Amazon.com Review
Controversial and past caring, equal parts cool and cruel, Bruce Delametri is Hollywood's hottest director. Tonight, he's at the apex of his career, with an Oscar cradled in one hand and Miss February in the other. But then he gets a visit from two special fans, and all hell (quite literally) breaks loose.
*Popcorn*, a novel from British sitcom writer Ben Elton (*Blackadder*, *The Young Ones*), is the satirical novel done 1990s style. It is a book about the movies that indicts the movies, and that has every chance of being made into a movie. It rings all the familiar changes on the theme of Hollywood vapidity, crassness, and decadence; however, *Popcorn* accomplishes this so deftly that you may not realize that you've heard it all before until you're finished with the book. *Popcorn* has little new to say about America and the culture for which it stands: talk-show hosts that are vacuous, movies that are violent, and audiences that are moronic. (The one benefit to shooting this particular fish in this particular barrel is that most readers will find it hard to disagree.) That said, the book generates an undeniable tension. *Popcorn* is a pleasing (if not always pleasant) page-turner, and the last 20 pages will definitely give you pause.
From School Library Journal
YAAA unique novel that combines a thrilling story line with the thought-provoking question of society's responsibilities toward its various members. Oscar-winning director Bruce Delamitri makes popular movies containing senseless violence and murder. He feels nothing but disdain for the critics and "bleeding hearts" who condemn his work, for he believes that he is just giving the public what they want to see. On Oscar night, two psychopathic killers who have all of Bruce's movies memorized, and are emulating different scenes, invade the man's home, taking him captive, along with his soon-to-be-ex-wife, his daughter, and several other members of Hollywood society. As the police and media surround the house, the question that everyone is asking is, "Are Bruce Delamitri's movies to blame for the situation in which he now finds himself?" This novel often uses fairly sophisticated or graphic language that suits the theme and violent situations, but the plot is easy to follow. Fast-moving recreational reading or a springboard for discussions on the interrelationships of human beings and society.AAnita Short, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
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