Movies Reviews

Mr. Bernds Goes to Hollywood

Published in Hardcover by The Scarecrow Press, Inc. (1999-04-29)

Author: Edward Bernds

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Interesting portrait of Hollywood in the early-talkie years

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-02

The late writer-director Edward Bernds has become a familiar name to movie comedy fans, through his association with The Three Stooges, The Bowery Boys, the Blondie series, and a host of other comedy stars. But Mr. Bernds made his reputation as a recording engineer during the early-talkie years, and was the number-one sound man at Columbia Pictures until he took on more creative duties.

This book chronicles Bernds's early years, from his first radio jobs through his successful association with director Frank Capra. Bernds was a stickler for accuracy, and drew upon his old diaries to confirm his excellent memory for facts and faces. He was just as careful to spell things out for the reader, explaining a technical process or a business practice to amplify the point he was making. Bernds's attention to detail makes for good, solid reading.

This writer was disappointed that the book stops when the author stopped working as a soundman. But it's understandable because Bernds, in his thoroughness, would have written a mammoth volume if his entire career were to be discussed. Joseph McBride recognizes the "missing" material by appending a more general interview with Bernds, conducted by McBride and Leonard Maltin.

Film buffs and historians will enjoy "Mr. Bernds." For those who want Bernds's observations and recollections of his Three Stooges years, read "The Columbia Comedy Shorts" by Ted Okuda and Edward Watz.

Behind-the-scenes Hollywood talent SHINES!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-04

Edward Bernd's autobiography is a wonderful insight into the life and career of a Hollywood talent whose career lay behind the camera.

The book only covers the first half of his life, from his childhood in Chicago to his career as a top sound engineer at Columbia Studios. Bernds' engineering career encompassed the films of Frank Capra (Capra always requested Ed for his team), the many classics of Moe, Larry and Curly, and many major Columbia feature productions through 1945.

The reader is left wanting more, particularly the details of Bernds' new post-1945 career of writer and director for the Three Stooges, the Blondie series, the Bowery Boys and Elvis Presley. But, that's another book. Right, Ed?

A Wonderful Story of Early Hollywood

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-15

Have you ever dreamed you could make it big in Hollywood? Countless dreams have been shattered in this town, but one young man made it, and this is his story. Rarely will one encounter a more modest telling of a life's story. Yet Ed's tale rings so true and so right that you can't help but be drawn in. From making a crystal radio set as a teen, to snaring the top sound position with Frank Capra, Mr. Bernds entertains, informs, and delights us in the telling.

One of the reasons why this book is so fresh is that its author works not just from memory, but from detailed diaries. The tale of his trip west to Hollywood in a broken down jalopy fairly crackles. Genuinely good story telling accents this lively account of the early talkie era. Recommended to anyone who would enjoy a stroll through the inside of Hollywood, spoken by a real movie sound pioneer.

A Wonderful Story of Early Hollywood

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-15

Have you ever dreamed you could make it big in Hollywood? Countless dreams have been shattered in this town, but one young man made it, and this is his story. Rarely will one encounter a more modest telling of a life's story. Yet Ed's tale rings so true and so right that you can't help but be drawn in. From making a crystal radio set as a teen, to snaring the top sound position with Frank Capra, Mr. Bernds entertains, informs, and delights us in the telling.

One of the reasons why this book is so fresh is that its author works not just from memory, but from detailed diaries. The tale of his trip west to Hollywood in a broken down jalopy fairly crackles. Genuinely good story telling accents this lively account of the early talkie era. Recommended to anyone who would enjoy a stroll through the inside of Hollywood, spoken by a real movie sound pioneer.

The Golden Age of Hollywood from an Insider

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-13

When Hollywood first started to shine golden, Ed Bernds was there. He knew and worked with the stars, the directors and the writers, and contributed no little himself to Hollywood's Golden Age. In "Mr. Bernds Goes To Hollywood," Ed tells -- with near total recall -- of his journey to the movie capital in the earliest days of sound (which was his speciality) and of his career at Columbia Studios, the King of "Poverty Row," with the likes of Frank Capra, Clark Gable and the feared studio head Harry Cohn. In telling his story, Bernds invokes a bygone era of Hollywood glamor with an inside knowledge that few today possess. Necessary books on Hollywood are few and far between, but "Mr. Bernds Goes To Hollywood" fills the bill.

Murder, She Wrote: Dying to Retire (Murder She Wrote)

Published in Paperback by Signet (2004-04-06)

Authors: Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

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Murder She Wrote: Dying to Retire

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-31

I happen to enjoy this book very much. It just so happened that I was in Florida at the time I read this book. What a coincidence.

