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Movies Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Movies
Gary Cooper Off Camera: A Daughter Remembers
Published in Hardcover by Harry N. Abrams (1999-11-01)
Author: Mary Cooper Janis
List price: $35.00
Used price: $24.54
Collectible price: $123.00

Average review score:

Fabulous for serious Cooper fans!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-17
If you ever found Cooper handsome, this book certain has many photos to entertain and foster this thought.

The hardcover is a must! The narrative inside is perhaps average but if you supplement the book with a bio novel on Cooper you'll certainly feel its well worth the expense. Buy, buy, buy

Beautiful Pictures Captures Public Image
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-02
Well, let me start with what beautiful tribute this book is to her father. Maria Cooper's book is beautiful, but too many of the pictures look posed (Hollywood style). And the pictures that are actually not posed say more in body language about a family that clearly protects the Cooper family image. These people are beautiful, but they are too perfect: clothes, hair, makeup, you know it's all there. One picture I found fascinating, is of the three of them on a beach facing the ocean. Maria and her mom on the left, and further away is Gary Cooper and his body language is quite clear. Hmmm, that definitely was a candid shot. And if anyone is really looking, the beautiful Maria seems to be the glue that kept that family together. There is a gorgeous shot of the three of them in their ski clothes in an old house. Rocky with little makeup is quite beautiful, but Maria and her Dad are the ones in sync in this picture. I don't know, but these pictures show a definite strain in the family relationship far more than I ever realized. With friends, the pictures are happier. I am a fan of Gary Cooper's and always will be. And the fact, that he adored his beloved daughter and she adored him is clearly seen in this book. Maria Cooper shows us a Gary Cooper I have already seen in other pictures other people have taken of him. There really isn't a lot of hugging, and touching, and birthday parties, water fights, and family occasions, events, like most people and other stars have of their lives while children are growing up. I would love to have seen a picture of Mr. Cooper in his overalls in his garden (he was an avid gardener), teaching Maria to do things, showing her how to ride a horse, acting goofy.. Maria Cooper is quite lovely, and this book is wonderful to look at, but I don't really feel anything but a little sadness that she didn't show us more candid and "real" photographs about of her Dad and the family. There was a great deal more to this man than meets the eye. I didn't get too much of a glimpse into that.

Daddy's Girl
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-14
The cover photograph, of Gary Cooper spoon-feeding ice-cream to his daughter on the streets of "Hadleyville," is a poignant clue to what follows. Maria Cooper was a girl who lived a very rarified life, and she lets us take a delicious peek at it.

GARY COOPER FANS...ATTENTION!!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-23
This is a great book for initial insight into Gary Cooper by his daughter. It is very obvious she adored her father. The book is very informative about the personal life of "Coope" with many wonderful pictures, however, the book is more images than writing. The details are only touched on. If you are a Gary Cooper & you want many unseen pictures, this is the book for you...

Gary Cooper Off Camera
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-13
In a day and age when the children of "the stars" write the most deplorable books about their parents, this book is a wonderfully tender tribute to a true hero. Absolutely refreshing.

Movies
The Hologram's Handbook (Star Trek Voyager)
Published in Paperback by Pocket Books (2002-04-09)
Author: Robert Picardo
List price: $14.95
Used price: $15.70

Average review score:

Decent
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-09
I bought the book as a gift for a friend. It arrived in good condition, although it took a little while to get here. It appears to be amusing for those who like Star Trek.

Truly what the holographic doctor ordered
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-08
Able to remove an appendix with one hand tied behind his back, The Doctor is also able to write an engaging book with tongue firmly pressed into his holographic cheek. While more "truthful" than Leslie Nielson's A Liar's Autobiography, The Hologram's Handbook is similar in tone and manner, told by a person who is rarely able to look beyond the mirror. The Doctor tells us organics just how things really are, and how they should be. Everything we love about The Doctor is here - from the biting sarcasm to the Data-esque desire to experience humanity. If you're like me and think The Doctor was the best (and perhaps the only truly great) part of Voyager, then this one is a must read.

