Video Watchdog's Video WatchBlog What Am I Reading? Maitland McDonagh's MOVIE LUST: RECOMMENDED VIEWING FOR EVERY MOOD, MOMENT, AND REASON (Sasquatch Books, 290 pp., $16.95) is a clever, personality-driven overview of all kinds of movies, bracketed according to theme or creator or raison d'etre. The idea is to know yourself, to isolate your yearnings or symptoms, and pick the movie that's just what the doctor ordered. Before you can say "popcorn," allow me to fine-tune that remark to "popcorn drenched in dark, decadent, velvety-smooth chocolate with a soupçon of pepper, a headiness of hashish, and an aftertaste of lipstick." MOVIE LUST is a book as much for lovers of language as for film hipsters; most every paragraph is like a carefully-crafted bon-bon that can be quickly sucked down to a rich bon mot center. The book opens with a fascinating autobiographic sketch (I actually wished it was a good deal longer) detailing how Maitland became interested, engrossed, and finally obsessed with movies, nailing down a viewpoint that guides us through the observations to come like a steady compass. "If Pauline Kael lost it at the movies, I found it," she writes — and maybe she did; much of this book channels the high-spirited candor and color one associates with the best of Kael's writing. And, truth be told, I agree with Maitland more often. Don't judge this book by its cover, which looks like a remote control ad designed by the agency that services Westinghouse appliances. This is a clever approach, a sophisticated piece of work, and an engaging testimonial to the author's omniverous appetite for anything moving at 24 frames per second. —Tim Lucas (Aug. 24, 2006) New York Press Movie Lust Written by: Maitland McDonagh Publisher: Sasquatch Books If you're a cinemaniac (or want to impress one), Maitland McDonagh's compendium of movie stories satiates that constant craving. The collection of 90-plus short essays and a dozen director profiles by erudite and witty Maitland McDonagh — who's known to a wide range of fans as TVGuide.com's Flick Chick — draw upon her encyclopedic knowledge and a genuine passion for the movies to deliver the goods on classic cinema. McDonagh covers a comprehensive compilation of genres and sub-genres, including adventures in space; beach scenes; horror and haunt; anime and 'toons; Shakespeare derivatives; flicks featuring dogs, werewolves or starlets; and those with plots revolving around stage doors, cocktail hours or telephone connections. McDonagh's discerning list of "landmark" movies — stretching from 1917’s Quo Vadis? to 1977’s Star Wars—traces the changing face of cinema, while her selection of featured directors—ranging from Pedro Almodóvar to Peter Weir — spotlights its highlights. Her style's so light and breezy, it's easy to overlook the depth of McDonagh's insights, as she generously reveals personal associations with specific films ("we all have those moments when movies express exactly what we’re going through or carry us as far away from our circumstances as possible"). Movie Lust is a book to be referenced repeatedly. You’re guaranteed to get a clearer picture of the movies every time you turn a page. —Jennifer Merin (Jan. 3, 2007) Library Journal Xpress Reviews: First Look at New Books One wouldn't think that Wong Kar-Wai's steamy In the Mood for Love would have anything in common with the sci-fi horror classic Invaders from Mars, but according to McDonagh, TVGuide.com's FlickChick and senior movie editor, they both share haunting photography filmed in evocative hues. This is only one idiosyncratic pairing in this third installment in the "Lust" series, which began with Nancy Pearl's Book Lust. There are 100 categories of movie recommendations, some straightforward (Back to the Beach for beach movies), some clever (Shrink-Wrapped for movies featuring psychiatrists and their patients), and some downright obscure (Joy of Giallo for flamboyantly violent Italian thrillers from the 1960s and 1970s). Recent films like Crash and Walk the Line also make the cut with witty but trenchant justifications for inclusion. "Director Spotlights" are also offered. Alfred Hitchcock and Preston Sturges are featured, but so are Henri-George Clouzot (Diabolique) and Francois Ozon (Under the Sand). This is not just for filmophiles — this is a reminder of many of the films we loved and might want to see again. And it's a darn fun read, too! Highly recommended. —Rosellen Brewer (Sept. 1, 2006) The Journal Register's DailyLocal.com Falling in "Movie Lust" Maitland McDonagh