Movies Books

A beautiful book! The author has captured the magic behind the making of this extraordinary movie and its much needed, timely, empowering message for humanity. Kudos Monty !

I was fortunate enough to observe the magic up close for two days in the middle of production. Monty's stunning work has allowed me to experience the entire experience as if I were there.

A "must have" addition to anyone's library who is a Neale Donald Walsch, CWG, Stephen Simon or Spiritual Cinema fan.

Congratulations again Monty and thanks for a magnificent book !

Blessings,

Vic "no relation" Simon

RoseLotus- Both the love of Movies and movies of Love

At age 48 author Neale Donald Walsch was depressed, destitute, and frustrated with his life: he wrote an angry letter to God - and received a channeled answer. Thus began a series of 'conversations'; with God - and eventually a movie - which follow Walsch's move from being poor and homeless to becoming a spiritual messenger. This follows not the book but the movie, providing details on its evolution from pre-production and location sets to filmmaker interviews and interactions. A fascinating spiritual and film review results with plenty of insights in both fields, "Conversations with God" is highly recommended reading and a welcome contribution to film school reference collections.

The intrepid CORAline Jones discovers adventure far over and above what she bargained for, but manages to save herself and five other souls from "The Devastation", when she discovers an other-ly, and ultimately terrifying, version of her world behind a bricked-up doorway in the new flat she and her family have moved into.

It's a cold English summer, a few weeks before the start of a new school year, when Coraline's work-at-home mom and dad buy a flat that is part of a larger house. There is much for Coraline, a bright and inquisitive child, to explore in the world around her new home. She gets to know her eccentric neighbors--two retired and aging actresses and their Scotty dogs in one flat, and a "crazy old man" in another flat. She explores the overgrown "garden" (yard, to us US residents)--checking out the old tennis courts, the meadows, the abandoned well, animals, and so on.

All goes well for a couple of weeks, until the day when it starts to rain. It rains like it really means it--turning everything into muddy soup. Coraline, bored and restless, explores the flat, which is itself unremarkable, with one notable exception. There is a locked door in the drawing room (with the uncomfortable furniture) that leads to nowhere. When her mom unlocks and opens it, Coraline sees only a brick wall, presumably separating their flat from the adjacent, empty flat. That night, she begins to hear funny noises and have weird dreams.

One day when her mother is out buying food, Coraline decides to unlock the mysterious door in the off-limits drawing room, this time finding, not a wall, but a dark hallway leading to what appears to be the same apartment in which her family lives. Sort off. There is even an "other mother" and an "other dad", who are like her own in some ways, except for a few small details, like having big, black buttons for eyes. Her other mother is happy that Coraline has finally joined them, and she intends to get the girl to live with them.

Well, that's when things really start to get interesting, but I'll leave that up to you to read for yourself. Neil Gaiman creates a warped and fantastical world for the brave and resourceful Coraline to come to grips with. The evil other-mother is behind this creative and terrifying other world. New and creepy surprises at every turn. Will she make it? Will she be able to get her real parents back? Will you be able to read it without being afraid?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Coraline" and finding out how everything worked out. She is a sympathetic protagonist and the reader is really drawn inti her world. I recommend this book to all readers. And I can't wait to see the movie--it will make a GREAT, suspense-filled movie.

(BTW, I read my first Neil Gaiman book this past week. I am now on my fourth one. All different and all fun to read.)

Nobody can drench a book in creepy, dank atmosphere like Neil Gaiman -- and it doesn't matter if it's a kid's book.

And "Coraline" -- now being released as a movie -- is no exception to Gaiman's track record. It's a haunting little dark fairy tale full of decayed apartments, dancing rats and eerie soulless doppelgangers, as well as a gutsy heroine who finds herself in this ominous "other" world.

Newly moved into an aged apartment, Coraline (not "Caroline" is bored. Her parents are too busy to do anything with her, and her neighbors are either insane or boring.

It's the sort of relentlessly dull world that any little girl would want to escape from -- until Coraline does. She encounters a formerly bricked-up door that leads into an apartment in another world, which looks eerily like her own. In fact, it's so similar that she has a taloned, button-eyed "other mother" and matching "other father," as well as a chorus of singing, dancing rats and magical toys.

