset enigmatically called, Michael Shayne Mysteries Volume 1 (Hey 20th Century Fox! Where's volume 2?!), Dressed to Kill is a fast paced murder mystery full of humor and action. Micheal Shayne is about to finally get married to long time girlfriend and showgirl, Joanne La Marr (Mary Beth Hughes), only to be interrupted by a blood-curdling scream which sucks Mike willingly back into the detective business (only to make some dough for his new bride-to-be, of course).  There's plenty of humor, twists and turns, and mysterious passages to follow, as Mike tries to solve a bizarre double murder that may have it's roots burried deep in the dark past of a theater production troop, most of whom are dead and burried.  A+ for Micheal Shayne fans.

The quality of the print used is very nice; the blacks are deep and vivid; there appears to be almost no print damage or age-related grain; the audio is perfect.  Recommended big time.
2866022
Michael Pitre is an Iraq war veteran, and his firsthand experience with war comes through in his dark humor and suspenseful writing.  Fives and Twenty Fives is a close look at the role of the United States on the world stage and the cost bore by our service men and women.  The narration is supplemented with official records and letters between the main characters of the story, which adds dimension.

The story revolves around Dodge, the Iraqi translator with a penchant for gangsta-rap, Pete Donovan who is having difficulty adjusting to life back home and Doc, who turned to his medic supplies after witnessing a traumatic event.

Fives and Twenty Fives will go on my shelf next to The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and One Hundred and One Nights by Benjamin Bucholz
580365
Mike Judge has a great eye for characters and dark comedy, and while this isn't as memorable as Office Space, it has a similar quirkiness to the characterization that gives his movies the Judge Trademark. The casting couldn't be better - Jason Bateman and J K Simmons are hilarious while Mila Kunis is a very believable gold-digging vixen out to score off Bateman's company. Neither as unique as Office Space nor as caustic as Idiocracy, Extract is an amusing collection of bad decisions by flawed characters that's still more entertaining than the vast amount of Hollywood fluff in the last few years.
4230165
If you liked the 2008 film Trick r Treat odds are you will enjoy this,its got a dark comedy to it and all of the stories are unique. I was pretty satisfied with it overall,as was my brother who watched with me and hes not generally a fan of films like this.
3490216
Condon knows how to put together an ensemble of characters for a fun and engaging comedy exploring the modern nature of relationships.

His peculiar mix of optimistic misanthropy brings a realism to his characters and credibility to the story telling.

It's a light read, taking the audience on a journey reminiscent of a Preston Sturges or Howard Hawks comedy. That means I recommend it.
825258
I was very hestitent to see "Death to Smoochy" at first after all the awful reviews I had read.  But I love dark comedies, so I thought I mine as well just go with an open mind.  I do not regret going.
  This movie, about the dark side of childrens entertainment, is funny as hell and I think that Danny Devito is really growing on me as a director.  Robin Williams is excellent in it as Rainbow Randolph, a drunken childrens show host that has been fired for taking paola.  Williams really shines in this role and gives one of his funniest film performances since Terry Gilliams "The Fisher King".  Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors, and he is great in this as a happy go-lucky barney wannabe.
  Now let's get back to the funny as hell remark.  The comedy isn't for everybody.  It's not that gross out comedy nor is it a laugh a minute comedy.  It's just a flat out good comedy, which I think have been running in short supply theese days.
  I was very suprised that I liked this movie so much, I mean I've hated just about everything hollywood has put out in the last 10 years.  So go with an open mind, and enjoy.
709756
I admit, the idea of a psychotic princess is what led me to pick this book up and while I might have been expecting something else, I'm glad to have discovered an author who writes in a style I enjoy.

This is a dark and clever take on sword and sorcery. Our hero is an illiterate peasant who happened to get luckyor unlucky as the case may beand managed to kill a dragon and win the hand of the princess. Yeah, things go south from there.

