Movies Books

Congratulations to Moonstone for bringing out a second anthology of our favorite underdog in a birdfeeder hat.

For those of you new, Kolchak was the X-Files before the X-Files. Get The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (Double Feature), then the TV series (Kolchak - The Night StalkerS). And I must give kudos again to Moonstone: The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels, the Holy Grail, is back in print

Each story deserves its own rating. The two best are "Stealing Fire" (Ch. 2) and "Call Me Sam." (Ch. 16). Coincidentally they are about mercy and justice respectively. Kolchak, when the writers are at their best, is not about chills or the fear of the unknown, but about the human condition. We all live below our potential, so we are all underdogs. We have all told our employer "See, I Told You So," so we are all Cassandras. And somehow, we still seem to come out on top, despite the dangers.

Chapter 17 "Cancellation" is a treat. It was written by Mark Dawidziak, the author of the The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute. It is also a wonderful "In Your Face" for any Kolchak fan who was bothered, even scandalized by the not-short-enough revival series Night Stalker - The Complete Series. It has to be 2007's winner of the Tom Swift Award for Dead-On Satire. Again, Cassandra; again "See, I told You So."

The rest of the stories are ho-hum. This is not bad, because the series had it share of turkeys. Future Authors: Keep in mind that Kolchak has a very obvious pattern or format.

* The story being with a run of the mill crime, with some inexplicable details.
* There are Dragnet-esque time slugs, which gives the story a feeling of concrete and factual reality.
* Kolchak examines the odd details.
* Tony is skeptical, which he indicates at the top of his lungs.
* Kolchak interacts with quirky experts, oddball people, and mysterious contacts (The Monk of the lower orders is the best informant).
* Kolchak runs afoul of the Powers That Be who mastermind a cover-up in the public interest. (Claude Atkins is the best, with Mr. RING the creepiest)
* Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
* There is collateral damage, for which Kolchak takes the blame.
* Justice is served to society, but not to Kolchak.

This formula also explains why Kolchak lasted only one season. The concept was limited, and there was no room for growth. At the end of The Night Strangler, Tony gets convinced, but then later in the series he thinks Kolchak is crazy. The backtracking locked the series into a formula that would quickly becomes stale and repetitive. The Cassandra complex got old since it never went anywhere.

*

So if you like you horror in a lo-cal version, such as Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) or Ghostbusters Double Feature Gift Set (Ghostbusters/ Ghostbusters 2 and Commerative Book), or just love Darren McGaven, get this book. It's not the over the top best, but the three stories are worth reading.

Another collection of fine stories. This is the character we all grew to know and love back in the seventies, not the one in the aborted new show(shudder). It's worth the price to lovers of the oddball character Darrin McGavin brought us way back when. Moonstone has a new novel on the way as well. Anyone who likes good adventure should check out The Spider anthology and The forthcoming Phantom anthology as well.

A wonderful collection of new adventures for our beloved Night Stalker, Carl Kolchak. Spooky, unnerving, supernatural, fun, funny, and thought-provoking, these tales stay true to the quirky character we came to love on television in the 1970's. Includes two gorgeous interior illos by Cortney Skinner for the Chris Golden/Rick Hautala and the Pierce Askegren stories. Absolutely worth the cover price.

When Kolchak: The Nightstalker premiered in 1974, I was firmly convinced it was the greatest show ever. Unfortunately not enough people thought the same way I did and the show lasted a single season...just 20 episodes in all. Despite that, the show has continued to have a strong cult following and re-runs were still turning up on the Sci-Fi channel just a couple of years ago. ABC even did a remake, which failed miserably. While the remake had the same character names, the show had no character, at least none of the character that the original did. Carl Kolchak, reporter for the Independent News Service, each week encountered the strange and horrific: werewolves, vampires, swamp creatures, Native American spirits, mummies, etc...Each week Kolchak would find a way to destroy the creature and each week no one would believe him.

While the remake failed to capture the spirit of the original show, Moonstone Books has been doing a marvelous job keeping Kolchak alive through a series of graphic novels and prose books. The latest is Kolchak: The Nightstalker Casebook, featuring 17 original stories by Tom DeFalco, P.N. Elrod, Elizabeth Massie, Joe Gentile, Mike Baron, Christopher Golden, John Ostrander, and James Reasoner, to name just a few. What is immediately obvious is that these writers were all fans of the show and understand the Kolchak character very well. Kolchak was an average guy. Unlike most central characters of TV shows, Kolchak was older, middle-aged in fact. Not especially handsome, nor athletic, and not particularly brave. His courage grew out of his need to always be able to get the story.