Awesome Book!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-28
If your a fan of Voyager and you loved watching the episodes that pertained to the Doctor aboard then you will just love reading this book. It is funny, witty and just down right enjoyable. A must read for any Star Trek fan.

Witty
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-26
A brilliant and witty piece of Star Trek writing, possibly the wittiest piece of Star Trek writing I've ever read.

Robert Picardo catches the essence of Voyager's EMH, our beloved Doctor, in a way that only he could. Witty, insightful and thought provoking are all words that perfectly describe this book.

I couldn't put it down, Picardo's writing is so smooth it's like listening to the Doctor himself talking. And not only does he provide insightful views on his character, but also some views about life in general, which are recurrent themes throughout all the centuries portrayed on Star Trek.

And, unlike the show, this book gives equal credit to pre-Scorpion and post-Scorpion time periods, and the Doctor speaks of both Kes and Seven of Nine fondly.

However, the book wasn't perfect. While Picardo covers the Doctor's views on some of the major characters nicely, I felt that he failed to provide enough insight into his relationships with the other characters on Voyager, particularly Neelix and Harry Kim.

Another low point of the book me was his continued references to Lt. Joe Carey, a recurring guest star on Voyager. In one early episode, Carey was abrasive to the Doctor, and Picardo has played that out to the extreme here, often saying he didn't like Carey. I found that to be a little rough, Carey eventually died on an away mission for Voyager, and to speak ill of a dead crewmember like that doesn't cut it in my book.

I would also have liked to have read more about the Doctor's experiences in the Delta Quadrant, and not just about personal relationships. The Doctor remained active and onboard the ship during most of the alien takeovers, and more often than not entire episodes were devoted to his adventures. Wouldn't these sorts of experiences have shaped his views on life a little? He watched as Suder struggled to contain his violence, watched as the Hirogen tortured the bodies of Voyager crewmembers, and countless other such experiences. Wouldn't these sort have things changed him? Perhaps he held a grudge against the Hirogen? Or detested the way the Vidiians used their medical science to harm others? Little to no attention was paid to these in the book, and I didn't like that. Those sort of experiences deserved a chapter at least, but Picardo paid no attention to them.

But that being said, the book was excellent, and provided great insight into the Doctor's character.

A must read if you are a Voyager fan.

Fascinating Insight, Or a Cry for Help
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-24
Robert Picardo opens his Foreword to the book asking "Do you often feel you are the only intelligent one in a universe of idiots?" Brannon Braga, one of the executive producers of "Star Trek: Voyager," has something else to say in his introduction, that the book is "a hundred page cry for help."

All joking aside though, "The Hologram's Handbook" is truly a revealing insight into the chacter of The Doctor from "Voyager." Robert Picardo goes completely in character to write this missive that includes information on everything from "the pros and cons of hololife" to "the program upgrade of kings."

Throughout, the book is written in The Doctor's style, assured of his own superiority and yet enriched for the experiences he has had with his friends and even family. The book provides the expected background on The Doctor as well as adventures that had never been previously be revealed. The book contains images from "Star Trek: Voyager" throughout, as well as cartoon caricatures which The Doctor seems to abhor, but says his publisher felt it would help him to not appear elitist.

If you wish to know more about The Doctor, then pick up "The Hologram's Handbook" today. Or, if you're a holographic reader who hopes to improve your well-being and social skills, simply download it onto the nearest padd and prepare to be enlightened.

Movies
My Last Sigh
Published in Paperback by University of Minnesota Press (2003-09)
Author: Luis Bunuel
List price: $16.95
New price: $9.99
Used price: $9.96
Collectible price: $18.00

Average review score:

Wonderful Autobiography
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2009-01-04
I find Bunuel is a director that one tends to either love or hate, and that this opinion is usually based upon the viewing of his (arguably) most famous film, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie."

[I saw this film more than thirty years ago when I was in college, and I can't say that I was much impressed. In fact, I distinctly recall walking out of the theater wondering what the hell it was all about.]

Surprisingly (given my tepid emotions towards Bunuel-the-filmmaker), one day I happened to pick up his autobiography, "My Last Sigh," and I quickly found myself captivated by Bunuel's storytelling.

