Matthew Broderick Books

I bought this for my godsons (5 and 7) based on my own fond memories of this work. I remembered the wonderful drawings and the vividly told stories from Greek Mythology and was happy to have passed this along to another generation. Some of the stories require a bit of editing when used as bedtime storytelling ("Why did he marry his sister?"). I plan on getting the Norse Myths collection for Christmas this year.

I really like the way this book is written because each story blends easily into the next. The pictures really help the younger ones to follow along and it makes the myths more enjoyable to read. I bought this to read to my young daughter and she really enjoyed it.

This book was one of the greatest memories of my childhood. I was in kindergarden and my older brother brought it home from the elementary school library, we devoured every picture and every word. Between my brother and I we checked out and re-checked out this book hundreds of times. I loved it so much that we both bought copies of it when we grew up. I am 41 now and read it to my son, he loves it too. This book was originally published in the early sixties, so it's old but wonderful. The author also did a very similar book on Norse Mythology that is equally great...I own that as well.

This was one of the books my mom read to me as a bedtime story. The pictures and stories were so memorable I wanted my own copy to read to my daughter.

Written for the younger audience, this book is a great way for teens and under to learn about Greek mythology. There are nice illustrations to go with it. My nine-year-old loves it! He knows more about it now than I do.

Skeleton Crew is a great collection that includes "The Mist," a classic novella, as well as a number of shorter stories. "The Mist" is an incredible story not just for its supernatural elements but more for its human development. It is - beyond just a horror story - an examination of mob psychology and the way humans act under (extreme) duress. I agree with some of the other reviewers who note that one of King's weaknesses is that he has difficulty with children. While he depicts adult drama and tension with great success, when it comes to children, it seems like King has more difficulty. Maybe his own mind has strayed so far from childhood that he finds kids hard to realistically conjure. That said, it is really only in the light of his otherwise brilliant storytelling that this slight weakness becomes apparent.
The other stories in Skeleton Crew range from superb to fair, with most of them being either very good or at least having some element of value. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, The Reach, The Man who would not Shake Hands are all examples of King blending horror with genuine literary merit. However, there are a few weaker ones, notably Gramma (which is sort of a compact version of what happened to "Zelda" from Pet Cemetary). Likewise, King does better with terrestrial terror and with supernatural reflections of our own fears and motives than with space and time travel: The Jaunt and Beachworld do not allow King to really flex his talents. That said, this is a great place to start if you have never read Steven King before.

I could write a detailed review of each story, but those reviews tend to get rejected due to length. Thing about this book, Stephen King's "Skeleton Crew," the short stories can all be pretty much divided into four categories. I'll comment on those that warrant commenting.

GREAT
+ The Raft: All out horror without being gratuitous
+ Word Processor of the Gods: One of the most innovative ideas I've read--it's outdated, yes, but the sense of bitter loneliness the main character has rings very true
+ Nona: Beautifully frightening
+ Survivor Type: Gross... but captivating
+ Gramma
+ The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet: Hilarious, sad, and scary glimpse at how little it takes to set a man on the path towards insanity

GOOD
+ The Mist
+ Mrs. Todd's Shortcut
+ The Jaunt: King handles the flashbacks with the 'real time' narrative masterfully
+ The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands: King has an excellent handle on the tension of this story, forcing the reader to turn the page to find out what happens next

OKAY
+ Here There Be Tygers: Weird little story. Not really that entertaining, though nothing--other than the sheer absurdity--sticks out as being bad
+ The Money: Interesting horror, though it drags on way too long
+ The Wedding Gig
+ Reaper's Image: Very slow build-up to a so-so twist ending
+ For Owen
+ Morning Deliveries: Milkman #1
+ Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2): Both Milkman tales are taken from a novel that King never completed, and it's pretty obvious. These read like chapters taken out of context. They almost work as standalones... but almost isn't enough
+ The Reach: The final 1/4th of this story puts the rambling beginning and middle to shame. It's sad that the entire story doesn't have the greatness of the last few pages, as this had the potential to be a great and poignant tale of accepting death.