One unique characteristic of the TV show was that Kolchak (played remarkably by the late Darren McGavin) often voiced over certain scenes in the show in a first person perspective, usually a scene where a pretty girl was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many of the stories in this book, and frankly my favorite ones, are told in first person point of view and it made me feel like I was sitting around my parent's living room on a Friday night watching the show again. They've not only captured Kolchak's character but also that of his irascible editor Tony Vincenzo, and fellow INS reporter the squeamish Ron Updyke.

While the TV show was set in Chicago, the stories in this book are set in California as Kolchak and Vincenzo have moved on to the Hollywood Dispatch. Allowing the writers some poetic license, they acknowledge the Chicago period yet these stories are set firmly in the present with mention of modern day technology such as computers and cell phones. Kolchak will encounter the spirit of a bloodthirsty Aztec priestess, a lake-dwelling creature, an inhuman grave robber, a ghostly diner, spectral pirates, and other denizens of the night.

One of the most poignant tales, Alternate Endings by John Ostrander, finds Kolchak back in Chicago and visiting the boarded up local tavern he frequented with an old flame named Cassie who was murdered by a serial killer. Walking through the door of the long closed bar, Kolchak is transported back in time with a chance to save his one time love from her terrible fate.

The series may have ended over thirty years ago but Kolchak lives on thanks to Moonstone books.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

When this TV show was originally being aired on ABC back in the early 1970's I was a teenager and never watched it.

But several years later in the late '70's while at college in California, reruns were being shown on some station out there in L.A. - and I became hooked.

The flashback scenes with Masters Po and Kan are FANTASTIC, teach insightful lessons of life to live by, and really are the essence of the show.

Pilato's "Kung-Fu Book of Caine" is an absolutely tremendous supplement to the series, and with all the interesting background information he provides, one can appreciate the show even more.

Yesterday I was even inspired to purchase the recently-released DVD of the first two seasons of "Kung-Fu" here on Amazon [...]

This book has it all: a show by show guide, photographs, and more pertaining to the best television program ever. I have even more love towards the show after reading this book!

What a terrific way to re-live and reminisce about the great old days of the original Kung Fu TV show. The book gives a very interesting behind-the-scenes look at the creative and talented writers and actors who worked on the show, and follows with an episode-by-episode synopsis. The book, like the TV show, leaves you wanting more, so I can only hope that more will become available soon. In the meantime, the Book of Caine is a nice addition to any fan's collection.

The book gives a basic overview of the series without getting bogged downed with actor biographies, it sticks right to the series. Included in the book is an overview of every episode of all three seasons including a plot summary and listing of the main actors. It also explores the relationships of the characters to one another especially Caine and his teachers Master Kan and Master Po. A fantastic book that I used extensively as I rewatched the series (all three of the seasons are now available on DVD). An excellent companion to a fantastic show.

When I saw this movie, I was blown away. Now, being a kid, I didn't really get the full effect of the movie and didn't understand some of the plot, until, that is, I bought thi Screenplay. it made a lot of things clear. And also, it tells you the stage directions, which, if you want to use a piece from this a a monologue is a whole lot easier... A few complaints, though. There are some great lines in the movie that weren't included in the book and some extra ones that you don't see in the movie. For example, Captain Dudley is not Irish! Anyway, that only matters to nuts like myself. In closing, it's a great book and is worth it. I memorized the entire movie!

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL is one of the most riveting movies I have seen in years and was more than deserving of its Best Picture nomination (another one that bit the dust because of a sinking ship). The movie is really fast-paced and it is easy to miss things. Even after repeated viewings there are lines that you don't quite understand and clues here and there you don't pick up. After reading the screenplay, everything comes together and one can find the missing pieces in this murder mystery modern film noir. An excellent screenplay to compliment an superb movie.

L.A. Confidential, winner of 2 1997 Academy Awards, is a classic thriller that is completely unforgettable. The script includes characters who were portrayed by Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, (in her oscar winning performance) and Danny Devito. They all live in Los Angeles and are involved in a conspiracy in which is a mystery of who killed who? Anyhow, there are several plots to the script involving cops, reporters, and even HOOKERS THAT LOOK LIKE MOVIE STARS (Kim Basinger) I give this Academy Award winning script a superb rating that should be recommended to numerous people across the country. It's an unforgettable suspense classic you don't want to miss!