There's a whole lot of dark humor throughout this tale, which I thoroughly appreciated, and an ending that I must admit, I did not see coming. If you're at least a little twisted in your fantasy preferences, I highly recommend this.
1014631
Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning, and an all-star cast star in the darkly comic and genuinely funny film about a suburban family who has a thirst for  difference.
Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an unhappy-chappy who  decides to quit his job, blackmail his boss, smoke marijuana, and pursue  his daughter's friend, Mena Suvari.
Annette Benning is his real estate  agent wife who is so frustrated with her job and Lester's outlandish  behavior that she begins an extra-marital affair with her hardest  competition, Peter Gallagher.
Their daughter, palyed by Thora Birch is a  desperate teenager who hates her irrational parents, and begins a romance  with her next door neighbour, Wes Bently that could change her  life.
Those are the Burnhams, and surrounding them is an insane world  that they all despise.
AMERICAN BEAUTY is a beauty of a film, that will  leave you astonished at it's power, and black comedy mixed in with sad  drama.
Even though the film is mostly a comedy, smart viewers (who happen  to be the only people I would reccomend this movie to) will g\find that  during all the comedy, there is a deep feeling of despair (and great acting  and directing)
American Beauty has few flaws, but is not for people who  have prejiduces against homo-sexuality, not-too-bright-folks, and anyone  who doesn't like this movie, has something else about them that causes  their dis-like for this wonderful motion picture.
3016348
This is a dark, dark comedy.  Or maybe it's a really funny tragedy.  At any rate, it is clear that the author is familiar with medieval Scandinavian literature, because the "Voyage" is reminiscent of the extant literature of the period: blood soaked, sardonic, morally ambiguous.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book is.
1824775
The was one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.  There were quite a few awkward chuckling moments, but a ton of hilarious, quick-witted dialog delivered extremely well by the actors involved.  I love dark comedy, and I feel like this movie was dark enough to suite my tastes, but not so dark that I felt uncomfortable, which is a fine line.  This isn't a laugh-out-loud movie (though I did laugh audibly), but more of a "He he" movie (if that makes sense)...  I haven't seen/read the play, so I can't comment on how closely it matched or if it was what I expected, but I do want to see it performed now!!

Parker Posey does an amazing job as "Jackie-O" in this movie - it would have been pretty easy to be drastically over-the-top in this role, but Posey goes just over-the-top enough to play the role to a T.  I thought Freddie Prince Jr. and Tori Spelling did a great job as well.  Their roles didn't lend themselves to be done "well" (in a thespian sort of way), but they didn't take themselves too seriously, which made the characters funny.  It was great to see them branch out.
626958
This is an example of what the term "dark comedy" means.  On the surface it deals with a serious topic but underneath it shows that even death can be funny
2243263
Christian Bale turns in a great performance in this disturbing yet darkly comic tale of an 80's yuppie with a bloodlust as strong as his self obsession. The movie serves as a time capsule to the 80's and the materialism that consumed American culture at the time. There are scenes in this movie that made me laugh my a## off. For lovers of dark humor and social commentary. Highly recommed for sensible viewers.
4264985
Thomas Awkward Dante lives a life that very few people would envy. The disgraced fire elemental spends his days drinking alcohol laced with magic and trying to fly under the radar of the mystical powers that be.  A murder covered up with fire at Awkwards home bar, the Lost and Found, throws him back into the world of supernatural sleuthing, and hell have to use every bit of his knowledge of Mystixology (the art of casting spells with booze) to stay out of the clutches of the multiple groups who want to make him person of interest number one.

Awkward on the Rocks is Marcel Feldmars third novel, and its a fun blend of humor, noir, and magic.  Readers who enjoy paranormal reads including whimsy, self-deprecating naval gazing, action, and lots and lots of alcoholic beverages will find plenty of catnip throughout the 300-plus pages.  Feldmar presents a dark story with just enough of a twist to be highly entertaining, and, fortunately, Awkward knows himself well enough to not imagine he is playing a Humphrey Bogart character.

The cast of characters in Awkward on the Rocks grows exponentially throughout the novel, but the plot falters if Awkward doesnt work for the reader.  I found our protagonist entertaining and wonderfully flawed, so even though Ive never been accused of covering up a murder with my allegedly throttled magical abilities, I identified with him and cared about his survival.  Awkwards understanding of how he had failed in the past and accepting his role in those failures aroused sympathy in me.  I genuinely wanted to see him master something and move forward successfully.

