Rating: 
Summary: Clever satire
Review: 'Popcorn' seems to have attracted astoundingly mixed reviews here, mostly due to people's insistence on reading it as a slur against Tarantino. It is not, and we only have to consider the character of Bruce Delamitri to realise that he is hardly Quentin with a different name. Rather, Bruce seems to reflect any director that has become more noted for the tone of his films rather than their artistic content. 'Popcorn' is a valid, yet even handed critique of the American culture of celebrity and violence, but does not in the end seek to blame any one person or group. That, in essence, is really the point of the whole book. Culpability cannot be dispensed with, because to a certain extent everyone is partly to blame for perpetuating this bizarre situation. Elton, as always, makes his point articulately and with style, and part of the strength of his books is the fact that he never rams his own point of view down the reader's throat, but allows them to make up their own mind. A brilliant read, with broader social significance that we should all ponder upon.
Rating: 
Summary: "Popcorn" Snaps, Crackles And Pops
Review: A witty and satirical take on the corruption and duplicity of Hollywood movies. The depth of the characters is phenomenal, displaying true-to-life perspectives with remarkable precision. These perspectives include that of Bruce Delamitri, the Academy Award-winning director of 'Ordinary Americans,' a violent, disturbing movie that inspired controversy all over the country, and Wayne and Scout, the sadistic "Mall Murders"; trailer trash serial killers who murdered more than 200 people. The writing is clever and sharp and the ending will leave you breathless. Obvious nods to kitsch-obsessed movie directors will inspire chuckles and the thoughts of Bruce Delamitri at the Academy Awards will never make you look at the Oscars in the same way again. Overall, this is an excellent book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and will definitely excite and disturb.
Rating:
Summary: Popcorn by Ben Elton
Review: Ben Elton has written a witty and action packed novel in Popcorn i couldnt put it down its was the best book i had read for a long time. Thank you Mr. Ben Elton for making my life a bit less dull - Bill Davidson
Rating:
Summary: edge of the seat stuff all the way!
Review: Ben Elton is one of my favourite stand ups but I did not think that his rapid fire style would work in a book. How wrong I was! Characters like Bruce, Wayne and Scout are so well devised that at the end of the book you feel like you know them. Even the smaller characters such as Velvet jump straight off the page and into your living room. The way in which Elton has made this a thriller, a black comedy and yet still managed to get the moral message of responsibility across is simply pure genius. If you get the chance READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive as satire and as thriller
Review: Elton comprehensively condemns the Tarantino phenomenon: it's not art, it's nasty and exploitative, pornographic and promotes violence. But he's not just too old these days to get it: he writes chapters perfectly ripping off the style. It could have merely been a thinly veiled essay (and is at times), but in satirising, Elton has written a very decent thriller - ironically at times by introducing the very archetypical characters he's condemning. Add to this his usual sharp comic stand-up perspectives, and you've got a powerful read. It should date given its very specific pop-culture context, but it may even be good enough not to. This book is well put together, underpinned by a dry and incisive wit, has some very impressive satire, and makes some penetrating criticisms in an enormously enjoyable and compelling form.
Rating:
Summary: great, funny read!
Review: i read this book in a single night mostly because, as the novel explores people's attachment to entertainment, this books was WAY better than anything on TV!
a little violent at times, there are many plot twists which are funny and sometimes scarry in their accuracy of how the media is attracted to, and portray's violence, for the public.
the ending was a wee bit predictable but enjoyable all the same with a healthy mix of critical satire and humor.
definately worth catching!
Rating:
Summary: great, funny read!
Review: i read this book in a single night mostly because, as the novel explores people's attachment to entertainment, this books was WAY better than anything on TV!
a little violent at times, there are many plot twists which are funny and sometimes scarry in their accuracy of how the media is attracted to, and portray's violence, for the public.
the ending was a wee bit predictable but enjoyable all the same with a healthy mix of critical satire and humor.
definately worht catching!
Rating: 
Summary: Dinner conversation
Review: This book has no mercy.This book is the epitome of political uncorrectedness.I loved the ramblings of the most anti-heroic Oscar winner of fiction. He says in the face of outraged listeners what's wrong in the culture of complaint represented by the Politcally Correctedness fad. And it shows that THERE ARE some things we would really consider unacceptable. And that individual responsibility has its sense.He does so extracting black,irresistible laughs from its readers.
Rating:
Summary: A great thriller but not many laughs.
Review: This is Ben Elton's 4th book and is the first without an environmental message . This instead concentrates on the violence in society as portrayed by movies and asks some important questions about personal responsibility. It works on three levels; as a straight thriller, as a satire and as a moral arguement. It never however provides any answers but just leaves you to think about whether films reflect or lead the mood of society. As a thriller it is excellent with some real heart stopping scenes. I would imagine the play currently running in London would be great as all the action takes place in one room. It did not however make me laugh and for a comedy writer as good as he is that disappointed me. if you have never read an Elton book before then can I recommend Gridlock which deals with car pollution and also disability awareness as well as providing more belly laughs than this.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly Weak
Review: This is certainly a "popcorn" book, i.e. a quick, easy read which instantly fades from memory. Elton is the English TV writer of such series as "Blackadder" and "The Young Ones" (both of which I quite like), but his stab at writing a "tongue-in-cheek thriller" doesn't really succeed, as either a satire, comedy, or thriller. The characters are total cardboard, but writers like Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiassan manage to make their cardboard characters much more engrossing somehow. The lead is an extremely heavy-handed attempt at lampooning Quentin Tarantino--who is really too easy a target for such purposes. There are some rather obvious home truths spoken along the way concerning violence and entertainment in America, but it's all so hamfisted, it's hard to care. The plot involves this rising star director and a killer couple (a la Natural Born Killers) who model themselves of his films. What wacky antics ensue when they show up at his house after he wins the Oscar!! Sigh... it's not as funny as it looks, nor does it do more than skim the surface of the issues, and oh yeah, Elton's grasp of American idioms is surprisingly weak.
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