I was a Los Angeles Police Officer from 1956-62. The period of the book (film) was early 50's. The film portrays, with great accuracy, conditions and attitudes on the LAPD. The "Bloody Christmas" beating of two LAPD officers was accurately portrayed, down to the "almost" correct pronounciation of the name of the officer who received the most severe beating. The backdrop of LA, was exact. All in all, a terrific book and film.

One of the best books,if not THE BEST book,on Laurel & Hardy.Everything you want to know is right here.Every single L&H film ever made so fully detailed.Plus details on every actor and actress the boys had worked with.Information on video and DVD releases and computer colourization.

A book I highly recommend.

I've been a L&H fan since I was 6 and still am. The "boys" have been making us laugh in television re-runs, video and DVD but die hard fans are probably wondering what was the story behind the merriment? Here we have a GOLD MINE of trivia, facts and much more. Included are biographies of the pickle faced Jimmy Finlayson, Leo McCarey (who directed many of the later films) re-occuring themes, "the wives" music like "The Cuckoos" even comments on props like the bowler hats that Stan and Ollie wore. So sit back, relax and enjoy the world of two of the most talented comedians to grace the silver screen.

This book is chock full of essential and not so essential minutae on the careers,lives,films,you-name-it of the worlds greatest film comedy duo of all time,Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
That it is entitled an "encyclopedia" is no idle boast.There isn't too much that I can find that Mr.Mitchell didn't include.All is in alphabetical order and every topic you can think of from individual films,actors directly and indirectly associated with the Boys,explanations of for example reciprocal destruction,authors of other books,et al,are included in this unique volume.
At the end of each defined topic are cross references to other topics associated in some way with the one you just read which leads you hopping from one place to another.If you're not sure exactly what it is you're looking for you are eventually sure to run into something related to your field of interest as each topic is not exactly specific in nature such as "doors" or "locations" or "trains".
This is a book you don't read from cover to cover because it is like an encyclopedia but tons more fun!It's also full of illustrations and photos.
One entertaining and essential book on Laurel and Hardy that I recommend you add to your collection.

This is a gold mine of information, much of which is not going to be found elsewhere easily, if at all. Glenn Mitchell has done a thorough job of researching his subjects, and it shows. Clearly, he enjoys The Boys as well, since a noticeable amount of wit and humor add to the fun of reading the book. Incidentally, it's virtually im possible ("I have just two words...") to read the book in sequence; the cross references just go on and on. All in all, it's a most worthy companion to Randy Skretvedt's "Laurel and Hardy: the Magic Behind the Movies".

My 5 year old son is a model and has begun auditioning for commercials. This book has been great to read together to learn terminology that is used in the business and to understand the entire process and how everything fits together and relates in the business. It's a great book for anyone new to the acting business.

This book tells you how movies are made. It is a great book to read if you are a beginning actor/actress. It is very interesting. I highly recomend this book for kids.

This book has everything you ever wanted to know about auditons, agents, filming and effects. You follow Johnny as he is cast in the movie "The Mists of Time".

While this book has a large section geared towards actors and that aspect of the industry, it also has other sections that talk about various aspects of producing a movie including script and sound effects. I was generally pleased to purchase this for my ten yr old to get a grip on what was involved in actually making a movie. It is fun and easy to follow.

This is not a book teaching how to write a film score. Instead, it shows how film scores are conceived, created, and recorded, and is written for any enthusiast to enjoy. There are chapters covering who does what, how they do it, the machines involved, and case studies of several films with notable scores. In addition to explaining current practice, the book includes historical material about the legendary film music of the old-time studios and their staff composers and orchestras. The appendix section has guides to various composers listing their works, and a list of movies listing their composers. You can even look up Academy Award winners from each year! This is a fun book to sit and browse through.

This is the most thorough layman's book on the art and business of film music that I have read. LISTENING TO MOVIES has a wealth of information on the great and innovative composers for film from the 1930s on, notable films they have done and the styles they have worked within. It also devotes plenty of space to lesser known figures who are usually left out of the discussion.

