Here I am, wedged in between a guide to 21st Century Sex-Ethics and a study on the film Artificial Intelligence. I am okay with that.
Adams, Michael. Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic’s Year-Long Quest To Find the Worst Movie Ever Made. It: HarperCollins. Jan. 2010. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-06-180629-2. pap. $13.99. FILM
Adams, a professional Australian movie critic, challenged himself to watch a bad movie every day for a year in an effort to find the worst movie ever made. He ponders the important and sometimes subtle differences between bad, bad-bad, and good-bad as he mines the pits of the movie industry. He considers a variety of subgenres including big-budget flops, sequels, “Gorilla Cinema,” “Teen Troubles,” and star vehicles. His wife, kid, and career wander in and out of the story, but it is the incredulous plot descriptions, background information, and occasional interviews with directors and actors that make the book.
Verdict A foreword by George A. Romero grants bad-movie legitimacy, but without an index or even list of the 365 movies (so we can skip right to the good stuff), this book loses usefulness as a reference. Recommended for movie fans—even fans of good movies.—Lani Smith, Ohone Coll. Lib., Newark, CA
