A primary premise of this book was that the advent of the DVD made these rare but brilliant films accessible to all of us; now, streaming makes their availability even more of a possibility! ( )

A combination of Roger Ebert's illness and a new appreciation for National Public Radio has introduced me to a movie review/critic whose opinions and perceptions I have come to respect: Kenneth Turan.

Never Coming to a Theater Near You is a compilation of reviews (and a few essays) on movies which are off the beaten path from the usual Hollywood fare.

Turan claims in the introduction that his goal and intended use of readers for the book is "...a way to read up on and then catch up on the great but less visible films you always intended to see but never got around to and now can't remember."

He ranges from standard English box office films, through independents, documentaries, and a healthy dollop of foreign language films as well. He also looks at some classics from the past.

Although I already had come to respect his opinion on NPR, I started looking at the movie reviews by looking at movies I'd already seen--12 Monkeys, The Iron Giant, and Groundhog Day for example. Turan's observations I felt were on the mark.

His writing is clear and lucid, and he loves to tie in the history of the style of the film, or the director, or movies of the type in which he is reviewing. It gives a sense that the movie's review hooks into the tapestry of cinema, rather than a soundbite of an up or down vote.

And so I have read about many other movies, some of which have made it onto my Netflix queue--The Third Man, To Die For, State and Main, Birthday Girl, and others. I look forward to dipping in this book in the future for ideas for more off the beaten path movies to try. I commend the book to those also looking for a source of new movies to try, with solid scholarship on what makes the movies listed worth watching. ( )

When you want to see a really great movie... ( )