At first Coraline is fascinated by the other world, especially since her other parents are very attentive. Then she finds her real parents sealed inside a mirror. With the help of a sarcastic cat, Coraline ventures back into the other world. But with her parents and a trio of dead children held hostage, Coraline's only hope is to gamble with her own freedom -- and she'll be trapped forever if she fails.

Without Neil Gaiman's touch, "Coraline" would just be another story about a kid who learns to appreciate her parents. But he infuses this story with a dark fairy-tale vibe -- decayed apartments, dead children in a mirror, beetles, disembodied hands, monsters that cling to the wall with souls in their grip, and rats that sing about how "we were here before you rose, we will be here when you fall."

That dark, cobwebby atmosphere clings to the increasingly nightmarish plot, as Coraline navigates a world where the other mother has every advantage. And Gaiman's wordcraft is exquisitely horrible -- the other mother's hands are compared to spiders, her hair to undersea tentacles. And the fate of the other father is a magnificently ghastly thing.

He even infuses poetry into the horror ("A husk you'll be, a wisp you'll be, and a thing no more than a dream on waking, or a memory of something forgotten"), and a fair amount of macabre humour ("I swear it on my own mother's grave." "Does she have a grave?" "Oh yes. I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back").

Coraline herself is a wonderful little heroine -- strong, sensible, self-sufficient but still fairly freaked out about what is happening around her. The sarcastic cat is a wonderful counterpoint. And the other mother is the stuff of nightmares -- she's utterly inhuman and merciless -- who "wants something to love. Something that isn't her. She might want something to eat as well."

Neil Gaiman creates eerie, slightly warped worlds like nobody else, and he does an exquisitely horrible job in "Coraline." Just never go through the door.

This is a combination of 3 stories surrounding Cranky and the engines. Cranky's first introduced and is tormenting the little engines. He does it even more when Gordon stands up for him. However, Cranky quickly changes his tune about Percy and Thomas when they come to set him back up again when a storm blows him over. Very, very cute book which also emphasizes the importance of working as a team. Love this one in our house, Recommend!

My whole family are big fans of Thomas the Tank Engine stories. They teach very good life lessons and are very entertaining. My 3 yr old loves to follow along in the book. It is a good tool for learning to read. Can't wait to buy more of these stories on CD.

If those buzzwords appeal to you, you'll want to get your hands on this book and also Jeremy Leven's other book, "Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Sy Kasler, J.S.P.S.". Leven has a rare ability to drag his protagonist into the abyss of madness, and you, the reader, must follow. But there is something compelling about this descent; the journey is involving and, in its odd way, humorous. Definitely not for everybody, but those who like it will love it.

"Creator" was made into a movie in 1985, with Peter O'Toole and scripted by Jeremy Leven. The film was not without appeal, but they had to vastly simplify the rich structure of the book for translation to the screen. I'd advise reading the book, so you'll experience it as it was meant to be. Don't see the movie until after you've read the book.

The movie was criminal, forget it. As for this book, if you can find it - read it.

I recommend Crime Movies for readers interested in movies.This book includes a big time from Griffith to 1994.

My copy of Carlos Clarens' original "Crime Movies" is a book I have treasured since the early 80s. It is very well researched, covering films from the silent era to the present. Not only did Clarens cover the movies, but he also covered the censorship controversies around them, particulary in the mid-Thirties.

In short, this is film genre history as it should be: giving the reader an idea of the breadth of a genre, but focusing on the major films, as well as showing how individual writers and directors could make differences in the genre.

Strongly recommended for people interested in the issue of movie violence, "film noir" and how films have changed over time.

As someone who has followed Ken Hanke's work since the days he was writing on subjects ranging from George Arliss and Orson Welles to Tod Slaughter and the Beatles movies for FILMS IN REVIEW, I highly recommend this little guide to horror movie series, which contains some of the writer's best work. The approach is an interesting one, since he makes the case that films like the early 1930s Lionel Atwill starring vehicles constitute a series, and the execution is exceptional. No series--or even marginal series--is left untouched. The section on the Frankenstein movies for Universal is the best quick guide/analysis of that series I've ever seen, and it's a pure delight to see obscure oddities like the Warner Oland Fu Manchu pictures discussed in some depth. If I've any complaint--other than the publisher's inglorious presentation--it's simply that Hanke is clearly more at home with films of the 1930s, 40s, 70s, and 80s than he is with those of the 50s and 60s, which are given shorter--though interesting--shrift. But the rest of the material more than makes up for this.