BAD
+ Cain Rose Up: Meaningless violence. A plotless exercise in having a character--whose psychology isn't delved into--kill his dorm mates. This is like the Hostel of short stories. Never before this has King's work disgusted me, but he really crossed the line with this one.
+ Paranoid- A Chant
+ Beachworld: A failed attempt at a sci-fi/horror tale that tries to make a monster out of sand. If anyone could have done that, it's King. Oddly, this one falls flat.
+ Uncle Otto's Truck: An editor would have cut 3/4ths of this story out. That might have made it better.

It's worth a read for the good stuff, and you should probably give the okay and bad stuff a shot too, because it's Stephen King. He truly is one of the best writers, both now and back when this collection was first published. He's also one of the most helpful and interesting writers, shown by the really cool "Notes" section he provides at the end, for those interested in more insight into some of the stories.

6/10

I had forgotten how scary Mr. King's work could be, as it has been awhile since I read his works from the 80s. After reading a couple of the stories, and especially the novella, "The Mist" - I couldn't believe I had to sleep with the lights on! I recommend it to King fans who may have forgotten these stories exist.

I've always liked books of short stories, because you don't need to stay invested for 300+ pages if you have other things going on. You can pick it up and set it down without feeling like you'll miss something, or forget an important element when you have to stay away for weeks while class is in session or other priorities have you running.

This is a noteworthy collection of shorts by one of the masters of storytelling. Stand-outs in my opinion include The Mist, The Jaunt, and The Raft, but there's interest to be found throughout. Some of the very short ones such as Cain Rose Up, which almost seems like an exercise in some parts, read well nonetheless and draw you in to the tale, considering they're only a few pages in length.

Bottom line for me: not all of the stories will bowl the reader over, but there's certainly a lot of good to be found in these pages.

SKELETON CREW is mostly a collection of Stephen King short stories (there are a couple of poems). The collection was published around 1986. King had been a world-wide publishing phenomenon for just over a decade at that point. The stories are mostly hits, including a few bona fide classics, including "The Mist", "The Monkey", and "The Raft" with just a few lackluster tales. Most of the stories are works that were published previously in various print sources. The stories are prefixed with an introduction by King explaining why he still writes short stories. The works in the book are as follows.

"The Mist"--recently published as a stand alone novella and adapted by Frank Darabont into a motion picture. "The Mist" is probably the strongest story in the collection and one of the better known and well-liked stories from SKELETON CREW. "The Mist" tells the story of a group of people that find themselves stranded at a local shopping center when a mysterious mist covers the town and surroundings and brings with it creatures from a prehistoric age. If you've seen Darabont's film, you really should read the story. The story has an ambiguous ending, but literally ends in "hope".

"Here There Be Tygers"--a little boy has to go to the bathroom but is scared because he believes that there is a tiger inside the stalls. Not everything is in one's imagination and children don't cry wolf as often as many adults think they do.

"The Monkey"--this is probably the best known tale from SKELETON CREW, after "The Mist". "The Monkey" is a story about a man who believes that a mechanical, cymbal-crashing monkey is cursed. He believes that every time the monkey crashes its symbols someone close to the man dies. The man tried to get rid of the monkey before, but it keeps coming back.

"Cain Rose Up"--this story reminded me quite a bit like King's novel RAGE and the novella APT PUPIL. A young, seemingly together college student goes on a shooting spree after taking his finals.

"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"--a homespun yarn told by an elderly man about the wife of one of the "summer people" who used to go driving and was able to find all kinds of shortcuts through Maine, the United States, and even beyond. King is known for writing scary and horror stories, but he really shines as a writer in stories like this.

"The Jaunt"--a sci-fi story about the dangers of traveling through time in order to travel through space.

