Movies Books

I LOVED this book! It was such a fun read. I grew up loving the Judy Garland film The Harvey Girl, so I was excited to read this take on one of my favorite topics. It did not disappoint! I can't wait for the sequel!

Shelia Wood Foard has created a great resource for middle-grade teachers to use in their classroom. What better way to reach students than with literature that speaks to them and tells a story--a Harvey Girl's story at that! Children love to learn about the past, and they love stories. Foard's book does a wonderful job of both. Harvey Girl would be a great read aloud or an even better literature circle discussion book. Check it out today!

I enjoyed "Harvey Girl" very much. Foard is a good writer. She obviously knows her history but she also knows the value of a good story. Through the skillful use of fiction and the development of Claire, the main character,the entire era comes alive. I particularly liked the way in which the early twentieth century Ozarks culture and dialect were so faithfully portrayed. You'll like this story and learn some new things as well. I guarantee!

Harvey Girl is as delicious as the gourmet food once served in Harvey Houses along the railways of the Southwest. Sheila Wood Foard sweeps readers into the past, in a story that both kids and adults will enjoy. Ride the rails with fourteen-year-old Clara Fern Massie as she runs away from her Ozark home to become a waitress in New Mexico and later at a Harvey House on the rim of the Grand Canyon. As she learns the "Harvey Way," Clara meets movie stars, famous suffragists, cowboys and Indians while secrets and lies threaten to send her home. I especially enjoyed watching Clara mature from a country girl to an independent, young woman. Harvey Girl is historical fiction at its best, a terrific read and ideal for classroom use.

this is a special book filled with 43 pictures from the hit video! plus a special bonus-a beautiful keepsake pink dolphin necklace

In this book, Nine year old twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, go off to hawaii and make sand castles, surf, swim, goon jet skies, and have fun with there friends! This is one of my favorite stores about the olsen twins. I like their younger books better when they were little girls. Such as The Adventures of Mary-kate and Ashley and Your invied to mary-kate and ashleys and Full House Michelle and The New Adventures of Mary-kate and Ashley and Full House Sisers and Two of Kind, these are much better then when their teenagers when all they think of is boys and clothes!

If you first read the book it is great but the movie is better but

the picture in the book are great and you get a dolphin necklace for free with it

when you read the book you feel like you are in hawaiian yourself. The book is ofcourse for children that have a better time for it.

it is about mk&a that have weekend and decide with there friends to go to hawaiian where the have the fun of there lives.

good book for your children and maybe for you to

Cool, this is more a picture book, and not a reading book... But that's one of the reasons i love it so much, the pics are great and NOT blurry.. The story is not very good, it's for little children, but i'm a big (15 years old) fan so i bought it anyway.... and i love it because of the pics, the pics come from their party video "Hawaiien Beach Party" and are kinda rare.. so i give this book 4 stars for the pics!! and the story?? well.. i give that a 0... but i think the pics are more important so i still give this book 4 stars, if you are an MKA fan you gotta get this book!! it's a collecters item!!

This book is amazing! If you are a Heath Ledger fan, you will enjoy reading and learning about his life in this book. The book chapters every era of his life leading up to his death and provides its readers with information not previously known about the late great actor who will be greatly missed. As a Heath Ledger fan, this book is a must have for your collection.

This book is a must have for any Heath Ledger fan! It begins with Heath's birth and home life in Perth, Australia, and leads up to his final two roles in Hollywood. Each chapter includes information from the family as well as many family photographs. While Heath and Michelle are protective of their little girl Matilda, Heath does talk some about becoming a parent and how Matilda changed his life. A great read, appropriate photos, as well as lots of information from many different interviews.

A must have if you have ever enjoyed a Heath Ledger movie!!!

This is a very informative look into the life of the late Heath Ledger. If you want to get a look into the early years of Heath all the way up to his untimely death, look no further than this book. It's very well written and has numerous quotes from Heath himself from past interviews. It's a real page-turner with great and unseen pictures before. Enjoy!

Beautiful, never before seen pictures of Heath Ledger throughout his career. Author did a tasteful job in writing this book. R.I.P. Heath

Having purchased the first Art of Hellboy, I can say that this book is similarly put together like the first one by Dark Horse and the filmmakers, notably Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola. Which means it's great. You can see the details of the rough concepts from Guillermo himself, who's always generous enough to spill the beans on what went on in his creative mind during the preconception period of the movie up until the realization.