From his descriptions of the medieval-like life in the town of his youth to his adventures with the Surrealists (as well as his recipe for the perfect martini), Bunuel is a gifted raconteur, and this has become one of my favorite books to read and re-read.

The book was originally published in French. Never the less, the English translation (by Abigail Israel in the edition I have) is a joy to read -- giving the impression that English, and not French, was the book's original language.

Finally...despite the much deeper appreciation of Bunuel that I now have, I have to admit that I'm still not a great fan of "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie." However, I have since had a chance to see some of his other films (such as Viridiana) and have very much enjoyed them.

My Last Sigh
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-24
This book has stayed with me like few other things, since reading it many years ago. I often find occasion to quote from it; brilliantly witty, charming, scathing and life affirming all at once. Bunuel led an unusual life, but his autobiography is filled with universal truths to which any reader can immediately relate. Buy it at once, and you will find yourself reaching for it often...

The spirit of a creative man
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-05
An interesting short semi-bio, in whuch Luis speaks about his life and the people he has met.

A beautiful little book
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-16
Bunuel gave some interviews towards the end of his life discussing his long list of movies. That's why I was delighted to find that his autobiography--which is one of the greatest, if not the greatest by a filmmaker--does not dwell on them. Instead Don Luis chronicles his childhood and upbringing, the relationships he cultivated, and meditates on life, love, death, art, alcohol and cigarettes. Many of the stories from his younger days are even more surreal than his movies. He writes in detail about his stormy friendships with Garcia Lorca and Dali, about his half-hearted attempt to try Hollywood on for size, meetings with Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, and others. The book is not somber or sentimental, it's not over-inflated. Bunuel's voice does not intimidate, it soothes. He's a master storyteller, a very gifted and generous writer.

No One Else
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-04
As a young person, don Luis helped me find my way out of the hormone fog, ... authoritarian adults and their institutions, and equally lost peers. Years later upon reading MY LAST SIGH, I was not surprised at all at the depth of don Luis' humanity and intelligence.

Nevermind the moniker "filmmaker" when talking about don Luis; he is an artist's artist. With his autobio, he only confirms what an equally supreme being he was. I miss him. However, encounter this book and become lit by life itself.

Movies
Prisoner of Cabin 13 (Sabrina The Teenage Witch #11)
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Simon Spotlight Entertainment (1998-06-01)
Author: John Vornholt
List price: $4.99
New price: $0.75
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Little horrors will love it!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-10-03
Sabrinas Aunts apply her for a Summer camp consellor job. They put her down as having many other jobs alike elsewhere which is a lie. So welcome the highest consellor theyve ever had. So shes put in charge of cabin 13- the troublemakers cabin. But when they get too much she puts them under an obedience spell. Can she keep it up though when they are losing every competition?

Spellbound
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-26
Sabrina's lonely. Harvey's away to Europe with his Mum + Dad and Libby's flanting it in France.So her aunts zap a counselor résumé that makes her sound brilliant. So Sabrina and stowaway Salem are off 2 Camp Bearclaw.Then there's the bad news. She get cabin 13. the trouble-maker cabin.So food fights and running aways are a daily occurous.But so Sabrina finally loses her temper and cast a spell to make her camper act like angels. But her campers are 2 good. Can Sabrina win the Tug of War competition? And can she remove the spell? Read and find out!

Great, a must read!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-02
This was definetly one of the best Sabrina books. It wascreative and funny. I really liked it a lot, and if you read it, youshould like it too.

totally and truley the best
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-29
ive read about 15 of the sabrina books and this is my favorite it even beats showdown at the mall. Its so good like all of john vornholt's books, as my favorite buffy the vampire slayer book is 'coyote moon' also written by john vornholt hes a great orthor. i think what makes the book good is it has comedy,romance,fun ect all in one book also its easy to relate to if you have been to summer camp. This is definatley my favorite and ive read many.

Sabrina does it again
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-04
This is THE best Sabrina book of them all. Sabrina uses herwit, diplomacy and just a little magic to tame the wildest bunch ofkids at her summer camp. If you like Sabrina, read this book first.

