Movies Books

For a book that covers so many disparate types of daytime programs (game shows, soap operas, sports, cartoons and kids' shows, and so on), the volume is remarkably accurate, well-written and heavily researched. You'd think the author was an expert on every genre. Maybe he is, but more likely, he just cared enough to get everything right. How refreshing.

found the book to be very thorough, reads well. Loved reading about the creation of these great daytime tv shows there casts and from the time they aired to the time they were cancelled

This is the must have reference for all you TV buffs. Very interesting reading, not just a boring refernce guide. I read it cover to cover.

Kudos to Roxann Dawson and Daniel Graham in starting this
gripping series about a young woman thirst for revenge against the backdrop of emerging interstellar war! Andrea Flores, a married young woman and mother of a infant daughter sees her life shattered; when offworld terrorists attack killing her husband and infant daughter! Now Andrea becomes a hardened avenger who seeks vengeance against the killers.Andrea must leave Earth and go to the alien Jod homeworld and join their elite military service called Tenebrea in the hopes of finding the killers! She endure a harsh training and prejudice of the Jod in her struggle and finally going undercover to the terrorists' homeworld, Cor Ordinate and lead a rebellion of clones! The authors have written superior military sf saga about a young woman who immediately gets our sympathy in her struggles to find justice for her murdered family. The authors' world-building skills are above-average in creating Jod civilization and fascist Cor Ordinate.I especially like the rugged scenes of the training of Tenebrea and finally gripping battle scenes upon Cor Ordinate.Bring on the next Andrea Flores novel, I want more!
Cor Ordinate
homeworld

Wow is the first word out of my mouth when I finished this first book of the trilogy. I immediately wanted the story to go on so I could see what happens next. I couldn't put it down!! I was lucky enough to buy it when Roxann was signing them at a convention. I read the entire book in one day!! If you like military and sci-fi stuff, you will love this one!! Bravo to both Roxann and Daniel for such an entertaining and thought provoking book!! Can't wait for the next installment coming out soon!!

I was lucky enough to pick up this book at a book signing and so I've got a signed hard-backed special edition!!! The cover is by the 4X award winning artist, Dan Curry -- he's done some of the coolest visual effects you see in Hollywood. And the book was a real page-turner!! Roxann Dawson is as talented a writer as she is an actress -- and she's really gorgeous in person. Dan Graham seems like a bit of a character and I think his training the Army Rangers paid off in the way he wrote about military exercises and strategy. The whole book was very well written and I'm looking forward to the next book. As a matter of fact, I came to Amazon.com to see if they were carrying it yet. I hope it comes out in hardback, too, so I can get one of the copies. Anyone know how I can get it signed? I wouldn't mind seeing Roxann again!! ;-)

Do you like star wars? Well this is a book about it. It has lots of star wars facts that you might not know. It has a lot of battles + space battles and Jedi vs. Jedi, Jedi vs. sith and clones vs. C.I.S. It has a ton of star wars things. So if you really love star wars than read STAR WARS EPIC BATTLES.

As the title suggests, "Epic Battles" is a look at combat in the Star Wars universe. It's a terrific premise for a book since young viewers have often found the fight scenes to be one of the most compelling dynamics of the story. The book takes a thematic approach and looks at land and space battles. The major conflicts are well covered including the campaigns that happened on Naboo, Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Hoth and Endor. In addition to the major space skirmishes, time is spent on the more exciting dogfights like Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter vs. Jango Fett's Slave I. In addition, Author Simon Beecroft discusses the saga's most interesting lightsaber duels. The book does in excellent job of showing how the Sith are behind much of the galaxy's discord. A strength of the title is that is pulls the entire saga (all six films) together. A glossary is included. In terms of the illustrations, the vast majority were lifted from the films. While the pictures are high quality, the writing is also good. Given the 48 page length and vocabulary level, this title is best suited to readers on a fourth or fifth grade level. "Epic Battles" offers an exciting look at the great conflicts of the Star Wars saga.

I bought all the Star Wars DK Readers for my six year-old son. He was bringing home the most insipid reading books as homework, and was not interested in the content, or in reading them, at all. The Star Wars series and other super-heroes readers have had a huge positive impact on his eagerness to read. This book is aimed at an older age group, but we read it together and he is aiming for the day when he gets the 'certificate' for reading the entire book on his own (he is working up from the easier books).

