You-review-it Monday

So did you visit the “On the Road” scroll at the IMA? Swing to “Swing” at American Cabaret Theatre? Try to understand the great Joe Cocker at Verizon Wireless Music Center?

Let us know what A&E you experienced this weekend.

For me, much of the weekend was spent lost in Mark Harris’ terrific recent book “Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood.”

There are tons of behind-the-scenes movie-making books out there, but Harris’ exhaustively researched page-turner stands with the best of them. Rather than focus on one film, he presents the backstory, the making-of, and the fallout from the five films nominated for Best Picture in 1968.

(Okay, trivia time: Without web searching, can you name those five 1967 releases…and the one that won? Hint: One was a flop musical, two deal with racial issues, one was controversial for its violence and the last was written by Buck Henry.)

Harris, a writer/editor for Entertainment Weekly, isn’t just great with a juicy anecdote. He also compellingly captures turning points–not just for Hollywood, but also for many of the individuals (including Sidney Poitier, Dustin Hoffman, Mike Nichols, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Katherine Hepburn). A must-read for anyone who considers him or herself a film fan.

So what did you do this weekend?