Lots of sketches and excerpts from Del Toro's diary that resembles ancient hyeroglyphic carvings. Basically, both Hellboy moviemaking art books are scriptbooks that are spiced up with conceptual designs, rough sketches, stills, and journal excerpts. To complement, I'm looking forward to more creature designs from this movie in the upcoming book The Monsters of Hellboy II.

If you're a monster fanatic, this book is a must for you.

This book wasn't hard covered and had 224 pages. The paper stock belonged more to the magazine type, but much thicker.

The artbook features plenty of concept art throughout the pages with relating movie scripts. A considerable amount of artwork was draw using pencil. I haven't seen as much pencil coverage on other books. There are lots of painted stuff too. All felt very raw and simulated pages that had just come off the artists' drawing board.

The drawings, storyboards, character designs were captioned by original Hellboy artist Mike Mignola, and other concept artists, providing plenty of insights into the designs.

3D computer graphics write up was missing from the book. Computer graphics fans looking to read about how the characters are modeled and the technology behind the movie, be prepared to be disappointed. This artbook is all about concept.

More monster art will be featured in the other artbook called Monsters of Hellboy II.

There are more pictures on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for my blog's link.

If I needed any further evidence that Guillermo Del Toro is the ideal man to venture back into Middle-Earth, this would be it.

"The Art of Hellboy II" takes the most visually stunning fantasy movie in years, and turns it inside out for scrutiny. It's crammed with countless images, models, photos and sketches for the dozens of weird, bizarre creatures in Del Toro's steampunky fairy world, as well as the full-length shooting script. For anyone who enjoyed the movie, this is bliss.

First of all -- despite the "Art" title -- there's Del Toro's introduction, in which he explores the origins of the second Hellboy movie (and his original concept, which had nothing to do with fairies). Not only does he cite Lord Dunsany as a shaping influence, but he describes how they struggled to get a studio to accept such an unconventional fantasy movie.Then the script. It's a pretty detailed script with plenty of details and witty lines ("One day mankind will realize its mistake. Eight track was the way to go!").

And accompanying the script is art. Lots of art, following the storyline so that people reading it can see what appears on the screen -- for example, the scene where Hellboy get literally blown out of his room is accompanied by a storyboard of Manning and Abe watching the steel door fly toward them. There's a lot of storyboards, actually -- and some of them are wonderfully detailed, such as the scene where Johann temporarily revives a fairy.

But there are also plenty of other kinds of concept drawings, sometimes for things that only appear for a few seconds. It soon becomes obvious that Del Toro not only has his own style -- in this movie, sort of a mixture of ancient Celtic, Neil Gaimanesque dark fantasy, and steampunk -- but a great eye for detail. He works out elaborate masks, a fey alphabet, all the little switches and nozzles on Johann's suit, and countless other such things.

Among the gems here -- layout of the BPRD, the vast ruined city, the NYC street where the plant elemental appears, and several of the Troll Market. There are even even puppets for the whole "bedtime story scene" and maquettes (such as the legless goblin).

There are also lot sketches for supporting characters' appearances and clothing. We get metal masks, robes, "princessy" gowns for Nuala, Balor's big steampunk throne, the Butcher Guards' masks and leather butcher aprons, and so on. Even Johann Krauss's helmet and the Angel of Death's gameboard went through several evolutions. Virtually every one is accompanied with a quotation about how they envisioned/created this or that -- for example, Wink was named after Selma Blair's dog.

Some of these resemble the final product, sometimes not -- we get to see several different versions of Wink the Ogre, the Angel of Death (including a many-jawed hollow-eyed skull) and the plant elemental (which looks downright cute in some shots). Just so readers don't get confused about what is eventually used, they're usually accompanied with movie photos to show what was in the actual film.

But the crowning gems of this book are undoubtedly the glimpses into the Troll Market -- this was probably the most alluring and otherworldly scene in the movie, and it's given even greater significance when you see the elaborate sketches of its architecture. Not to mention the inhabitants -- Cathedral-Head, the masked nuns, the mushroom man, the mummy vendor, and the Sacred Fluid Dispenser. Since I love the way that sounds, I'll say it again -- Sacred Fluid Dispenser.