It seems such a crime in itself that this is the first and only book on the life and career of such a legendary HOLLYWOOD director. But author Glenn Lovell has more than done justice to one of the greatest action directors of all time. A man who not only entertained us, but really defined what a good action movie could be. BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and THE GREAT ESCAPE are his greatest and most respected works. In addition great westerns such as ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO and GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL.

Starting out as an editor alongside Robert Wise and Mark Robson, Sturges knew how the pieces all fit to make a great movie. Unfortunately as is so often the case in HOLLYWOOD, Sturges had to contend with bad casting, bad producers and bad writers, who just seemed to get in the way and screwup a good many other of his pictures. You'll learn all about that and so much more in this fitting tribute. It was John Sturges that was the catalyst for the careers of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. He had a talent for sensing up'n coming actors and he knew how to get the best from them -usually without them even knowing it.

As the book title reads, Sturges was an escape artist in that he didn't dig the HOLLYWOOD "scene". The studio politics and the partying were left far behind, as Sturges sought the outdoor life of Mexico and Hawaii. To make his escapes even more faster, he was a lover of fast cars and owner of so many Porsche's. Robert E. Relyea a man who knew Sturges well and a contributor to this book, also documents more about his friend in his book NOT SO QUIET ON THE SET. It's a good supplement and it will give you even more detail behind the scenes of so many Sturges classics.

John Sturges was one of the craftsman of American movies who went about their work with quiet focus and skill, which means his films are remembered better than his name. When Sturges was at the top of his game his pictures had flawless momentum and were charged with a level of invention filmmakers continue to study. Glenn Lovell's biography and overview of Sturges's career fills a major gap in American film criticism. The book was long overdue and fortunately it's the book admirers like me have been waiting for. Clear eyed, carefully researched, informed by an impressive set of author conducted interviews, written with a solid understanding of the craft and business of filmmaking, it puts Sturges and his movies into coherent context for the first time. Anyone interested in rock solid American movies should read this book and then revisit Sturges's greatest hits.

I eagerly awaited this book's arrival in part because I was one of the younger baby boomers who spent their early moviegoing years being entertained by the action films of director John Sturges. (Did anyone else go home after seeing "The Great Escape" and devise one's own WWII adventure?) I was keenly interested in knowing more about the best of Sturges' films - and even some of the ones that were just plain good movies. Fortunately for me and for other film fans, author Glenn Lovell and the University of Wisconsin Press recognized a worthwhile subject in Sturges. In the 1950s and 1960s, just before a new breed of filmmaker turned the movies upside down and inside out, Sturges was making provocative action films with unusual depth and craftsmanship. In telling the Sturges story, Lovell combines the insights of a film scholar with the writing skills of a journalist. Unlike the worshipful biographer, Lovell doesn't hesitate to point out the missteps ("The Hallelujah Trail" and "Ice Station Zebra" come to mind, though they remain guilty pleasures) and he doesn't delude himself into thinking every movie must be praised. Sturges' life and career were full of ups and downs and were all the more interesting because of them. Thanks to Lovell, Sturges and his movies can be appreciated even more. - DKDaniel, Washington DC.

I have not read the book but I am guessing it's a good book. Hey! after all it is Ewan Mc Gregor.

This is a great book for anybody serious about undertsanding mcgregor. It's really well reserached and has plenty of funny stories about his life. A cracking read.

I am a HUGE fan of Ewan McGregor, and this book really gives u the lowdown on this star. This book, although lacking in pictures compared to "ewan mcgregor-from junkie to jedi" makes up in it's writing. It is really written to keep u interested and puts the good and the bad in, which is important. Excellent book!

The Exchange Student is another great Malcolm in the Middle story by Pan Pollack. This sensational short novel is just like watching an episode on television, and with your imagination seeing all the characters you forget it is actually a book.

In this episode the Krelboyne class is hosting an exchange student for a week and a host family needs to be found. Lois finds out and offers to have the host the student in their house. He will stay in the boys' room. To Malcolm, Reese and Dewey this an excellent opportunity for a slave. When Malcolm's teacher shows up with the student to everyone's surprise she is a girl named Camillia. Lois is thrilled, Camilla is the daughter she always wanted. The boys are thrown out of their room for Camillia and she quickly starts to take Malcolm's role in the family and at school, much to his jealousy. Reese and Dewey are not thrilled either with the inconvenience to their lives and there is nothing they can do. Meanwhile Mother's Day is coming up.