Movies
A Private Affair (Arabesque)
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Kimani Press (2000-05-01)
Author: Donna Hill
List price: $5.99
New price: $32.99
Used price: $2.70

Average review score:

SEQUEL OF THE PRIVATE AFFAIR
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-12-21
I REALLY LIKED THE PROFILE OF THE BOOK AS A WHOLE. HOW THE TWO CHARACTERS QUINN AND NIKITA CAME TOGETHER FROM DIFFRENT WORLDS. BUT, I DID NOT LIKE HOW HE MADE LOVE TO HERE THAT LAST NIGHT AND RAN OFF WITH MAXINE. THAT PART I DID NOT GET AT ALL. PLUS NIKITA WAITED FOR TWO YEARS TO HEAR HIM SAY THAT HE LOVES HER AND WHEN HE DID, HE WENT TO LIVE WITH MAX AND SHE WAS WITH GRANT. I JUST THINK THAT MAXINE COULD HAVE STAYED WITH DRE AND LET QUINN AND NIKKI SEE IF TWO DIFFERENT WORLD COULD COME TOGETHER AND BECOME ONE. SO I REALLY DID NOT LIKE HOW MS. HILL LET QUINN AND MAX END UP TOGETHER.

Electrifying
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-12
This book is the bomb as my son would say . I loved It ! I was so excited to see Quinn choose Nikita they were made for each other in this novel. I was reading this book every chance I got to see if Nikita and Quinn was going to live happy ever after. Iv'e been waiting for this book to be brought to life on the silver screen. I recommend Nia Long as Nikita and of course my man Leon as Quinn, I'm not sure who would be a good character for Max perhaps Jada Pinkette Smith. Anyway the book was full of electricity.

The Perfect Love Story!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-05
This has to be the one book that has really touched my heart of all the 150 plus books I have read in the last three years! Hill has put (as my grandma would say) her ten toes into this book. "A Private Affair" has everything a romance reader could ever want in romance novel, of course that's my opinion. Truly it was a great novel that I recommend everyone should read, at least once! There is a sequeal to this novel and it is called " Pieces of Dreams." Get that one too you will not be disappointed. Much, much, much love Hill!!

A Great Read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-01
I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that Quinn did not pick Max over Nikita. I guess maybe because I am that special friend to my first love. But I enjoyed the storyline all the more. Nikita earned Quinn. She proved that they came from two different worlds and could still be HERE (like Martin would say "We Here"). I am going out to buy the sequel to this book to see if Quinn made the right decision. Keep up the good work.

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-15
DONNA HILL, NEWEST DIVA AT ARABESQUE!!

THIS BOOK GRABBS YOUR INTEREST FROM BEGINNING TO END. SHOULD RATE MORE THAN FIVE STARS. THE MAIN CHARACTERS QUIN, MAX AND NIKITTA WERE SUPERBLY DEVELOPED. THE LANGUAGE OF QUIN FLOWS IN SUCH A WAY THAT BRINGS US HOME TO OUR ROOTS. HIS FEELINGS HAD ME IN AN EMOTINAL UPHEAVAL. MS. HILL GRABS YOUR HEART AND PUTS A KILLER CHOKE ON IT WITH THIS BOOK. PERSONALLY, I WAS ROOTING FOR MAX TO WIN OUT IN QUIN'S LIFE. I GUESS I'M JUST A ROUND THE WAY GAL. BUT I LIKE THE WAY QUIN DIDN'T JUST LEAVE MAX HANGING AND PROVED HIMSELF TO BE THE MAN OF THE HOUR, EVEN THOUGH I HURT TO THE BONE FOR MY GIRL MAX.

I CAN'T SEE WHY THERE WAS ANY CONFUSION ON THE PART OF READERS AS TO WHO QUIN WOUND UP WITH. IT WAS VERY CLEAR BECAUSE WHEN HE WENT BACK TO MAX AND HELD HER IN HIS ARMS HE SAID A FRIEND WAS ALL SHE COULD BE. YOU JUST KNEW HE WAS GOING TO WIND UP WITH NIKITA WHEN YOU GO TO THE CHAPER THAT HEADED "AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN". YOU KNOW THE REST OF THAT SONG, SO THAT LET YOU KNOW THAT NOTHING WOULD KEEP HIM AWAY FROM NIKITTA.

