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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
TIGER IN THE KITCHEN AND OTHER STRANGE STORIES
A collection that contains one rarely reprinted masterpiece, “Child’s Play,” that by itself nearly renders the book a must-buy
CAGE OF NIGHT
A stellar release from the late White Wolf Publishing, who could always be counted on to turn out invigorating genre fare
THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES
About Roger Corman, his 1967 film THE TRIP, and the real-life acid trip he allegedly took
MANY DEAD THINGS: THE SPECIMENS OF LORD MERRYLIN
A deranged MD collects mythological creatures, represented by three dimensional sculptures. Neat!
STAR
A dark and idiosyncratic look at the dream factory, drafted in a highly dense and poetic style (“Explosively Hilarious” it isn’t)
IT DOESN’T SUCK: SHOWGIRLS
Here we have a wholehearted defense of SHOWGIRLS, director Paul Verhoeven’s notorious 1995 hymn to stripper life
OVER MY DEAD BODY
This heavily illustrated overview of “The Sensational Age of The American Paperback” is hardly the definitive book on the subject
DIRECTOR’S CUT
This isn’t the greatest movie director memoir I’ve ever read, but it is a vital one
MUDDLED MIND: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF EDWARD D. WOOD, JR.
A most welcome volume, due to the fact that MUDDLED MIND was the first book devoted to the writings of the inimitable Edward D. Wood, Jr.
CINEMA ALCHEMIST
This is a vital acquisition for all true film buffs, a memoir by a legendary set decorator about his work on STAR WARS and ALIEN
E-Books, Astrologers, Ocean Parks, Buried Treasure and SURVIVOR
The decline of print media is a subject that in the post-Coronavirus era has taken on a new relevance
1985: The Year in Bedlam
It makes sense that, in what is universally acknowledged as the worst-ever decade for film, the midpoint of that decade marks its low point
On TIGER KING and Lucky Documentarians
A bonafide phenomenon, TIGER KING enjoyed a 25 day ranking as Netflix’s number one show, and the reasons for its popularity aren’t difficult to figure out
Brian De Palma’s Films, Ranked
Here we pay homage to one of screen’s pre-eminent visual stylists and most irrepressible troublemakers
Disease Movies: An Informal History
With the advent of 2020 the disease movie has taken on an entirely new resonance