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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
PURPLE NOON
The closest the screen has come to properly dramatizing THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith
JERKBEAST
“The most insane 83 minutes ever put to film”?
THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD PLANET
The undoubted magnum opus of the late Roman Kachanov, and a highlight of child-based sci-fi animation from the Soviet Union
PHRA ROT-MERI
Another example of an Eastern made film that was a commercial blockbuster in its native land but to Western eyes seems downright Jorodowsky-esque
WINDOW TO PARIS
A wild, nutty and supremely engaging comedic fantasy from Russia
RITUAL
There are some ingeniously nasty elements in this 1988 horrorfest, yet also some misconceived ones, all packed into a vastly overblown framework
DARK MATTER (Blake Crouch)
A fun book–quantum mechanics without pain!
MOONDEATH
The first novel by the late Rick Hautala, and a damn good read
THE CATTLE MUTILATORS
Horror-sci fi about just what the title promises
THE NAUGHTY GIRLS
Not actually a horror novel, but a mainstreamy thriller about a most evil little girl
SHOOTING MIDNIGHT COWBOY
It’s taken 52 years, but we now have a thorough account of MIDNIGHT COWBOY’S making and reception
THE LONG-LOST AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF GEORGES MELIES
Possibly the most important film book of 2020, and one that fills a longtime void in silent film studies
I APPEARED TO THE MADONNA
Contra Mundum Press deserves credit for publishing this, a book whose potential readership is not what anyone would call broad
MY FILMS WITH CARMELO BENE
One of the more pleasantly surprising developments of 2020 was the inrush of attention paid to the work of Italy’s late Carmelo Bene
ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT
Anyone doubting that the early 1990s were a golden age for cinema need only view DAZED AND CONFUSED, or read this oral history
TV Flashback: TÉLÉCHAT
A show that spoofed TV newscasts via a surreal universe of animal newsreaders and sentient objects, warping an entire generation of French youngsters
NOSFERATU at 100
March, 2022 marked a most auspicious anniversary: the centennial of NOSFERATU, EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS
TV Flashback: MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION
Here’s an interesting program, a spin-off of the popular anthology series MASTERS OF HORROR that focuses on science fiction
Sergei Paradjanov and Yuri Ilyenko: A Ukrainian Rhapsody
Sergei Paradjanov and Yuri Ilyenko, Ukraine cinema’s dynamic duo.
Ivan Reitman: 1946-2022
Say what you will about Ivan Reitman, but he knew how to make movies