EVEN THOUGH I WAS SAD OVER THE ENDING (NIKITTA WINNING OUT OVER MAX), I STILL LOVED THE STORY. IT IS A GREAT ROMANCE NOVEL AND I CAN'T WAIT TO GET MY COPY OF "PIECES OF A DREAM", WHICH IS THE SEQUEL.

THANKS MS HILL FOR YOUR GREAT WRITINGS, KEEP IT UP!!

A FAN

Movies
American Drive-in Movie Theater (Motorbooks Classic)
Published in Paperback by MBI (2003-10)
Author: Don & Susan Sanders
List price: $24.95
Used price: $9.79

Average review score:

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-09
I found the history of the drive-in very interesting in this publication. It would make a great gift for any friend or family member interested in this type of history.

A passion for passion pits
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-22
Although the drive-in theater didn't start in Hawaii, it may be that the outdoor movie did.
In "The American Drive-in Movie Theatre," Texas drive-in buffs Don and Susan Sanders have a photograph of a sizable crowd watching films projected against the outside wall of a building next to Sacred Hearts Convent School in Honolulu in 1906 -- about a year after the silent movie came to America.
It took a surprisingly long time to marry the outdoor movie and the automobile. In 1933, Richard Hollingshead Jr., the "father of the drive-in theater," opened the Camden Drive-In in New Jersey.
Although cars and movies seem as natural a combination as milk and cookies, it wasn't so easy for the pioneers. The Sanderses say the studios never liked "ozoners" and refused to make first-run, or even good second-run, films available.
And getting sound to the customers was a problem that took years to solve. When the problem eventually was put in the hands of a professional engineer, at RCA in 1941, a workable solution was simple.
But drive-in entrepreneurs were not engineers, nor were they the kind of people who turned to engineers for help.
They tinkered. The results were weird and wonderful -- and likely to annoy the neighbors. One solution was a giant speaker that broadcast the sound over the lot, and much farther.
Cold nights cut into business, too, but every problem was an opportunity to the drive-in operator: In Anchorage, the Billiken Drive-In offered 18-hour, seven-feature admissions in the wintertime.
The 1945-55 decade was the peak for drive-ins. The nation had more than 5,000 of them, though they never caught on much overseas.
From 1955 on, the Sanderses say, television and other changes started to suck the family trade away, leaving the field to teen-agers and Samuel Z. Arkoff's American International Pictures for another half decade or so.
Since then, drive-ins have steadily declined. There are about 500 left, mostly in rural areas. They require too much land to be affordable in cities.
Some individual theaters are doing well, and drive-in societies seek to preserve and protect them.
The Sanderses have traveled to more than 40 states to interview drive-in people and take pictures, and they have ransacked archives for illustrations.
They came up with enough material not only for this charming bit of nostalgia, but for another volume, "Drive-In Movie Memories."

Back to the Belknap
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-13
Don and Susan Sanders have captured the essence of the drive-in movie theatre and packed all of the magic into a really great book. I flipped hamburgers at the now defunct Belknap Drive-in when I was in high school and turning the pages of this time-machine brought back many memories. Forget about multiplex cinemas and theater complexes at the mall. The American Drive-In movie theatre lives!

Great Gift -- Great Book!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-14
The best book of its kind, bar none. Photos are excellent, and it is obvious that the authors really know and love their subject. Anyone who has ever spent an evening at the drive-in would love the memories this book evokes. Anyone who never had the opportunity to participate in the golden age of drive-in movies can experience it vicariously through The American Drive-In Movie Theatre. I've given several copies as gifts -- Everyone loves a Drive-In !