"Another Great Mystery! "

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-05

I have reviewed other mystery books including one from the Murder,She Wrote series! I would like to say this is absolutely a geat and Fantastic Book! I am a huge fan of all the Murder,She Wrote books (Even though I have not read all of them) the ones I have read are great! If you like mysteries this is a book that will keep you guessing the whole way through! I highly recommend it!

Did Portia take the diet pills knowingly or was it murder?

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-01

Jessica, Seth, Mort and his wife Maureen fly down to Florida from Cabot Cove, Maine, for the funeral of their old friend Portia Shelby.

At first the police and Clarence, Portia's husband, feel her death was of natural causes or an accident. Not long after arriving, Jessica and Seth discover potent diet pills in one of her pillboxes. Since Seth had been her doctor in Maine, he knows she's on heart medication. The two together is a deadly combination. Did she take them voluntarily or was she murdered?

Over time, it becomes certain that it was murder. But, who did it? Was it Clarence? Was it the mysterious restaurateur who Sam, another resident in Foreverglades, thinks is a mobster? How about the developer who Portia and her neighbors are fighting to keep their beach? Or is it one of the women who seem to be after Clarence?

Jessica comes face to face with a large alligator. She is quite shaken, but luckily not injured. Later she has another accident. Is someone out to stop her? Or are they just coincidences?

Seth and Jessica go to Key West to visit a friend of Seth's. Jessica has ulterior motives for that trip. Seth learns a lot about his old friend while visiting. They also meet up with Mort and Maureen who have also gone to Key West for a little R&R.

Jessica gets some help from some of the other retirees in Forestglades. Portia was well liked. Will Jessica be able to figure out who killed Portia before without becoming the next victim?

I always enjoy reading books in this series. I watched it on t.v. extensively. I can see the characters playing out their parts in my head. I hope there are many more to come in this series.

I highly recommend this book.

Truly the best of the bunch!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-19

Reading Murder She Wrote books is a guilty pleasure of mine. As a 23 year old, most people my age never watched the series in the 80's because they were too young. I watched it with my mother, and I got into reading the books when they came out in the late 90's. I've read all of them, and in my humble opinion, this is truly the best of the bunch. Bain keeps the characters true to their roots in the series. He gets the characteristics of the New Englanders Seth and Mort down to a science. I loved this one because it was more predictible then the other ones. There's been a few in this series where you've been able to guess who did it, right off. This was definitely not one of those. The character of Sam Lewis described as someone with bigger ears then Yoda, who drives a Pink Caddy, was definitely one of the many highlights of the book. Yes it's a quick read, but definitely a good way to get your summer reading started. Highly recommended!!

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp Went the Gator

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-25

Portia Shelby, a former resident of Cabot Cove has been found dead on the beach near her retirement home in Florida and the Metzger's, Seth and Jessica have all flown down for the funeral. Seth had treated Portia for years for a heart condition so her apparent heart attack was no big surprise. The Maine contingent was surprised however to find that the mild and unassuming Portia that they knew in Maine had become something of a tiger in Florida. A tiger that had been causing no end of trouble for powerful real estate developer DeWitt Wainscott who was known to be vicious in silencing his opponents.

Despite the Wainscott connection everyone assumes that Portia's death was by natural causes. Portia was however a fan of herbal medications and Seth who hates herbal cures decides to snoop around in the deceased's pillboxes. To his surprise he discovers diet pills in there and given Portia's heart problem, diet pills could be deadly. Sure that Portia would know better than to take diet pills, Jessica's suspicions are aroused and the snooping begins.

The Florida setting allows the author to run wild with the introduction of new and colorful characters and he does so with a vengeance. There is Monica Kotansky, a man hungry retiree who was involved with Portia's husband before he married Portia and the senior rumor mill still has them together. While the husband is grieving however she turns her attention elsewhere and Seth falls into her net with hilarious results. There is Tony Colombo, a pizza parlor owner in the village who some feel sure is a mobster and even Jessica is sure that he is not really a restaurant owner. But most of all there is Sam Lewis who drives a big pink Cadillac even though he can barely see over the steering wheel. It is Sam who is sure that Mr. Colombo is a mob hit man and that DeWitt Wainscott had taken out a contract on Portia. Determined to prove his point, Sam takes his big pink car and starts to tail Colombo with predictable and entertaining results.