came of age prowling the grind houses of Times Square to feed her horror movie addiction. It gave McDonagh, the FlickChick at TVGuide.com, a taste for the risky and eccentric, and made her the ideal choice to author "Movie Lust" (Sasquatch), a quirky film guide — molded after "Book Lust" and "Music Lust" — which recommends more than 1,300 cinematic experiences broken into 100 eclectic categories. Like police drama? McDonagh suggests locking down with the more alluring dirty cops of "Training Day," corrupt and corpulent sheriff Orson Welles in the border town gem "Touch of Evil" and tormented Al Pacino in "Insomnia." Need a good cry? While she embraces usual suspect "Casablanca," McDonagh tosses in a surprise, the overlooked apocalyptic romance "Miracle Mile." Only McDonagh would celebrate Italian thrillers, called ''gialli''. She then focuses on such overlooked gems as the baroque slasher film "Tenebrae" and the macabre, steamy and long forgotten whodunit "What Have You Done to Solange?" There are fairy tales for adults, including the Hansel and Gretel inspired shocker "Who Slew Auntie Roo?" (with batty Shelley Winters!) and Little Red Riding Hood rehabs "Freeway" and "The Company of Wolves;" oddball road trips like David Lynch's surprisingly gentle "The Straight Story" and the Aussie "Rear Window" on wheels "Road Games;" and what McDonagh calls Lesbian Movies for Guys. The "appeal is scenes, not themes," she writes, particularly when a "name" actress is in the mix. With that in mind, she offers Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly in the cult noir "Bound," Ellen Barkin and Peta Wilson in the psychosexual detective steamer "Mercy," and Jane March and Lesley Ann Warren in Richard Rush's once badly cut, now restored (but is it any better?) "Color of Night." — David J. Foster (Nov. 13, 2006) New York Newsday Books: What's New MOVIE LUST: Recommended Viewing for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, by Maitland McDonagh (Sasquatch, $16.95) Overwhelmed by the infinite possibilities on Netflix or at the local Blockbuster? TVGuide.com's Flick Chick has grouped some of her favorite films by theme: "Harvey" and "Sideways" fall under Lush Life; Man's Best Friend spotlights everything from "Lassie Come Home" to "Amores Perros." — (Sept. 10, 2006) Seattle Times 2006 Gift Guide Stage books: Comedy and Science, Loss, Lust and Love Former Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl started a whole new franchise, with her "Book Lust" guide to seductive (in a literary sense) tomes. Now the same Seattle publishing house has issued this quirky bible of cinematic favorites by TVGuide.com film critic McDonagh. Her goal: to recommend films "for every mood, moment and reason." Well, it's not as comprehensive as all that. (There are no suggested movies, for example, to wax your car by.) Hyperbole aside, McDonagh has highly eclectic tastes. And her tips stray way beyond the obvious to embrace some intriguing obscurities. Take, for instance, the horror flick "Short Night of the Glass Dolls," which gets "high-water marks (for) sheer bizarreness" from her. Or consider "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains" featuring the young Diane Lane and Laura Dern as teen punk rockers. McDonagh's prose is breezy and fun, though her categories are not all mood-related. One of the wackiest: the "Hanging on the Telephone" chapter, which groups the frothy Doris Day comedy "Pillow Talk" with the intense Barbara Stanwyck thriller, "Sorry, Wrong Number." No matter — when you want an alphabetized movie guide, go to Leonard Maltin. If you want to be led enjoyably astray, try "Movie Lust." — Misha Berson (Dec. 4, 2006) Politics & Prose Recommendations I like books like Movie Lust. They’re easy to pick up and put down, and you learn something — in this case about film. McDonagh is Flick Chick for TVGuide.com. This guide uses fun categories like Anime for Dummies, Horse Sense and Truths Universally Acknowledged. Scoop Dreams lists movies about journalists and includes All the President's Men and His Girl Friday but also Defense of the Realm and Ace in the Hole. There is also a director’s spotlight that features work by Pedro Almodovar, Peter Weir, and Preston Sturges, among others. It’s great to see movies like Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt included as well as a one I’ve always loved called Seven Days in May. It’s a great resource to have as you sit down at the computer to order your next film online or head out to the video store. — Deb Morris