And the last page of the script is quite intriguing, since it leads in to a possible third movie (you know, when Del Toro actually has some free time). And Del Toro's diary entries -- still in untranslated Spanish with lots of coloured sketches -- are a nice finishing touch.

The wealth of concept art and background information in "Hellboy II: The Art of the Movie" are stunning in their complexity -- and anyone who appreciated Del Toro's artistry in the movie should take a peek at this.

Anyone who purchased the first Art of HELLBOY will not be disappointed by this "sequel". Mike Mignola & Wayne Barlowe are now joined by the talents of Francisco Ruiz Valasco & Stephen Scott. Guillermo Del Toro again includes his notebook sketches for some evolutionary insight between his imagining to finished character. The complete & final script is once again included. As impressive as this book is I must admit I am even more eager about the forthcoming Monsters of Hellboy II. But this book does stand alone quite easily for anyone, Either for fans of the series or anyone interested in design.

This is a very interesting book. It's easy to read, has numerous pictures and is very informative. It's obvious that the author did alot of research before writing it. Job well done Mr. Abrams!

A brilliant collection of anecdotes about gays and sexual outlaws in pre-WWII Hollywood. Abrams uncovered information about the movie industry in obscure and difficult to access archives. He gathered the best stories and spun them together into an absorbing narrative. This book is a must-read for everyone who cares about one of the first self-aware gay and lesbian communities in America.

What I loved about this book was how it took you behind the scenes in hidden Hollywood and made it so real to read. The author's writing style was clear, concise and easily pulled me forward into this mysterious world. I would recommend this book to anyone as addicted to movies and its industry as much as I am!

This is a fascinating book about the bohemian lifestyle and how it was accepted,embraced and promoted in Hollywood between the wars. It is a very well documented look at the major part bohemians had in creating the glamorous Hollywood legend. Most of America looked on Hollywood as a sinful, sexy, wild place and most of America wanted to go out there for a personal look at all that hell-raising. Hollywood became known as the film capital of the world and Hollywood stars known as more than just people-maybe mega-people is the right term. I know that ever since I was a kid I've thought of Hollywood as a place I wanted to see for myself and Mr. Abrams has explained why. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Hollywood dazzle and that includes just about everyone, I think.

Unlike other episode guides, this book doesn't give the useless details showwing every action a character makes. For a Buffy and Angel fan such as me you probably seen every episode and season so you know what's going to happen. This book however does give you unique headings such as Logic Let Me Introduce You To This Window which features all the plot flaws, goofs and stunt double that look nothing like the actor. It also includes Dudes and Babes which takes a look at the cute guys and girls shown. The Charisma Show relives the funny and cool bits that Cordelia does. LA Speak gives quotes on the street talk seen on teh show. Designer Label highlights the fashion mistakes so when you watch the episode again you cna take a moment to laugh. It catches all the juicy details missing from regular guides and has a unique style.
I recommend this book and Slayer ( Buffy version) because of it's uniqueness and is a simply must for any fan.

This guide to the TV series "Angel" is a british book by british author Keith Topping(who also did one for Buffy too called "Slayer"), and it's a good, well put together book. You will definitley have a great time with it. It is kinda funny to read it because it's british, but that's what also makes it really interesting. A british perspective on things. The book has descriptions of all the episodes for the show's first two seasons. Along with each episode, comes a number of categories with it.... which has some of the best of the nasty dialogue. It has critiques and notes from critics including the author. It also features "L.A. Speak", featuring slang used in the series. "Logic, Let Me Throw You Out This Window" is about all of the mistakes and goof ups in the show. There is even a section dealing with fashion and describes what characters were wearing and if they were good or not. Plus, there is just some dialogue. Topping really outdoes himself getting into the specifics of the mistakes, or just little details in the background or in the forefront. This guy really has a keen eye!. What would've made this book better was if there were some pictures. Nope. Not here. That is the only drawback to this exceptional book. Topping is a fan. He writes as a fan. He can be overy critical for some episodes, but isn't that a way die hard fans should be?. A great, fun read with really cool tidbits. Fans should really enjoy this!.

This is an excellent guide to seasons 1-4 of Angel. It has very interesting unknown facts. The one that I was most surprised about was that Charisma Carpenter was almost raped back when she was a cheerleader for the Chargers. But with a gun to her and her friends heads she refused to back down. For a more detailed description of this event buy the book.