The mystery here is a little deeper than those found in some of the books in this series. The first question that must be answered is whether Portia was murdered at all, and once that question is answered by the autopsy the clues start to point in all sorts of odd directions. As Jessica tries to find the correct path in a maze of conflicting information she also has to contend with an angry alligator, a runaway dumpster and one of Seth's old classmates who has moved to Key West, grown a ponytail and painted his house purple. Needless to say, Seth is flabbergasted by his old friend's behavior. Of course, Seth although lovable, is easily flabbergasted.

Despite Seth's little fits, the disgruntled gator and more key lime pie than you can shake a stick at, Jessica finally begins to fit the puzzle together. Of course when you start one of these books you do so knowing that Jessica will figure it all out in the end, so the question is really one of how much fun the reader will have solving the case with her. That being the case, you should fear not for this book is more fun than a barrel of monkeys and even includes a visit to Papa Hemingway's home in Key West. I found this entry in the "Murder She Wrote" series to be one of the most entertaining and enjoyable so far.

Musical Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters, Volume 9)

Published in Paperback by Bruce Hershenson (1999-05)

Author: Bruce Hershenson

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Average review score:

Outstanding! The best Musical Movie Poster Book ever!

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-11

The best Musical Movie Poster book available today! This book has it all. Beautifully photographed and reproduced in great color this book reveals the outstanding artists, designers and photographers that created movie poster "Works of Art" from the early days of movie musicals to the current. A"must have" for the movie memorabilia collector and movie musical fan. Superb!

Wonderful Addition to collection

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-12-17

Want to add an excellent reference to your collection of books dealing with the Hollywood Musicals? Then this book is it. Just like those musicals from the golden age of Hollywood, this book has it all. Beautiful photographed images, lots of (techni) colours, stars in their greatest moments. Truly an Oscar winning performance! The book is printed in good quality paper and images are very clear and of good size on each page. Of course it's impossible to include a poster from every musicals in any given year, but the selections Bruce Hershenson made are excellent. A page may contain an average of 5 images while some are giving the full page treatment (e.g. Grease, Singin' In the Rain). Definitely an excellent addition to your library of movie books.

A dazzling full-color history of musicals.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-08

Eye-catching poster art reflects changing styles throughout the history of movie musicals. This gorgeous collection is another highlight in Bruce Hershenson's delightful collection of poster books, every one of which is a great value and a treasure to own.

When Will the Musical Make a Comeback?

Helpful Votes: 22 out of 22 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-19

With the notable exceptions of Oliver! (1968), Cabaret (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Tommy (1975) and Evita (1996), Hollywood has essentially turned its back on a genre that this book re-captures in all its glory. The images are superb, the color and quality are sublime. Though the book is straightforward, a thread of sadness runs subconsciously from its first to its last pages, as one ruminates about what this genre was all about, what it could have been and why it is, for all intents and purposes, dead except on the New York, London and Toronto stages. From Astaire and Rogers to Gene Kelly, Streisand and even the Beatles, it's all covered here. Though it seems awkward to most of today's audiences to see a person in the middle of a scene break out into a song with no band playing behind him on screen, this was the accepted norm and was often the the portion of a film that had an audience soaring in their seats. That such a feeling has all but disappeared makes this book all the more precious, preventing this genre from fading into the wisps of memory. The beautiful thing about this book is the unexpected. Rather than delve into the expected great musicals with the standard American images (which are included in great detail nevertheless), this book includes artwork from other countries, art that is more "in your face" and thought provoking. Who can forget the image used for the Polish version of the 1972 release of "Cabaret?" (Joel Grey's face in the center of four stocking legs bent into the shape of a swastika?) This is the kind of thing that you would never have seen printed or distributed in the U.S., works of art that can only be bought for thousands of dollars today at many of America's biggest auction houses. If you are the least bit interested in the jaw-dropping beauty of what has become a lost art -- the exercise of drawing images associated with the advertising of a Hollywood film -- this is the book to have. This book is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with musicals, illustrates innumerable examples whereby despite the restrictive nature of the genre (musicals), not all posters went in the same direction in terms of style and presentation. From Shall We Dance to A Star is Born, from 42nd Street to Yellow Submarine, Hershenson and Allen have built an incredible archive (and legacy) of images in all of their books, capturing a period (when all posters were drawn by hand and then printed, as opposed to today's method of using photographic stock and manipulating them digitally and printing them by the thousands) that would otherwise be lost forever. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com).

Best series on movie posters ever printed!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-08

For lovers of film, film history, and specifically, poster art, Bruce Hershenson's series of full-color books is the cream of the crop! And, the quality of printing and photography is superb, with razor sharp images and vibrant colors.

