Thoughtful reviews, the Boulder film scene

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Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee's complex, intricate look at race relations in Bed-Stuy NY. —Marty Mapes (review...)

" My cardinal trait is generosity "
— Katrin Cartlidge, Career Girls

MRQE Top Critic

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Why do certain critics love trash and trash the movies you love? Maybe it’s because they were dropped on their heads as infants. Maybe it’s their upbringing. Or maybe it’s purely a matter of bad genes.

We’ve invited our writers to introduce themselves so that perhaps you can get a better insight into their unfathomable minds.

Who are you?

John Adams writes about animation and graphics
John Adams writes about animation and graphics

John A. Adams

What are your writing credentials?

Same as the next guy’s.

What are your movie credentials?

See above.

Why should anyone listen to your opinion?

There’s a pretty good chance that it’s different from yours.

Movie pet peeves?

Ignorant and ill mannered audiences, soulless films.

Do you have any non-movie habits?

Painting, Cartooning, Astronomy, and History (both Natural and Human),

Give us some movie recommendations.

Yakov Protazanov’s Aelita Queen of Mars. The 1920’s Futurist sets and costumes alone are worth the price of admission. The secondary story of life in Civil War Russia is simply a bonus.

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

AA/fuel dragsters going all out, especally at night. If you have ever seen/heard/felt this, you know what I’m talking about.... then there’s the one about filling out forms.... boy do I like to do that heh heh heh.

  • Lina: Dear John, I have watched the movie "Stalin's bride", and i loved the music at the start of the movie, but cannot seem to find the name of the song or who it is by, ive tried all kinds of ways to find it, and still nothing! please please tell me who it is by and the name! Thank you so so much for taking the time, i hope you have better luck at it than me! Lina May 15, 2008 reply
  • John Adams: Lina,
    As near as I can tell, the music at the beginning of STALIN'S BRIDE was written by Jörg Schoch (possibly for the film?). It has a sort of CHARIOTS OF FIRE feel to it and the hammered dulcimer is certainly appropriate for a Hungarian made film though I wonder if it's as right for a Russian subject. Maybe it should have been a balalaika ? Nice chart in any case.
    John May 16, 2008 reply