I also love how it had quotes from each episode. Usually the funniest ones.

Go out and buy this now!

Keith Topping is the best writer of tv episode guides in the business, and this book is another winner. What keeps Keith's guides at the top of the pile is his sense of humour and his infectious admiration for the shows he writes about. His Buffy guide, 'Slayer', is the best episode guide I've read about the show, and this book stands right alongside it as far as detail, opinion and humour go.

If you want a dry, humourless bunch of lists and facts about Angel, give this book a miss. However, if you want a well written and opinionated book with so much detail that you'll re-read it again and again, then this is the book for you. If you are an avid viewer of Angel, you'll be going back to this book frequently.

This is a really different kind of memoir. It's personal, yet gripping as a novel would be (part of it is memior, part is fiction). It's also thoughtful and analytical without falling into the trapof being dry or over-intellectualized. I learned as much about myself as I did about the author. The blurb on the back cover is right - once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

This is an intimately written and insightful work. Anyone interested in women, film, or issues surrounding lesbianism will enjoy the work. Beautifully formatted.

In "Home Movies..." Citron uses an interplay of fact and fiction to guide the reader on a journey of secrets. We are never quite sure of who is speaking and yet always sure it is the author's voice we hear. Citron has crafted her written words with the same sense of artistry evident in her films. This book is powerful and artfully written. It is as much about understanding the well-buried and fragmented narratives we each conceal as it is about the story of Citron's individual exploration of her own stories. Communicated through simple language inflected with subtle nuances, the truths among these pages explore the juncture of life and art. Interacting with this text is quite an experience.

This is a really different kind of memoir. It's personal, yet gripping as a novel would be (part of it is memoir, part is fiction). It's also thoughtful and analytical without falling into the trap of being dry or over-intellectualized. I learned as much about myself as I did about the author. The blurb on the back cover is right - once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

I thought this book was wonderful. Not only would Disney himslef be pleased but the original author of the Peter Pan books would also be pleased.

It is also classic Brooks. Filled with his enriched details and his way of writing that draws the reader into the book.

I have read almost all of the books that Brooks has written, including all of the Shannara books and the Landover series.

He is a wonderful writer and is able in his own way to make the reading of a book not only enjoyable but also very stimulating.

His way of bringing the reader into the novel is so wonderful that you can not put the novel down.

Brooks stayed true to the Peter Pan story and offered us a look at what Peter Pan might have been like had he actually grown up.

For a "What If" book, I give this book, not a 5 star rating but a 10 star rating.

I just read "Sometimes the magic works," a memior from Terry Brooks. He said writing this book was the worst experience of his life. The movie workers helped him in no way, so I was shocked when that person (someone who reviewed the book on amazon) said that the credit for this book goes to them.

And yes, it was good. No, don't buy it though. Borrow it from a friend, that way, Amazon doesn't make any more money.

Let's see how long this review stays posted, if at all.

Poor Peter Banning is living his life in the fast lane, making deals, making deadlines, attending meetings, and getting ahead. But, if there's someone he's not getting ahead with, it his children. But, when his children are kidnapped, Peter suddenly finds himself thrust into a world beyond his imagination. It seems that his children were kidnapped by Captain Hook...that's right, the villain of J. M. Barrie's story. It seems that Hook has this far out idea that Peter Banning is really Peter Pan. To rescue his kids, Peter is going to have to reach deep inside himself, and find something that he lost. But, will he do it in time?

In 1991, director Steven Spielberg produced yet another great movie - Hook. I absolutely love that movie. (I think it is directed more towards fathers than kids!) So, when I saw the book, I jumped at it. In this book, veteran fantasy author takes the story of Hook, and presents it in story form.

Now, it must be admitted that this book does not go beyond the movie, being a faithful novelization of the movie, and nothing more. But, that said, this is a very good book, one that brings back the magic of the movie to you when you are sitting trapped in an airplane, or God knows where. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.

Granted, this book is a novelization of a movie, and a very faithful one at that, so much of the credit goes to the makers of the movie rather than to Brooks, but he does succeed in taking a marvelous story and telling it wonderfully, fully capturing the spirit of the story with his tone, as well as the events in it.