This is an excellent book for readers of all ages. It is a short novel so kids or those who do not like reading long novels can read it too. Krelboyne Parrot also by the same author Pam Pollack is as good as this novel if not better. Tom Mason another author also has some books in this series. I have read The Hostage Crisis, which is good and worthwhile buying, but not in the same league as Pollack's work. This is an hilarious novel, I will definitely be buying the other books in this series I have not yet read as you can never have enough Malcolm in the Middle.

This book is about a family that gets an exchange student who is a genus like Malcolm, to come stay for a week of ciaos. It's like a normal day at there house ciaos is everywhere and it's time to go to school, Malcolm finds out at school that his mom has volentered to have an exchange student come stay and he wasn't happy. The door bell rang the next day they opened up the door not to expect that the student was a girl! That meant that Camellia would get the boys room and they would have to squeeze on the couch. All of a sudden the phone rings and it's Francis Malcolm holds the phone up to Reese Francis says that he sent the Mother's day gift already and he cut off the nose of his school's statue and told them when they get it throw it out or throw it away. After that phone the boys were upset because everything was going Camellia's way, the next day it was time to go to the barber shop in the mall, Malcolm and Reese didn't want haircuts and at the barber it was even worse. When they were in the chairs they started fighting and spraying shaving cream everywhere, after they were done they were banned from ever getting a hair cut again. When they got home Dewey was acting strange, they tried to get it out of him but he wouldn't tell. At dinner time Camellia found a package under the bed and she gave it to Lois, she opened it to find a Mother's day gift and a nose. The next day they went to the mall and bought a Mother's day gift, that night Malcolm checked for the gift it was gone. They went out for Mother's day dinner and got banned from that restaurant. I can not give away the ending but if this book has seen interesting for you go buy, borrow, or check it out thank you for reading my review.

This story is about a kid named Malcolm. This girl named Camellia is coming to live with Malcolm's family for a week. Everyone loves her, exept Malcolm. Even Francis is on her side. Malcolm is worried that Camellia is going to take over his family. This book is a must have for all fans of Malcolm in The Middle.

Face/off

FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) knows how to stop elusive terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). He'll become him. Archer undergoes a futuristic surgery and has troys face mapped onto his, then infilitrates the terrorist's world to discover his deadly secrets. But as much as Archer looks and a acts like Troy, he dosen't really know him. He never figures Troy will retaliate and force doctors to transform him into Archer. Now the agent faces a shattering nightmare: his archrival is living with his family. The Travolta/Cage starpower comes on strong and so does the exitement in this roaring thrill machine of a movie directed by John Woo (Broken Arrow). So buckle up it's gonna be a furious flight.

Face/Off gets my vote for an action-filled novel. The plot is well written and gives readers the same realism as if they were watching the motion picture. I love the surprises I have read throughout the book and wish every book could be written with such an appealing plot.

People are still stumbling upon the exciting hobby of collecting vintage movie posters. Tony Nourmand has created dozens of movie poster books that are sure to help you learn about these rare collectibles. His books cover the most important posters for each decade and also focus on certain genres of film like SCI FI and HORROR and film historian favorites like ALFRED HITCHCOCK and JAMES BOND. His photographs are top notch and his eye for selecting the most interesting images for our favorite classi films is extraordinary. Buy one and you will surely be back to check out his other books too.

No solamente la musica fue victima de la cultura POP, sino tambien el cine y es en este libro con los posters mas relevantes de le época en donde el arte POP se ve a la perfeccion. Desde los poster clasicos hasta lo posters mas extraños. Ya que esta recopilacion no solamente tiene los artes que conocimos pegados en los carteles del cine, sino que ademas contiene artes muy extraños. Destaca la recopilacion de artes de las cintas de David Cronenberg. Muy REcomendable.

This is by far the greatest collection of the essential movies of the decade series. The 80's created blockbusters like The Terminator, Friday the 13th, Poltergeist, Fletch, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Rainman, The Breakfast Club, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop, Robo Cop and Rambo to name but a few. They're all inside just begging to go up on your wall and be admired along with heaps of others.

