TEN BAD DATES WITH DE NIRO

I don't buy many film books these days but here's one I did and if you are lucky and living in England (sorry, Cerpts) you might just pick it up for a pittance in your local Pound Shop. It was the title thatr intrigued me : TEN BAD DATES WITH DE NIRO. Edited by Richard T. Kelly and published in 2007 by Faber and Faber, it is yet another book of Film Lists chosen by a mixture of critics and film luminaries. The roll call includes Anne Bilson, Geoff Andrew, Ian Christie, Ethan and Joel Coen, Mike Cousins, Mike Figgis, Steven Soderburgh, and many more. Where the book scores is in its choice of lists. How can you resist categories like Ten Movie Nightclubs I wish were real, Ten Great Films I've never seen, Ten Awful wigs an actor dared to wear, Ten gratuitous uses of sex and nudity by Paul Verhoeven, Ten gratuitous machine gun frenzies and my particular favourite, The mighty apoplexies of Pacino - Ten scenes where "shouty" Al shows up. Another reason why this book stands out is that they are not bare lists of titles - every entry gets its own explanation and justification. Its the sort of book you can dip into frequently and come out smiling each time, although I admit I read its 460 pages in one long sitting and laughed out loud.