The Official General Hospital Trivia Book

Published in Paperback by ABC (1997-10-13)

Author: Gerard J. Waggett

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Average review score:

More substantial story than "trivia"

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-25

Hyperion released this book in October 1997, and it includes the "GH" spinoff, "Port Charles." Its author, who says he's been a "GH" fan since 1978, has also written "The Soap Opera Book of Lists" and "The Soap Opera Encyclopedia." Calling it a "trivia book" would seem to reduce its relevance and substance, as it really is a wealth of behind-the-scenes info about the show. The book includes black-and-white stills from ABC scattered throughout (it's sanctioned by ABC Daytime Press). Chapters feature celebrity appearances on the show, famous fans of the show, real-life romances of the stars, real-life names of the stars and more. The book's contents are also indexed at the end. (Oh, and there ARE a few "trivia" quizzes at the end of chapters!)

For GH fans old and new alike

Helpful Votes: 18 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-23

This book has a lot of the show history along with trivia questions. Yes, the answers are included *grin*. If you are a long time viewer, you will enjoy going back over the highlights thru the years. The trivia questions are fun to test your knowledge of the soap.

For new viewers, this is a great way to catch up on past story of your favorite characters. See why Luke and Cassadines have fueded. Learn about Laura and her mother Leslie. There are several pictures from the show, but be aware, they are black and white.

I am the list owner of a GH fan group and I use this book to give weekly questions to the list. The members love seeing who will send in the correct answer first. Some who have viewed for many years have been stumped on occassion.

If GH is your show, this book is a must. It would make a really nice gift for someone you know who is a fan, too.

Get Excited, Get Happy, Just Get This Book

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1997-12-31

Wow! Your pulse will race! Your palms will get sweaty! You will not be able to get this book out of your mind (not until youv'e read it cover to cover at least twice anyway). The Official General Hospital Trivia Book is your ticket to the best roller coaster ride on daytime - and without those long expensive trips to an amusement park. The Trivia Book contains all the necessities for being a true fan: on-screen tales, backstage stories, and other minutia. So rush to get your own copy (or 2 or 3) then sit back and enjoy the ride!!!

A must buy for General Hospital Fans everywhere!

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1997-10-22

This is one of the best books that I have read on General Hospital. A Wonderful collection of photos and facts. By the time you are done reading this book you'll be ready for a game of trivia pursuit and win. Reasonably priced.

General Hospital Official Trivia Book: Best GH Book Out!

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 1998-06-11

Being the "expert" GH fan, I will have to say that this is THE VERY BEST GH Book out there! It contains interesting factoids, trivia you may have never even know (I know I didn't) and so much more! This is a MUST HAVE for any GH fan out there... a first time watcher or people who have watched GH since day one! Hurry out and buy it today!

An Open Book

Published in Paperback by Da Capo Press (1994-03-21)

Author: John Huston

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Average review score:

The best written memoir, hands-down.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-24

I bought this book originally in the early 1980s right after it was printed and I have re-read it every year and a half or so since and find new things every time. The writing is just fantastic; each episode in his life is constructed like a story. I have read where people think it is a whitewash, but actually he touches on everything discreetly and without rancor or salaciousness. When I first read it as a young film student he cataloged a string of movies I had barely heard of, mostly because they weren't easily available until now. A conscientious watching of the films he mentions makes for great companions to the book. From our vantage point in time, this book is also a window into a vanished world where the late 19th century was reluctantly becoming the 20th century, and Huston always was searching to find his place in it. Few people live lives now similar to his life then because we don't have the times from which great lives spring like they did back then. Those decades gave rise to Bogart and Hemingway and Picasso and Roosevelt and the countless others because there were no other choices. Dynamic times make dynamic people! Huston constantly improvised, both in life and art, using his unique background and fine literary sensibilities to surf the constantly changing tides of war and economic depression and modernism, and at the same time constantly indulging himself in every way he could possibly conceive. His movies emerged from this mix, at times wise, at others mischievous; some daring, others fantastic. They were always a little ahead of their time or form, and they never consciously talked down nor pandered to their audience. His innovations developed organically. His breakthrough preference for remote location shooting stemmed from his experiences making documentaries in the battlefield during WWII. His arrangements of characters and objects in the frame came from his love of painting and still composition. His unusual choices for stories grew from his voluminous reading habits. Huston's natural curiosity and striving for perfection filled-in the spaces left between.

