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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
FAMINE ’33
A chronicle of the Holodomor, or Artificial Famine, that afflicted Ukraine in 1932-33, engineered by Stalin to (it’s been claimed) crush Ukrainian resistance to Soviet rule
ROLLING THUNDER
One of the finest action films of ithe seventies, offering up naturalistic drama and brutal action in equal doses
CECIL B. DEMENTED
Far from John Waters’ best work, but funny and perceptive enough in its corrosive portrayal of guerilla filmmaking to warrant a qualified recommendation
A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM
A black comedy whose effectiveness pivots on an unexpected but quite canny casting choice: Michael Caine, playing a New York businessman using highly unorthodox practices to get ahead
AKIRA
This is the 1988 cyberpunk-themed anime feature that, prior to game-changers like GHOST IN THE SHELL and PERFECT BLUE, irrevocably altered the format
THE TORTURE GARDEN
I can sum up the essence of this fin-de-siecle classic in two words: Ecstatic Delirium
THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER
The first novel by Ramsey Campbell, and a mixed bag
THRILLING MURDER COMICS
An underground comic in which S. Clay Wilson, R. Crumb, Kim Deitch and others turned away from their standard choice of subject matter—sex and drugs—to focus on a new taboo: murder
BITCH
A sexier, druggier variant on THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR
MAKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM!
A moldy oldie from the 1960s science fiction market (and the basis for the 1973 film SOYLENT GREEN)
HITS, FLOPS, AND OTHER ILLUSIONS
In which a high-profile film director and TV producer recounts his “Fortysomething Years in Hollywood”
EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD AGAINST ALL
The long-in-coming memoir by the German filmmaker and sometime actor Werner Herzog
HOW LUCKY I WAS: MY LIFE AND TIMES
The self-published autobiography of a writer, professional poker player and teacher who once counted yours-truly among his pupils
PAUL BARTEL: THE LIFE AND FILMS
A solid, if not entirely satisfying, overview of the life and output of the late Paul Bartel
TIME, A FALCONER: A STUDY OF SARBAN
The first and only book devoted to the life and literary output of England’s John W. Wall, a.k.a. Sarban
Ukrainian Horror Essentials
Compiling a list of Ukrainian horror movies, much less essential Ukrainian horror movies, is no easy task…
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST at 20
Does anyone remember THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? It’s not discussed much these days, but the film was quite the hot potato back in ’04
Welcome Home to the Faustian Penitentiary, Away from Emma Mae and the Street Wars
About the late blaxploitaiton auteur Jamaa Fanaka, who combined urban grit and sheer weirdness
Norman Jewison: 1926-2024
Eulogizing “Canada’s greatest director”
David J. Skal: 1952-2024
The January 1, 2024 demise of David John Skal, whose car was struck by a drunk driver in Glendale, CA, started off 2024 on a tragic note