"The Wedding Gig"--a Prohibition-era story about a group of musicians who go to play at the wedding of the sister of a local gang boss. The festivities turn violent, but the narrator witnesses the turning point in the life of a female gang boss.

"Paranoid: A Chant"--a poem about paranoia.

"The Raft"--four college students, two males and two females, set out for a swim and a little excitement out on a raft in a private pond on the last warm day of autumn. They think they are alone, but there is something in the water that is hungry and just won't let them leave. This story was adapted into a film short as part of CREEPSHOW 2.

"Word Processor of the Gods"--a young man is married to a woman he that no longer loves him and has a good-for-nothing son. He's brother married the girl of his dreams and his nephew was like the son he never had. But they were killed in a car accident. His nephew made a special gift for his uncle and it's delivered to his writing studio not long after they die. The gift is a word processor of enormous power that changes his life forever.

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"--a club of elderly gentleman gather together to tell stories (the group also appears in "The Breathing Method" in DIFFERENT SEASONS). George Gregson tells a story about a murder he witnessed caused by a man who would not shake hands.

"Beachworld"--a sci-fi story about a group of future astronauts from a different world crashing into the desert of an unknown world. All the have to do is wait for rescue, but they aren't alone because the desert sands are alive.

"The Reaper's Image"--there is a mirror that seems to be normal. However, it is incredibly valuable because there is only one other like it known to exist in the world. It is said that the mirror is cursed because if you look into the mirror and see the Reaper, you disappear forever.

"Nona"--a young man meets a dark and mysterious young woman and begins a night of intense violence that ends in the shed of a graveyard.

"For Owen"--a poem

"Survivor Type"--a story about a man shipwrecked on an island who eats himself to death.

"Uncle Otto's Truck"--an ancient broken-down antique truck left in the fields to rust causes a man to die and another to go insane.

"Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)"--the milkman delivers milk, but he also delivers death.

"Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)"--this story connects with "Morning Deliveries" and illustrates what happens to one of the people the milkman delivers to.

"Gramma"--young George is left alone with his gramma when his mother has to leave when George's brother breaks his arm. George doesn't like gramma. She's been dying for several years, but people say there isn't something right about gramma. People are scared of her because she's a witch.

"The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet"--an aging editor tells the story of the greatest story he never got to publish and how it caused him to go insane.

"The Reach"--a ghost story about an old woman who lives on an island who has never been to the mainland.

The stories are followed by a series of notes where King expounds upon some of the stories in the book. Out of all the stories in the book, the ones I liked best are "The Mist", "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut", "The Raft", "Word Processor of the Gods", "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands", and "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet".

Overall, a great short story collection full of tales from a variety of genres. A must read for fans of Stephen King. Also recommended for anyone who likes reading short stories (and who doesn't mind a few minor frights).

It's one of my son's favorite movies. We've worn out the video tape, destroyed a disc and absolutely had to have another one. We've already watched it 5 times since it arrived a month ago. I'm more of "The Hours" type of movie watcher, but I love watching this one with my son. Action, monsters, chases, and pyrotechnics--it has it all. Oh yeah--- it's also a love story. Like I said, it has it all.

We usually only buy movies we are willing to watch over and over again. This is one of those movies.

Yeah, this was an awesome movie. Good special effects, and I do love Matthew Broderick.

It's hysterical how the 1 and 5 star reviews are nearly equal on this pile of trash. Not that I expect anything else, as I believe 85%+ of people are idiots. The even split simply means that all of the 15% as well as 2 out of 5 idiots found this film to be the garbage that it is. That means the 4 and 5 star rating are from the dumbest of the dumb. And if that means you, please stop apologizing for bad films by saying dumb things like 'it's a popcorn movie' (popcorn isn't stupid) and 'why look for deep meaning in a film with with a giant lizard?'. This only proves how little thought these viewers use. The original 'Gojira' film had the giant lizard, too, and the whole story was an alegory on the threat of nuclear weapons. This one is an alegory on P.T.Barnum's most famous phrase (look it up). There is no reason an effects-laden action film can't also have some thought involved. Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich are overpaid putzes producing 'junk movies' for the braindead that walk among us. Lowest common denominator product. The rest of us expect more for our $10. This one insults you right to your face, and you thank them for it?