Some of Huston's films, like "The Maltese Falcon", are models of perfection, while others are like Michelangelo's scores of unfinished sculptures, almost as if he were saying, "Well, you get the idea!" before moving on to the next object of his fascination. "We Were Strangers" is a good example of this, rendering almost hypnotically the feelings of oppressive paranoia living in a fascist state, while at the same time servicing a story that is a B+ at best.

The real story of Huston's life and films has yet to be written though. There is just too much!

Ranconteur of the first order!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25

I can't remember when I enjoyed reading a book so much. I wished that I could read it anew all over again. I've read half dozen Hollywood bios and autos the last 6 months or so and this was hands down the most enjoyable!

I'm really quite surprised to see only two reviews before this one. Afterall, in my mind Huston ranks up there with the very best of American directors and screen writers. His history in the film business dates back to the ''golden era'' of Hollywood. And he knew all the top heads of the studios as well as many of the most talented people in the their related fields.

He is of course my overall favorite director, based on the quality and sheer number of films on his side of the scale. High Sierra [Scrnply], Maltese Falcon, the Big Sleep, Treasure of Sierra Madre, Key Largo just to mention a few of the early ones. And of course his writing of screenplays of the late thirties that anyone will recognize as some of the best of the classics. And his continued writing of movies; with and without directing, far to many to start listing here!

His relating of his life stories as told here is so captivating and so 'dog gone' interesting and funny, that I felt I was listening to a grandfather tell his life story from the front porch of a family home on a Sunday afternoon!

Anyone that likes to read of a Hollywood long gone and about the people in the industry in those days would do just fine in getting a copy of this wonderfully entertaining book, told by one of Hollywoods finest raconteurs! If not the finest!

Huston - an Irish huntsman from the Mexican cavalry

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-01

John Huston's autobiography 'An Open Book' was written while the author - a film director whose life spanned the period from the earliest days of Hollywood to his eventual death in 1987 - was living, in old age, as something of a recluse in Mexico.

From this quiet, remote, idyllic spot he tells - as he sees it - the story of his own life and the many experiences and fotuitous friendships and relationships which he believes had been important in making him the way he was.

It goes back as far as he can go into his own ancestry and the origin of his own name - Huston. It goes deep into the impressions of his own family that he formed as a child and refined as he grew up.

He shares with us his many mistakes, as well as the background to some of his greatest successes - which nominally, are his many great films.

But somehow more important than this is the way he approaches his life and how he tells his own story. At one point he is discussing what actually constitutes the 'style' of a writer and what makes it distinctive. He concludes that what is called a writer's style is straightforwardly a unique artefact of how that person thinks and feels about their life and experience.

This book is full of a polished but intimate candour that illuminates and compliments his long and successful career in film

Like autobiographies? This one's a winner.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-08

Not only has he been one of my favorite directors over the years, he did some great acting spots, particularly in Chinatown. Then to have this book to read is truely a window into his life. He gives one bit of advice. Has to do with smoking, I won't spoil it for you. Witty guy. I think we tend to forget that films are visual/written/audio stories that several people have put together. A piece of art, typically. And the director is the eye of the hurricane, piecing it all together, in his (her) vision. This book gives us a look into both his private life, one which the citizen today likely has little idea about, as well as numerous stories about various Hollywood people he worked with over the decades. I could barely put this book down. He's got a writing style that's so comfortable, so enjoyable to read, well, maybe it was more fun for me because, in my mind I heard his resonate speaking voice reading the whole book like one on tape by the author. There's never been a director like him that I'm aware of, someone who did not have his own style so much as cull the story right out of the block of stone so to speak. Each of the great films he did has their own vision, their own look. A great accomplishment for a real director who mastered his craft. I think of him as a man's man and this book keeps that sense alive. Sure am glad he took the time to write it because it's a lot of fun to explore his life with him. Unique places, people and times in American cinematic history, and he was there, right in the midst of it all. chrisbct@hotmail.com

Must-Read For Film Buffs

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-31

Here are some great annecdotes (Bogart, Hepburn, Lorrie, Connery, et al.) by one of Hollywood's greatest directors. Huston's private life rivals any script that he ever shot, and his skill and training as a scriptwriter makes this an interesting, articulate volume.

The Phantom

Published in Paperback by Avon Books (Mm) (1996-07)

Authors: Rob MacGregor and Jeffrey Boam

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Average review score:

The FIRST Comic Hero EVER!!!!!!!!!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-11

I saw the film years ago, about when I was 5 or 6 give or take, and loved it! I couldn't stop watching it. So when I became an Amazon member a few weeks ago, I remembered the movie and wondered if a novelization was available. Lucky for me, Amazon had it and for such a good price.

