"Beard writes to impress and succeeds in spades. His pounding, persuasive prose treats readers with respect, blasting out cinematic and socio-political references by the fistful, trusting you to either keep up or keep a notepad nearby. The quartet of films discussed at length herein aren't whining for unconditional love; like the neglected children that populate them, they demand-sometimes violently-our attention. Viewed through the personal lens...