This American reimagining to the 1954 masterpiece has amazing CGI effects, but that doesn't make it good. Instead of Godzilla we get a giant CGI iguana running around New York city, who's only purpose is to lay eggs and not destroy buildings. Even when Godzilla makes his/her's first appearance he/she still doesn't still anything and Godzilla has lost all it's power which means godzilla can't kill people with atomic breath all this tuna head can do is runaway from the military,because it knows it's weak. Anyways enough about the giant iguana in the movie nobody seems to be surpise or scared that a gigantic iguana is attacking NYC everyone acts like it's a normal thing. Can you see why everyone hates this movie and also somewhere in the middle of the movie Godzilla's egg hatches a bunch of mini Godzilla's start running around chasing the main characters just because they smelled like fish, right there everyone should know that the director tried to rip off Jurassic Park. Godzilla's babies even looked like the raptures in the movie.

Before I finish this review I going to say that not even the plot made sense,because in the movie Godzilla is a mutated iguana which is a reptile, but Mathew Brodrick's character keeps saying it's an anphibian throughout the whole movie even though it's an iguana.

1 out of 5

It's one of my son's favorite movies. We've worn out the video tape, destroyed a disc and absolutely had to have another one. We've already watched it 5 times since it arrived a month ago. I'm more of "The Hours" type of movie watcher, but I love watching this one with my son. Action, monsters, chases, and pyrotechnics--it has it all. Oh yeah--- it's also a love story. Like I said, it has it all.

We usually only buy movies we are willing to watch over and over again. This is one of those movies.

Yeah, this was an awesome movie. Good special effects, and I do love Matthew Broderick.

It's hysterical how the 1 and 5 star reviews are nearly equal on this pile of trash. Not that I expect anything else, as I believe 85%+ of people are idiots. The even split simply means that all of the 15% as well as 2 out of 5 idiots found this film to be the garbage that it is. That means the 4 and 5 star rating are from the dumbest of the dumb. And if that means you, please stop apologizing for bad films by saying dumb things like 'it's a popcorn movie' (popcorn isn't stupid) and 'why look for deep meaning in a film with with a giant lizard?'. This only proves how little thought these viewers use. The original 'Gojira' film had the giant lizard, too, and the whole story was an alegory on the threat of nuclear weapons. This one is an alegory on P.T.Barnum's most famous phrase (look it up). There is no reason an effects-laden action film can't also have some thought involved. Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich are overpaid putzes producing 'junk movies' for the braindead that walk among us. Lowest common denominator product. The rest of us expect more for our $10. This one insults you right to your face, and you thank them for it?

This American reimagining to the 1954 masterpiece has amazing CGI effects, but that doesn't make it good. Instead of Godzilla we get a giant CGI iguana running around New York city, who's only purpose is to lay eggs and not destroy buildings. Even when Godzilla makes his/her's first appearance he/she still doesn't still anything and Godzilla has lost all it's power which means godzilla can't kill people with atomic breath all this tuna head can do is runaway from the military,because it knows it's weak. Anyways enough about the giant iguana in the movie nobody seems to be surpise or scared that a gigantic iguana is attacking NYC everyone acts like it's a normal thing. Can you see why everyone hates this movie and also somewhere in the middle of the movie Godzilla's egg hatches a bunch of mini Godzilla's start running around chasing the main characters just because they smelled like fish, right there everyone should know that the director tried to rip off Jurassic Park. Godzilla's babies even looked like the raptures in the movie.

Before I finish this review I going to say that not even the plot made sense,because in the movie Godzilla is a mutated iguana which is a reptile, but Mathew Brodrick's character keeps saying it's an anphibian throughout the whole movie even though it's an iguana.

1 out of 5