MacGregor did a spectacular job putting the screenplay into novel-form. As I read on, I remembered all the scenes, all the lines, all the amazing acting done by the cast. This goes down as one of the best movie novels i have ever read.

This is a must have for any comic movie fan.

PARTY ON, DUDES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great Book!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-24

I loved the movie, and this book adds a lot to it, including a more detailed version of how the first phantom was born, more info on the mysterious Sengh Brotherhood, the whole story on why little Zak was working for the bad guys, good tidbits on the bad guys, more conversations with the phantom's ghostly father, and other nice surprises. If you liked the movie, this is a must read! If you didn't like the movie, this is still a great book!

It was a blast to read

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-11

This book is great I give it Two Thumbs Up, Way Way Up!. It is a must read.

Great story with some terrific scenes not in the released fi

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1997-10-31

A terrific pirate story at first. Then the story from the terrific movie. There are several extra scenes not included in the film. The latter is a favorite (film) of mine.

The Ghost Who Walks STILL Kicks Butt!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-01

Rob MacGregor, author of some of the great INDIANA JONES books, is a natural to adapt Jeffrey Boam's screenplay (Boam also wrote the screenplay for "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade") for the first REAL big screen outing of "The Ghost Who Walks".

The movie, from which this book is taken, is not only a WONDERFULLY faithful interpretation of THE PHANTOM, but also the best comic book-to-movie adaptation since "SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE". The fantastic thing about MacGregor's novel is that it extrapolates quite a bit from what was actually revealed onscreen, giving the reader a deeper insight into the 21st Phantom & what taking on the mantle means to each subsequent generation who does so.

MacGregor, whose writing has always been tight & taut, does not disappoint this time out. He handles The Phantom's 60-plus year heritage with the right mixture of respect, reverence & tongue-in-cheek. Let's be honest: although The Phantom takes his work with deadly seriousness, he's not one of those morose, brooding heroes, as BATMAN has become. It's a welcome change to read about a hero who actually ENJOYS what he does!

The only complaint I have about this adaptation (which is by NO means MacGregor's fault) is the extra scenes that were omitted from the film's final theatrical release. His visualisations are so good that one feels cheated at having been denied the privelege of seeing them, & rightfully so.

If, for some reason, Hollywood comes to its senses (!) & does a sequel to THE PHANTOM, it'd be a great kick to see Rob MacGregor get a chance to try his hand at actually writing the screenplay, not just adapting someone else's work.

Phonics Box Set (Backyardigans)

Published in Paperback by Scholastic (2006-08-01)

Author: Sonia Sander

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Average review score:

Finally!! A set of books my daughter WANTED to read!!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-09

I've been having trouble keeping my daughter's interest in reading. She's liked spongebob for a while now and when I found this product, I figured why not try it! It worked!! She likes reading these books!! She even read them more than once!! Definitely Recommend!

GREAT PRODUCT!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-10

This was a wonderful set. My son is seven and he has had trouble reading bt he has totally loved reading these. I recommend this to any parent with trouble reading. Even if they just like to read these are great reading.

Great book for beg readers!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-10

My son(6) enjoyed this box set so much, and it really encouraged him to read. He could read most of it on his own and loved that it was Sponge Bob (much cooler than what they get in school).
Im going to look for more like this one!

Great Learning Book

Helpful Votes: 13 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-18

I bought this book to for my younger one to learn. My older one picked up the books immediately and started reading them to the younger one because they both love the Backyardigans. Eventually I know the younger one will be learning the words since he is starting to pick up the connections. I like the layout of the each of the 12 books with the emphasis on each sound. (Long E, Short E, Long O, Short O etc.). Because the stories are pretty short, the story line can be a little abrupt, but the phonics are very clear in the books. I really like the books and would make great gifts too.

Months later I add to this review. My kids love the books. Younger one is reading more and more and amazes me. They love the pictures and stories from the show so these books are a HUGE hit!!!

Great Learning Tool

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-10

My 3 year old loves this set of books, in addition to me. They are teaching her the correct way of speaking and reviewing this all important task for me. I also bought a set of these books for her daycare after having them for a few months at home, they love them now also.

