ZACK CARLSON AND BRYAN CONNOLLY got the wild notion to write a guide to every movie that ever contained a punk in it, and the result of their labors is the loveably cumbersome Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film. It's the kind of idea that would make more sense as a website, but this colossal volume is nothing if not comprehensive, with 500 pages overflowing with capsule reviews, pictures, and interviews with Penelope Spheeris, Ian MacKaye, and more.

Carlson (of Austin's legendary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), Connolly (of Austin indie video store Vulcan Video), and their team of fellow trash-movie buffs sift their way through 1,100 punk-related flicks, some of which are obvious (The Decline of Western Civilization), some of which only tangentially feature punks (The Terminator), and some of which are videotape relics from the age of '80s cheese. That's where Destroy All Movies!!! is most useful—as a catalog for forgotten camp classics like Never Too Young to Die or Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.

It's the kind of reference book you'd love to flip through at the video counter, leading you to check out some crazy flick you wouldn't have found on your own. Otherwise, reading straight through Destroy All Movies!!! can be monotonous—the interviews are always interesting, but nearly each movie review insists on summarizing the plot, which in most cases is unnecessary. Still, it's a treat that it exists, and we're lucky to reap the benefits from Carlson and Connolly's obsession.