Yesterday I received an advance copy of the June issue of SIGHT & SOUND (Vol 17 No 6), and it's a great one. In addition to their usual international film reviews and features, they have devoted eleven full-color pages to grindhouse cinema: Nick James on the Rodriguez/Tarantino double-feature, Mike Atkinson pursuing a workable definition of the term through various examples, Tony Rayns on his memories of Anthony Balch and the UK grindhouse experience, Ben Hervey on the new Samuel L. Jackson/Christina Ricci flick BLACK SNAKE MOAN, and then there's my three-page article selecting ten prime examples of grindhouse fare (everything from THE ABDUCTORS to GIRLS AT THE GYNECOLOGIST to SS HELL CAMP). My list not only gets a mention on the cover, but it got a mention in Nick's editorial which is an even tougher score to make. Plus the issue has my "NoZone" review of Alain Robbe-Grillet's LE BELLE CAPTIVE. In short, I think this is an issue of SIGHT & SOUND you'll want to check out.
Earlier today, John Charles and I finished the final read-through of our next issue, VIDEO WATCHDOG 131, and Donna's in the next room right now getting it ready to be sent to the printer. This was a rigorous issue to put together; all the pieces weren't quite in place when we needed them, and it was also a bear to edit and proofread. Our feature article is a lengthy, groundbreaking piece about Greek fantastic cinema by Dimitris Koliodimos, and it brought John and I into contact with films and words and names and geography we've never had to deal with before! That said, reading the final text of this issue was deeply satisfying to me. I always feel good about our issues, because they're fun and smart and informative, but occasionally one comes along that also feels substantial. This is one of those, and I suspect it's one of our best. In fact, a short time ago, Donna showed me the finished cover for the issue and... hoo boy... front, back and inside, it looks like money. This may be the classiest-looking cover we've ever had. Splendid work by Charlie and Donna. You'll see what I mean soon: we'll be posting a new "Coming Soon" page on the website in the next day or so.
I'm excited to be back at work on a monthly.