Given the noir flair to the novel, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of women in the cast (well, femalestheyre not all strictlyhuman) and that they didn't all attempt to play femme fatale.  Mori, Awkwards barista friend with the ability to know what he might need in a pinch, especially intrigued me, and I might consider reading a book focusing on her adventures. (Hint hint.)  None of the ladies existed solely to provide context to Awkward, and each possesses powers and/or abilities that makes her a force to be reckoned in the world of Mystixology.

I started reading Awkward on the Rocks and ripped through the story within a few weeks (I have to sleep and work, unfortunately.), because it spoke to something inside of me that craved a booze-fueled adventure of a magic user on the run.  Even as the threads of the mystery began weaving together, I just wanted to spend more time with Awkward and his world, and I needed to know how everything would end up.  If the mixture of alcohol, magic, noir, and adventure sounds intoxicating to you, pick up this book!  It won't even cost you a piece of your soul.

5 Gigantic Snakes Smashing Cars out of 5
1229632
My husband I introduced me to Double Dead, which I didn't expect to like as much as I do. Wendig manages to write gritty, violent urban fantasy that is full of darkness (hell, demons, monsters, arcane gods, goblins, and zombie vampires) and is laugh-out-loud funny all at the same time. Rubbing blue on your forehead, or blazing, allows you to see the actual monsters in our midst. Blue is an ore from hell, and there are others that can do much more, like possibly avert death. Organized criminals, monsters, and drugs. A winning combination!
380112
Starring Nicolas Cage as a Ukrainian immigrant who becomes a gun runner, this is what I would call a "black comedy" on a serious subject.  It's funny, fast-paced and interesting.  And  it's almost embarrassing to identify with the smooth talking and risk taking arms dealer whose business results in death and destruction.  Jared Leto is cast as Cage's younger brother and the two of them make a good team.  There's love interest, of course, played by Bridget Moynahan, the wife that Cage tries to keep in the dark about his real profession.

The settings are Brooklyn, the Ukraine and parts of Africa and Nicholas Cage is at home in these places.  He's witty, self-confident and likable.  And the audience cannot help but feel some empathy with him.

There's something about this film that reeks of bad taste.  But so what?  It's enjoyable, and it pokes fun at a profession that we all know exists.  I enjoyed it and recommend it although it's not for the squeamish.
2044954
Jason has a secret, in the form of a body buried in his yard.  He knows this secret because he put the body there.  What he does not know is that this is one of three bodies buried on his property.  When the other two bodies are unearthed and identified, Jason panics.  This panic, coupled with the twisted story behind the other two bodies, and the curiosity of a detective, lead to a night full of bad timing, mishaps, and surprising interactions.

When a book starts out with a dead body buried in the yard, you know you are in for a ride.  From the beginning, the reader is privy to the fact that Jason has killed someone, yet I would still classify this book as a mystery.  Why did Jason kill this person?  Who are the other bodies?  Why were they killed?  And what will happen to these killers?  Lots of mysterious questions to be answered.  However, there is a lot of dark humor in this book as well.  The last third of the book is full of some of the darkest slapstick situations I have ever read, and I loved every minute of it.  The ridiculous nature of those pages is what kept me rocketing toward the book's conclusion.

I very much enjoyed Jason as a character, despite the fact that we know he is a killer up front.  After learning the back story behind his actions, I could not help but empathize with him a bit.  There are a lot of other characters that are important to the story, but none so well developed as Jason.  I really enjoyed some of the odder characters, and their interactions with each other.  There was a lot of ambiguity to the characters and the story.

This was a very unique story, and a fantastic first novel.  It has me excited to see where this author will go in the future.  The book will appeal to fans of stories full of mystery and suspense, but also fans of dark humor as well.

I received a review copy courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2597935
This movie is an acid trip wrapped in a meth hangover.  It's not for the faint of heart but those that enjoy dark humor and wicked characters will get a kick out of it.  Possible cult status awaits.