And a wonderful story it is, too. A superb sequel to the original Peter Pan story, answering the question "What would Peter be like if he ever DID grow up?" in a very plausible, indisputable way. Further, it is a perfect primer on how NOT to be a father, and what effects it can have on the children of someone who's falling down on the job, as well as showing a good example of how to do it right for comparison. Additionally, it is, like the original Peter Pan, an excellent story of the magic of childhood, but this one discusses how an adult can (and indeed MUST, if they want to avoid becoming unbearable) hold on to some of that magic, even while growing up and becoming responsible. And that sometimes, even people who HAVE lost that magic still don't learn how to be particularly responsible.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is truly wonderful; do yourself a favor, and track down a copy. It will be worth the effort. Then settle in for a good evening's read. You won't regret it.

I won't live without this cookbook! I bought this (my second copy) for the cottage. I must have one at home and one at the cottage. I have yet to make a recipe that people don't rave about.

Ted Reader brings grilling to new levels. The recipes are simple to follow and understand, and the ingredients are easy to find. There is a wide range of recipes for everyone's taste. Ted makes grilling fun, adventurous, and most of all delicious. Using this cookbook you will be a master griller. Have fun.

I've been grilling since I was a kid and have more than a few grilling books. I completely agree with other reviewer's in that both of Ted's books in this series raise the bar for bbq'ing to an entirely new level. The reciepes taste amazing and are also fun to make. Some of the receipes take a little more time to put together...but they are worth every second of preperation!

I have become addicted to Ted Reader's cookbooks. His latest, On Fire in the Kitchen is as adventurous and enjoyable as his others.

He makes the amateur chef want to get back into the kitchen. One word of warning however: you won't want to go out to dinner again....between having fun cooking his recipes, and eating the results, dining out will become boring.

Put your favorite music on, put something special in your best crystal goblet, get out that funky apron....

And start cooking.

A devoted follower of the 'King of Q'.

Kawin is by far one of the brightest minds in film literature and theory today. His text brings the background of film to light and stresses the importance of all aspects of the cinema. This text is an excellent resource for any student of the cinema.

The title says it all: not only does this book tell you what a movie technically is made of (differences between film stocks, sound recording techniques, etc), it also tells you how the movie is shot (lighting, lenses, special effects, etc) but finally it also tells the deeper meaning of certain shots or sequences. Especially that last part is very interesting: with examples from Citizen Kane, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and many others, the author explains how the composition of the picture, movements and sound can communicate concepts like mood, emotion and relationships.

How Movies Work is an excellent introduction to the process and techniques of filmmaking. For any aspiring filmmaker or movie buff, it will introduce all of the intricacies from pre-production to post-production. Usually, the author's style is clear and comprehensible for the layman; however, there are moments when the text is burdened by the minutiae of the trade: trying to comprehend the definitions of film developing and editing practices is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, these moments are few and far between, and any dutiful reader will leave the book with a valuable wealth of knowledge regarding filmmaking.

What is disappointing, however, is that the book deliberately sidelines even a cursory overview of what the author terms "film theory." Admittedly, Kawin does not disguise the fact that he presents a bare-bones overview of the specific, concrete details regarding filmmaking, but a few pages on the psychological and abstract components of film theory would surely have supplemented the book nicely. Kawin argues that the most in depth analysis of film construction cannot be accomplished without a thorough knowledge of the production process, which is certainly true. While his book elaborately details the production process, it may not satisfy those who are interested in the theoretical constructs that deconstruct cinema.

As a final note, the illustrations are almost always beneficial. The text is, however, considerably dated. Films before 1986 are not included. The text discusses nothing about digital photography and very little about computer-generated imagery. Personally, however, in the age of DVD extra features, there is already a superfluity of this information easily located in the world of cinema, and the text does not suffer considerably from its absence.

You must buy this book if you want to find out how movies work, i.e., how they enrich our cultural experience and how they are made. Kawin's textbook is pleasantly readable by anyone interested in the cinema. It contains a wealth of information from film appreciation to film production (including explanations of various special effects!) to film studies. Every aspect of the cinema is clearly explained and illustrated with examples, and the book contains many still photographs, 96 of which are in color.

I think this is exactly how a "how-to" book should be written. I only wish it had been updated to reflect advances in the 1990s -- this book was first published in 1987 and reprinted in 1992.