Interesting Info
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-10-10
Being a huge fan of drive-ins, I really looked forward to reading this book. The only criticism I have is the sequence of the actual chapter text of the book, and the information inserts that the author has throughout. It is very "chopped" up. Reading the chapter, then turning the page to find there is information pertaining to something else on the next page. The chapter text starts a couple of pages later in some cases, breaking up the continuity. Other than this, it makes for a very interesting read for those who enjoy nostalgia and want to be transported back to a more simpler and fun time.

Movies
The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together
Published in Paperback by Anchor (2007-02-13)
Author: Ty Burr
List price: $16.95
New price: $9.25
Used price: $4.54

Average review score:

A borrowed library book becomes an essential reference guide
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-12-14
Ty Burr has written an excellent book. It's entirely readable and more than just a list of movies. He breaks it down into age levels, gives selling points for a film, possible "pause-button explanations" when there are topics that may need to be explained or discussed, and other films to line up next. An example would be starting with the Adventures of Robin Hood and moving onto The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood. We added The Prince & the Pauper and so Errol Flynn is now a known actor in our household.

Would I ever have thought to try The African Queen with my sons? No. But it's true that the Hepburn and Bogart characters are amazing, the leeches grossed them out, they enjoyed Hepburn pouring the booze into the river and the adventure of the river journey made for a great family movie night.

Burr's description of showing his daughters movies like King Kong will make you laugh out loud and I enjoyed reading the descriptions of movies that even if they aren't suitable for my family. I have sons while Burr has daughters but that just makes me wonder if I could get my family to watch a musical - I bet I can with some of Burr's suggestions.

When a book keeps getting checked out from the library that means it's time to buy my own copy. This is just that type of book.

excellent book for family movie night
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-24
We were growing tired of so-called children's movies as a sole source of entertainment for our family film nights and with our kids ranging in age from 1 (not accounted for here) to 11- we needed a change. I stumbled upon this book when I was trying to get opinions about any Hitchcock films being appropriate for 8 and 11 year olds, and it has become our trusty guide ever since. We started out with the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, Singing in the Rain,and West Side Story- and its been great. We are all entertained, no one feels "dumbed down" to, even the 5 year old is riveted. I have been setting TiVo weekly so we always have a choice rerady, plus we take it to the video store. The reviews have been spot on, the age recommendations are good, I can sit through a movie with my kids all the way through, and I feel like my kids are getting some cultural points from their movie watching. I will be giving this book as a holidaY gift to some of the families I know. Highly recommended!

Inspiring
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-01
I can't say enough good things about this book. It has ended the difficult search for movies that please both the kids and the adults. It has inspired my family to get at least one pre-70s movie every week to watch together. It's been an education. Through this book, we've found a few movies that we all unequivocally adore, and others that we enjoy but have sparked some important deeper conversations. His ideas on why older movies are good for our children are very thoughtful.

My daughters are nearly the same age as his daughters were when he wrote the book (9 & 11), so the book is particularly on target for us. I love how Burr describes his daughters' and their friends' reactions to old movies. I am surprised by how much negativity about older movies he says has received from some of his children's friends and their parents, because my children and their friends have always been completely receptive to older and black & white movies. But we don't move in mainstream circles (we are secular homeschoolers), so I will take his word for it.

If you enjoy watching movies with your children, you need to own this book.

Une mine de détails passionants
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-15
Un des livres sur le cinéma qui m'a le plus enthousiasmé. Une écriture très divertissante et des réflexions sur les films et leurs artisants qui captent notre intérêt au point de ne plus pouvoir arrêter notre lecture.

A wonderful resource to widen children's movie-viewing horizons
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-28
I came across this book in my local library, and after reading it, am going to purchase a copy for myself, and perhaps give it out as gifts for friends that have young children. This is an amazing movie resource. Ty Burr writes in such a familiar, easy-to-read style, and despite his motives [trying to get us to expand our young ones' movie viewing experiences through old movies/classics], never once comes across as condescending or snobbish.