Fred Karlin, a very successful film composer himself (UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE, WESTWORLD), covers all aspects of the scoring process - how the music is written, recorded and finally "spotted". Film music being a collaborative effort, he gives everyone involved his/her due - not just the composers, but also the arrangers, orchestrators, copyists et al.

Also, music during the Silent Era and many references to major composers of film music outside of the United States. At the back of the book are useful composer/films and film/composer lists.

I have and enjoy other books on this topic. None of them do what LISTENING TO MOVIES does. It's a great reference book.

I wrote the above review over 3 years ago, and I think I've re-read this book as many times since then. I *still* can't get enough of it.

This is an absolutely fantastic chronology of film music through the ages... from the silent era to the "John Williams" era to today. This book makes for entertaining and informative reading with quotes from so many in-the-industry sources that your head will spin! It's the most up-to-date reference I've found so far on film-scoring techniques and the problems historically associated with this genre. I'd even recommend it to film-goers with a just a passing interest in music as well

THIS IS A TOUCHING AND SENSITIVE PORTRAYAL OF THE LIVES OF FOUR YOUNG GIRLS LIVING WITH THEIR MOTHER WHEN THEIR FATHER GOES TO WAR.IT TAKES PLACE DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND IS A HEART WARMING EXPERIENCE. DESPITE ALL THE STUGGLES THE MARCH FAMILY HAS TO BYPASS TO MAKE ENDS MEET,THEY SHOW NOTHING BUT ENDURING COMPASSION FOR ONE ANOTHER AND THIS DISPLAYS AN IDEAL FAMILY. THIS IS AN UNFORGETTABLE STORY THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN PUT TOGETHER ANY BETTER.IT IS TRULY INSPIRATIONAL AND WILL STAY WITH ME FOR LIFE. NO MATTER WHAT IS TAKEN FROM ME, MY MEMORY WILL ALWAYS REMAIN AND SO WILL MY HEART.

LITTLE WOMEN was absolutely wonderful! I would suggest it to anyone.

Little Women is a long book, throughly describing the March sisters' life during the Civil War. Louisa May Alcott has an excellent way of bringing the girls' real personalities to life, even 130 years later!!!! Little Women is a riveting book that propels the reader back in time to the Victorian era with its anti-woman tendencies. Even at the ripe old age of 11 or 12, this book will never leave you. Take my advice: man or woman, boy or girl, this should be one book you read in your lifetime.

Little Women is a book set in the American Civil War telling the lives of four girls, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, set on the authors own experiances. THis book is really good because it has wonderful description so you're living the lives with the characters. It is humourous and funny, but it is also a very heartwarming story of the families struggles while the father, Mr March, is away fighting for the freedom of black people. My personal favourite character is Jo, who is the heroing of the story. She makes friends with her next-door neighbour, Theodore Laurence and they have any number of troubles. Jo constantly tries to comtrol her quick temper through the story and I think it is very good reading for anyone with a quick temper, or when anyone wants to relax with a good book. The book is quite predictable but it has a lot of good laughs and the storyline is exceptional. Over-all I think this book is good for anyone to read

so cool...i loved these books and the movie was pretty good too. Totally awsome because it was filled with exticing adventures and cool charecters. IT was a great plot too.

This is a very nice set I can tell you. I love the cover art and the design is of good quality I think. A bit of info. is added(in "The Return of the King", I think.)

Needless to say this is a classic story and one of the very best of our time. If you've seen the movies but NOT these films, well...what are you waiting for, the end of middle-earth?

i am not a book fan. but as soon as i seen the movie for this, i wanted to see what the book was like. and being my first book, it was even better than the movie. there wasnt a dull moment in ths book. Tolkien really brought this book to life. and as you are reading it, it almost seems as this really happened at some point in time. though it was somewhat different from the movie, it had a lot more deatail and story into it, which merely but tastefully hints in the moive. but i think this deserved the highest raiting for its clever use of words, vividly described scenes, and characters and plots that could only be found in this book.

GREAT the best trilogy ever

This book was bought for my son. He said: It goes behind the scenes of the earth bender and it shows lots of details about the Earth kingdom. I liked it.

We have the entire series. My son loves them all.

I have seen the movies and I like this book because I learned the legend of Omashu, that wasn't included in the movies. Each of the "Scroll" books have 3 different legends. This book is not a cartoon book, it is more of a chapter book. There are lots of pictures, some not from the movie. If you really want to know more about Avatar I recommend this book.

