A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. A much-needed overview not just of the filmmaker, but of his enduring cultural impact.” Read any critical piece on Albert Brooks and you’ll invariably encounter descriptors like “underappreciated” or “overlooked.” But what is meant, exactly, by such labels? After all, two of his films […]
The Houses That Hooper Built – American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. An artist who found ways to mine his obsessions late into his fraught career. Those who agree will find American Twilight indispensable.” With George A. Romero garnering posthumous accolades, thanks to the release of his long lost The Amusement Park (1973), now is an […]
Shoot and Shoot Again – Any Gun Can Play: The Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns (2nd Ed.)
A Book Review by Tony Williams. By using “Euro-Westerns” Grant reveals his respect for the genre, his refusal to acquiesce in previous terminology and his dedication to writing what is the most definite study of the genre it has ever received.” Although European Westerns and their Mexican counterparts influenced the […]
“It’s All Cinema” – Consuming Images: Film Art and the American Television Commercial
A Book Review by Matthew Sorrento. A wonderful overview of commercial history that introduces an emerging field in film studies, one sure to inspire further study….” It’s rare to find an introductory text on a truly emerging or ignored film studies topic. Many intro texts repackage established research to offer an alternative […]
The Perks of Being a Chameleon – Eye of the Taika: New Zealand Comedy and the Films of Taika Waititi
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. Matthew Bannister’s goal [is] to go beyond merely celebrating/adoring its subject. Cheeky title notwithstanding, this book is no puff piece.” I’d only seen two Taika Waititi films – What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – before picking up Matthew […]
Lessons from a Master – Hayao Miyazaki (DelMonico Books)
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. Like the exhibition itself, the publication is first and foremost a celebration of the singular writer-director.” My first Hayao Miyazaki film – 1989’s Kiki’s Delivery Service – was like nothing I’d (wrongly) come to expect from animation: by turns contemplative and silly, wistful and innocent, it felt closer in spirit […]