The fact is that children these days are really being fed a steady, and not so healthy diet of the same type of movies that have spawned sequels, mass merchandising, and dare I say movies that don't really promote great role models [I have had enough of those tween movies with young Hollywood starlets in them]. Ty Burr provides great tips and ideas on overcoming this problems by suggesting old movies, or rather classics that will appeal to the toddler set[Meet Me in St Louis], the tween set[The African Queen], and also teenagers[Metropolis]. There are also old movies he doesn't recommend you watch with your children. The best part of the book is the comprehensive list of old movie titles in the different categories such as comedy, drama, musicals, action, adventure & westerns, horror, sci fi and fantasy, & foreign movies.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this book to readers who are interested in expanding the movie viewing experiences of the young children in their lives, and even for one's own viewing pleasure [there were titles in here that I had never come across and plan to check out!].

Movies
Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know - And a Few Things You Probably Didnt (25th Anniversary Edition)
Published in Paperback by Adams Media Corporation (1995-01)
Author: Elizabeth Moran
List price: $9.95
New price: $9.85
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $18.00

Average review score:

Just As Good As Growing Up Brady!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-04
I'm a fan of the wonderful Brady Bunch sitcom and some of the made for television reunion movies so I bought Elizabeth Moran's Bradymania book and I liked it and thought it was interesting and fun. I loved the episode guide which was actually the main reason I bought it but I loved all the rest of it too including the cast biographies and I highly recommend this book and also Growing Up Brady which was written by Barry Williams who played Greg Brady.

Triviamania
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-13
After reading Bradymania, I bought the book for friends that I knew would get a kick out of it! I even played a trivia game with friends and family, utilizing the Bradymania book as my source of questions about the show!

Well-balanced, with great spin-off coverage and fun quizzes
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-13
In terms of spinoff coverage, this is the best I've seen so far. While they're not the focus of the book, Moran does talk about each one in more detail than anyone else so far. There's no episode guide for the spinoffs, but I suspect the problem there is availability. I bet a lot of us would do our own episode guides if we could just see the shows again, uncut!

Moran's book also talks about the stage show, and speculates about the "upcoming" (at the time!) theatrical film, the first Brady Bunch movie from 1995. Moran was shooed away from the ultra-high-security movie set in her quest for tidbits!

I have yet to find the true ultimate Brady book. Like the rest of the Brady books, the episode guide in this one could be a lot plumper. But Moran's book is a good balance of character trivia, actor trivia, producer trivia, episode trivia, etc. Read every word, and you just might pass the trivia challenges at the end of the book!

You can find more in-depth actor trivia in "Growing Up Brady," and good "outside-world" trivia in the "TV Treasures" book. However, if you are looking for a little of everything, "Bradymania" will do the trick.

For Brady Experts and Nonexperts
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-04
Elizabeth Moran did her homework. The famous TV show which first aired October 3, 1969 accumulated a lot of trivia, and Moran found most of it,

It is as if she read every Brady Bunch fan site and spoke at length with every Brady contact.

I'm not a Brady collector, and found "Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know" to be an entertaining book about a show I grew up with.

Learn about every episode, the careers before and since the show (including Oliver and Sam, and even 'Tiger the Dog' and 'Fluffy the Cat'). Incidentally, there were as many as 36 cats (all named Rhubarb) that may have played Fluffy.

There are sections on how the actors became Brady kids, how they were schooled on the set, how they relaxed, and why the show was eventually canceled.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Better than Growing Up Brady book!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-19
I know this book is much more reliable than Barry Williams' often untrustworthy Growing Up Brady book. The GUB book has in it's original edition about 32 careless mistakes! In it's revised edition it has about 15! Buy this book by Moran instead!

Movies
City (Smallville)
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Aspect (2004-03-01)
Author: Devin Grayson
List price: $5.99
New price: $4.95
Used price: $0.43

Average review score:

Super Reader
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-06
A research partnership trying to build a better spectrometer gets in over their heads. One partner went to the Yakuza for funding, and then brought in Lionel Luthor, neglecting a few details.

Lex is showing Clark around Metropolis, so we end up with a Luthor/Yakuza problem, and Clark needing to pull off a few bits and pieces of the superheroic type. Some of which take place at Ordway docks, and the Neo-Tokyo precinct.