For fans that are always seeking to always learn more about the world of Avatar, I definitely recommend these Lost Scrolls; not only do they contain resumed chapters, but also information that is not mentioned nor in the series. One really learns a lot.

Excellent book. Bela Lugosi is one of my favourite horror artists. He has made many films and thanks to this biography we can understand Mr. Lugosi as well as an artist and human being.The pictures are so good.
Can we imagine Bela Lugosi as Jesuschrist and Dracula at the same time ???

"Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers" isn't a biography of the late horror icon. Great biographies on Lugosi have already been done, most notably by Arthur Lennig in "The Immortal Count". Rather, author Gary Don Rhodes takes a different tack. While the book does contain a biography of Lugosi, it only comprises less than forty of the book's 400 plus pages. Rather, Rhodes has tried, and very successfully I might add, to provide lists of everything relating to Lugosi's life and career.

After the bio-section, we get a list of every known Lugosi residence in the United States, complete with address, telephone number, and the years...or often times months...that the actor resided at each spot. One could make quite a trip out of visiting all of Lugosi's former homes in California. We also get a list of all of Lugosi's court appearances for divorces, lawsuits, and bankruptcy petitions. Each goes into incredible detail and allows the reader a rare glimpse into a celebrity's personal life. There is a very detailed account of the lawsuit that Lugosi's son, Bela Jr., brought against Universal Studios when he discovered his fathers likeness being used to sell products such as the old Aurora model kits.

Rhodes next provides a list of every Lugosi film, not only his movies in the U.S., but also those he made in Germany, and his native Hungary before coming to America. Each film includes a list of cast, credits, plot, synopsis, and production notes. While there is obviously a lot more detail included on the films made here, I was quite surprised at the amount of information that Rhodes was able to uncover on Lugosi's foreign credits. It's hard enough sometimes to find out details about silent films made in this country, let alone those made in Germany and Hungary.

Next up we have Lugosi's stage, live, vaudeville, radio, and TV appearances, again with a staggering amount of detail. A selected list of over 500 articles from magazines over the years follows and provides even more details about his career. These articles are culled from magazines like Variety, Famous Monsters of Filmland, FilmFax, and Midnight Marquee.

Still hungry for more? How about a list of Lugosi's most famous quotes, books on the star, articles on merchandising and collecting Lugosi memorabilia, and Lugosi mysteries. Perhaps the most famous mystery surrounding Lugosi is the test film shot for his audition to play the monster in "Frankenstein". Rumors persisted for years that the film existed and it was even advertised for sale but was never produced. Truly one of the Holy Grails in horror history!

"Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers" is a fabulous book because it ISN'T what you thought it would be, i.e. just another biography. Rhodes did a lot of legwork to come up with a treasure chest full of information about a true Hollywood legend.


Reviewed by Tim Janson

In August, 1956, faded horror film star Bela Lugosi died forgotten and penniless in Los Angeles. Five marriages, two bankruptcies, and a slow descent into chemical abuse and career collapse had taken their toll. Considered the ultimate "Dracula" star and actor today, Lugosi had watched his film success peak in the early 1930's. Boris Karloff quickly passed him by as the new King of Hollywood Horror. And poor Bela never recovered from the loss of prestige. Settling for a paltry $3500. to star in "Dracula" for Universal in 1931, Lugosi fumbled through a long line of poor business managers and faulty screen appearances right up until his untimely death. Just one year after his demise, Universal Studios re-packaged their old classic 1930's horror flicks for TV as "Shock Theater". Instantly, teens around the world reveled in the calculated mannerisms of the Hungarian Count. A big new star was born...just after his final curtain. "Lugosi: His Life in Films" reveals every detail. Published in 1996, you won't find this excellent compendium in any store. But you can order it through Amazon. Lovingly written by cinephile Gary Don Rhodes, the book lists every film, event, and appearance of the cinema icon. Bela Lugosi was scheduled to play Dracula in 1944's "House of Frankenstein". He never did. A marvelous photo of him as Jesus Christ(one of many great pics) reveals his true versatility. These rare pictures and historical investigations are all here for the true Lugosi fan. It's astounding that such a comprehensive work is available. Should we be surprised? Maybe not. After all..."There are many things under the sun..."