Though obviously beset by production problems (the book is ill-served by its publisher), the idea behind this book is certainly interesting--to assess horror films by the series that contains them. As the author rightly points out, most horror films are indeed a part of a series of films, whether in continuing characters or in intent, and looking at them in this light brings new insight to bear on them. Fortunately, the author is more than up to the task, especially when dealing with some of the more esoteric or loosely defined series--the Tod Slaughter films or the movies that Bela Lugosi made for Monogram Pictures in the 1940s. His examination of more familiar territory, such as the Universal Frankenstein series, is also exemplary, even though there is a sense that some of the material has been shortened for space considerations. The opinions are invariably insightful, even when one doesn't agree with them, and are so entertainingly written that even those with which one isn't accord have much to recommend them. The only flaw with this book really--unless the reader just can't handle alternate views on films--is the mechanical reproduction. What I would like to see is this book to be updated and picked up by some savvy company for publication as a trade paperback. It might then get the audience it deserves far more than its relative obscurity has allowed.

"Cry Buggie" is a touching "Miss Spider" book release focusing on the character Squirt. Based on a television story, when Dragon sees Wiggle crying, he tells Squirt that Wiggle is a "cry buggie" and big bugs never cry. Later, Squirt sprains his ankle right before a big soccerberry tournament. Squirt is very sad, but remembers what Dragon said, holds his feelings in, and doesn't cry.

Eventually, Squirt learns the truth about crying. Crying is natural, and like rain in nature, something beautiful can come afterwards.

This book teaches an important lesson about about respecting other people's feelings. Many kids have trouble understanding how others feel, and this book gently helps them to empathize. It also explains that tears can be okay, and even useful at times.

This series is really nice. The illustration style is very interesting and unique--bright colors, endearing characters, engaging stories-- you can't go wrong. Both the books and the neat DVDs in the "Miss Spider" series are always based around positive values. The characters are not perfect-- they make mistakes, etc. But in the end they learn important lessons about family, friendship, and how we should treat others.

Interestingly, Miss Spider was herself an adopted "buggie" (you may enjoy the Miss Spider original book). As an adult her own family includes adopted buggies, too. Most children who live with their biological parents will not think twice about this aspect of the series, but kids who have been adopted may appreciate the subtle way in which Miss Spider stories show that adoption is a wonderful way to make or expand your family-- and that what defines a family is love.

Good book. I like watching the curious george videos with my son more than reading the books with him.

I purchased this book for my 3 year old daughter, who is a big fan of the PBS show. The book is a shortened version of one of the show episodes. I find the story a lot more readable than other Level 1 readers-- it is well written, and not overly repetitive. It is also the right length for her attention span. The pages are durable and very colorful. I recommend this book and the others in the series for young fans of the show.

I gave this book to my 8 yr old as a B-day gift and although she has not read it yet (She got about 20 other books and it'll take a while to get to all of them.) I have to admit that I did read it and I loved it. I liked Curious George as a child and I was so excited to see that he was making a come back. I could hardly wait to introduce my curious little lady to him. She has enjoyed the other Curious George books and I know she will like this one too. We can't wait till the movie comes out on DVD.

The publisher's description of the level this book is deceiving; it is described as a baby-preschool level book. Perhaps the story would appeal to that level (would have to read short passages to hold their attention), but the literacy level to read this book is around 7-11 years I would say. My son who is 10 and has always adored Curious George, read this book and considered it a little below his grade level of reading. It made the book a quick but enjoyable read for him. The title given as well as the spine of the book even indicates that it is a 'Junior Novel'. There is a small section of colorful photos from the movie but the pages of the book are primarily text with a few black and white sketches. My son thoroughly enjoyed this new 'George' adventure and hopes for more (can't wait to see the movie!). It was a real page turner for him.

I loved the movie, and I loved the book. The book built on the movie, adding parts and info on scenes and the characters, explaining technical info, and more. It went more into the movie, adding on what happened at Mount Baker in the 1970's (Mentioned in movie, but not explained), and going into other Cascade Volcanoes (Rainier, St. Helens, Baker, Crater Lake). Anyone who loves disaster stories, volcanoes, or Washington State should read this book.

I loved this book. The Movie was Great but the book was even better. Get this book.