City of Metropolis
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-25
Smallville fans will love this book, this book stays true to the characters and gives us more insight on the life of Lex Luthor.
The book is mainly focused around Clark and Lex getting into some trouble in Metropolis.

interesting story
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-06
for once an author has decided to show more of the character of lex luthor. lex has to go into metropolis for a few days and asks clark to come along. after some arguement his parents consent.(the only part of the book i really could not see them doing.) as lex tries to show clark a good time, they get involved in a bunch of trouble from japaneese mafia to secret agent who thinks he has found an alien in the mix. how that turns out is worth reading the book by itself. the author gives good insight into the characters of our 2 heroes and adds a few thoughts on the character of lex. it is a beautifully written book and definilty worth the money for smallville fans.

Great Book :)
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-11-16
WHat's wrong with most TV Tie-in books is: characterizations get lost and twisted... plot is lost in a sea of .. how to put this *for a lack of a better phrase* senseless crap (characters have no motive or reason for what their doing, details brought up but not explained, etc.)

This book got everything right though. The characters retained their warmth and personalities from the show... the plot had many levels and good one-liners in there.

We get to see the strong friendship between the boys and how Lex knows Clark has secrets but doesn't trust him with them.
I was shaking my head at how Clark screwed up yet again with Lana... saving the world is noble and all, but *smacks Clark upside the head* if you keep ditching someone like that they won't stick around for long.

This book keeps you flipping the pages. It's hard to put down, the pace never slows or drags/gets boring. The twist on who "Agent Green" thought the alien was and the bit at the end when we learn where he's going after the hospital were hilarious (to me anyway).

Go out and pick up this book now! Definitely worth your hard-earned dollars :)

A+ Masterpiece
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-03
If you are a true Smallville fan like myself, you will really enjoy this book. The characters (especially Lex Luther)are authentic..they hold true to the television show.
The book is basically about Clark accompanying Lex to Metropolis only having to safe his life from an Asian gang. In addition, Clark finally has a date with Lana but like always, he ruins it BIG TIME. You really need to check out this book..it's more than worth the six dollars you paid for it.

Movies
The Complete Independent Movie Marketing Handbook
Published in Paperback by Michael Wiese Productions (2003-05-25)
Author: Mark Steven Bosko
List price: $39.95
New price: $21.99
Used price: $15.98

Average review score:

Should be a standard in film school!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-22
This book is outstanding. Excellent real world examples. Takes readers from top to bottom through the industry. Really geared toward the whole independent/amature film community and how to achieve professional results working within the industry. I highly recommend this book cover to cover.

Went in a skeptic, came out a believer
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-20
Being a skeptic, I tested Mark's capsule exercises on a script I was preparing for the IFP Spotlight Award. The results were unnerving - I discovered buried treasure I didn't know I had within my story and eliminated an entire subplot that didn't service the STORY. Mark demystifies the concept of marketing, asking simple, direct questions. By asking "why would anyone want to see your film?" Mark goes past just marketing and addresses the issues that draw people to filmmaking in the first place. When I put the book down, I had a clear vision of the kind of filmmaker I want to be - and a great set of tools to get there.

Good information
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-17
In the course of making a film, we found this book to be very helpful. It organizes info about the business side of the filmmaking process.

Must-Have Movie Marketing Magic
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-06
A lot of people throw the title "guru" around, but Bosko's the real deal. As a filmmaker, if you've ever wondered how to: get press coverage, create a media kit, find an attractive title; identify your movie's hooks, locate distributors, exploit the power of the web, get audiences and distribution and actually sell your movie or video...then GET THIS BOOK! Bosko "tells all" in an easy-to-read style that gets the creative juices flowing. No filmmaker should go anywhere near a camera without reading the hard-core, straight-up instruction and advice in this book.

Helped sell my film
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-13
This book is so great! I got a copy after reading a review and it lived up to every claim. The techniques in the book's "Self-Distribution" section showed me how to set up regional sales for a film that otherwise has not made any money up until this point! I can now proudly say that my DVD is available in 17 video stores in Pennslyvania and New York thanks to the tips in this book! Get Bosko's book if you want to sell your film - it is that simple.


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