The Power of Movies: How Screen and Mind Interact

Published in Paperback by Vintage (2007-02-13)

Author: Colin Mcginn

List price: $13.95

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Average review score:

a breath of fresh air in serious film studies

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-12

Colin Mcginn puts the great majority of film theorists to shame with this book. For at least three decades serious film studies have been largely (not entirely) under the hegemonic thumb of poststructuralist, and especially psychoanalytic, theory. Here, we have an extremely thoughtful consideration of film in relation, not to an already-institutionalized theory, but to human beings as creatures with certain kinds of cognitive faculties. Film appeals, Mcginn argues, because of the ways our eyes attend to the world and to the eyes of other people, and because we dream when we sleep. And Mcginn's explanations always show a very clear concern for the non-academic reader. Unlike, in my opinion, most scholars of film, Mcginn understands his own key ideas so well that he can explain them in ways that any reasonably educated person can comprehend. This does not mean his ideas are simple, only that he has mastered their complexity. We may not agree with him, but we can be clear about what he is saying. This has not typically been the case with film studies. Really a good read.

McGinn's P.O.M = Clear-Eyed Reason and A Fascinating Hypothesis

Helpful Votes: 13 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-04

What a marvelous guy is Colin McGinn. He recently appeared with Bill Moyers on the 'Faith & Reason' series and is ever more apparently the closest thing we have in our culture to a modern-day rennaisance man. In 'The Power of Movies' we come to understand how it is that movies are capable of affecting us and what is unique about the movie-viewing experience - as opposed to perceiving other forms of art such as painting, live theater, etc. Personally, I am a huge fan of the way Colin McGinn thinks, what he thinks about, and the lucid, cogent way his thoughts are regurgitated which makes for easy ingestion and assimilation.

How screen images elicit emotional reactions

Helpful Votes: 19 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-19

Fans of movies and movie history will appreciate this college-level discussion by a philosophy professor who takes a different look at the entertainment industry and its appeal. His analysis considers how movies affect the mind, fire the imagination, and cause viewers to relate to events on screen. Considerations of how screen images pair with emotional reactions and how dreams and narrative work together to create atmosphere create an intriguing blend of philosophical and psychological reflection.

New Ways To Dream

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-16

If you enjoyed the musical, Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber', and liked the song "New Ways to Dream", you will love this book. McGinn takes us on a journey of analytic philosophy as he tries to understand why movies have become cultural icons in our western world. He does this with the skill of a journalist without making this a tutorial on Descartes, Strawson, Barthes, Freud, Wittgenstein or the many other philosophers and psychologists whom he has extensive knowledge as a professor of philosophy at the University of Miami, Florida. His favorite metaphor is that movies are like dreams. He describes movies as synthetic reality, wish fulfillment and propaganda sharing the attribute of being able to seduce our minds. Although he includes recorded music, theater, art and literature as tools to understand the ambiguous relation between mind and the external world, he ranks movies as the most important.

This book of 210 pages is the result of a great modern thinker sharing his thoughts about modern media and the movies. This book will be a favorite for film students and film buffs alike.

The power of the Power Of Movies

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-22

I'll get straight to the point: this book changed the way I look at movies. And what's more important, it changed the way I look at the mind. I've read a number of books on philosophy of mind, and they are pretty much dry, abstract, and repetitious; but this book is great because it examines how the mind works, but in an oblique way--by looking at an externalized analogy of mental processes.
This book is highly recommended because it deals with important and complex topics in a way that is simple and very enoyable. A very rare combination. What more could you ask for?

Quinlan's Film Stars

Published in Paperback by Brassey's Inc (2001-01-01)

Author: David Quinlan

List price: $29.95

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Average review score:

simple but excellent

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-04

Quinlan has a unique way of portraying a movie start: a few enlightining words about his/her looks and performing capacities. And that goes for his "film stars" book as well as his "film directors" (where he has more room to go into details).
When I went to Britain last week, i looked for a new edition of his "film stars", as the last one I got (and the last one known here in Portugal) was from 5 years ago, the 2000 edition; unfortunately I was told that no new edition had been released.
The "film stars" is a complete and excellent work, though one can always come up with some name that is not included (the one that comes always to my mind is the talented late american actor J.T. Walsh)

No film library is complete without Quinlan

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-18

David Quinlan has an uncanny knack for describing actors and actresses in four or five perfectly chosen words, or less. If you love movies, you need this book.

Don't watch a movie without it!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-12

I watched the Oscars with this next to me, and it made them so much more fun! Look up fun, strange and important facts about your favorite stars and see some of the quirkiest, yet best descriptions of the actors you'll ever read!. The author describes everyone by their physical attributes - but it's like reading the cartoon page. This one is guaranteed to make you laugh!

The Definitive Resource!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-06

If you want to know every movie that your favorite actor has made, this is the book for you!!! It is well organized, incredibly detailed and up to date!!! Keep a copy next to your TV!!!

Movie Geeks Rejoice!

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-13

This book has been an invaluable resource for quenching my film knowledge thirst since I got my hands on my father's 1st edition copy around '82 or so. Due to publisher's restraints, author Quinlan gradually, and unfortunately, weeded out entries for lesser known, or no longer relevant, stars over the years. But fret no more! This edition appears to include every entry he's ever created.
Whether you're looking for the complete filmography of the world's most well-known actors (Eastwood), the birthdate of you're favorite cult star (Marie Windsor anyone?), or the names of those long lost Lon Chaney titles, you'll find yourself immersed in this bible of film history.
Quinlan's research is thorough (and I do mean thorough! Before IMDB came around, I'd never seen anything like it), well-spoken, and virtually flawless in its accuracy. This edition is fairly up-to-date (through 2001 I think) & packs many surprises about the status of actors actors you might have already assumed dead, retired or out-of-work. Superb!

Real World Digital Video (2nd Edition) (Real World)

Published in Paperback by Peachpit Press (2004-04-01)

Authors: Pete Shaner and Gerald Everett Jones

List price: $49.99

New price: $45.00
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Average review score:

Great introductory course on how to make real world video

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-05

I bought the first edition 2 years ago and then the second edition to keep up with new changes because this book is a very good and complete introductory course on making real world video (i.e. starting from choosing DV camcorders to final production and delivery to the world depending on your budget).

It starts from current DV technology (like CCD and DV formats) and then introduces various DV camcorder types depending whether you are normal consumer or pro-sumer or professional users. (It even shows you the approximate price range for various camcorder class.)

It then introduces how scripts planning should be like for making different scenes of video (newscast or documentary or movie). It teaches different techniques of shooting pictures/video by cameras/comcorders (angles, views, lighting and audio control). I likes the book giving you various examples of lighting equipments and audio equipments required for making good video.

For movie pre-production process, it tells what kind of production crews and things you will need and do for different stages (including cost ranges). For movie post-production process, it shows how to edit all movie and audio footages into final movies and how to fix video/audio problems. It also describes what types of movie editing systems (computers, hardware equipments and software video applications) available in the market depending on high-end, mid-range, or low-end production and budgets. It also describes how the final process of movie copies are generated and delivered to the world.

I like the book because it gives me pretty good ideas how DV movies are made with real equipments that are availalbe in the current market. This book is highly recommended especially for serious beginning DV/movie producers.

a crash course in how to make your DV production easier

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-15

This book should be required reading for anyone making a digital movie with more ambition than experience. This book will be worth its cost in just the first project by eliminating many of the learning mistakes we all make. I wish someone would have sat down with me and given me this advice when I started and yet, even with many projects behind me, this book offers me new ideas. Reading the book and the watching the DVD are like having real work experience - both in production and post-production. In one memorable section of the DVD, Pete Shaner sits down with you and gives you lots of advice on how to shoot and things to consider in shooting and editing.

Digital Video Reference Book and DVD for All Earthlings!

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-08

Highly recommended reading...for the home hobbyist...the USC film student...the software geek... or AV professional.

The authors approach the Digital Video Universe in a real world, common sense and entertaining prose...allowing the reader to apply their level of interest, budget, technical background, project objectives and pace to a surprisingly current and comprehensively deep offering of digital video material.

The supportive DVD is awesome!

Digital Dynamite!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-23

This book took me into a whole new World. I sure could have used it before I bought my used BetaCam! Now I can work quicker, cleaner, look like a pro and save $$$. The furture of film making is here. Thanks guys!

All of the detail hurdles in making a movie

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-23

As the prices of digital data capture and storage have dropped, new avenues of artistic creation have opened up. One of these areas is in the realm of digital video, where it is possible to make movies using simple and relatively inexpensive digital equipment. However, the fact that the equipment is now cheap does not make it any easier to make movies that people would want to watch. There is an enormous amount of subtle technique involved in making a movie, and until I read this book, I had absolutely no idea how complex a simple shot can be. This is a book that will show you how to make a digitally recorded movie, and should be the first thing you read if that is your aspiration.
It all starts with planning, from the initial idea, on to budgeting, clearing all legal hurdles, organizing and shooting the scenes, editing and cleaning the stored scenes, and ending with publicizing and distributing the finished product. All are so complex, that you do not make a movie, you survive its' creation. The fact that the movie can now be stored on digital devices only significantly affects one of these steps.
Written primarily for those who are interested in making DV projects for entertainment, this is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. The number of detail hurdles that need to be cleared to make a movie are astounding, and kudos to the authors for explaining all of those hurdles in great detail.

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