You could either keep this intact as a collection of posters in a book to show and discuss with friends, or cut the book up and actually have a vast number of posters up on your wall. This book is about a third the size of your standard film poster and most movies are full page colour. Any of them would look great up on the wall. If there's a better poster collection out there then it must be really good as this is sensational!

This book will interest any movie fan from the general Philly area. There is a summary of each movie. But the best part are the antecdotes that accompany each movie. Also, the list of which movie people were from our area is impressive. (Steven Speilberg has Haddonfield connections)

The outstanding book "Filmadelphia" by Mr. Irv Slifkin is a must have for not only lovers and fans of film in Philadelphia, but all over the world. It is amazing how many hit and acclaimed films were conceptualized and executed in the Philadelphia area, even as far back as 1940. The real blessing of the book is how Mr. Slifkin gives equal credit and acclaim to smaller films that have great merit just as much as the big budget studio onces. Mr. Slifkin really did exceptional and thorough reseacrh to make sure he gave the complete panoramic overview of film, filmmakers, actors, etc. of the motion picture scene in Philadelphia and close surrounding areas. I was also happy that he didn't give much ink to one of the worst films ever made in Philadelphia in "State Property." The original and the sequel did nothing to benefit the Philadelphia blossoming film scene but marginalize it. The stereotypes in that truly horrible and self-destrutive film were an embarrassment to Philadelphia and anyone who wanted to be a part of the film scene from the city. I honestly believe that film has made the crime crisis in Philadelphia worse. I tell people all the time that that film wasn't shot here even though it was. I'm so glad Mr. Slifkin gave space in his resplendent book to other noteworthy films in all genres that deserved the notice, the acclaim, and the ink. This book will have a cherished place in your library because it's truly an original and necessary piece of work. A compelling and very entertaining read from the very first page to the very last.

This Author's popularly known as "Movie Irv." I never heard of him, but what do I know? Evidently he's way big in Philadelphia, and if he had his way the whole city would be known as "Filmadelphia," rather a tongue twister if ever I heard one, catchy to a certain degree but I don't know if it will ever supplant the good old reliable "Philly." I was in the Penn Bookstore looking around for a souvenir, and my eye lit on this book which I bought and read on the plane on the way home to San Francisco.

Movie Irv knows his subject inside and out! Off the top of my head, I could name a few pictures laid in Philadelphia, from KITTY FOYLE with Ginger Rogers to 1776 to TRADING PLACES, and all those movies by M. Night Shymalanyan (or however you spell it). But this guy has details on all of them, and plus he can tell you which scenes were shot on Hollywood soundstages (like much of the classic PHILADELPHIA STORY with Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant) and which shots were actually filmed on location.

I know in San Francisco it's sad looking at some old movies shot here and noticing how much is changed! And that must really be true of Philly, for Movie Irv's piece on Hitchcock's MARNIE shows that almost every location shot Hitchcock took is of a place that's now been shut down or torn down. MANNEQUIN with Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall takes place at the old Wanamakers Department Store but alas, there is no more Wanamakers he says! I remember THE BLOB and DAVID AND LISA and EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS but I didn't know any of them were set in Filmadelphia! BLOW OUT I did know, for it's all about Bicentennial Fever and how it turned John Lithgow into a Satanic killer for hire, and the big ships on the Schuylkill, sails flapping under skies shot through with fireworks, red, white and blue.

I also enjoyed THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE by Walt Disney, the last movie Disney personally approved. Movie Irv says that not one foot of film was shot in town, and indeed cheap Mr, Disney just re-used the sets from MARY POPPINS! What he doesn't know about this topic you could fit onto a cheesesteak.

But why put on the back of the book that Philadelphia is where they filmed the legendary box office flop IN HER SHOES with Cameron Diaz? It's like, who cares!

Robert De Niro is without a doubt one of the best actors of all time. This wonderful in-depth book covers his film career, from his early student films of the 60's with Brian De Palma through 1998's "Ronin". It briefly mentions his roles after "Ronin" and ends with "Meet the Parents" and "Men of Honor". As this fourth edition was published in 2001, an updated fifth edition is badly needed. But, even the most hardcore De Niro fans like me must admit that he hasn't had many memorable roles since "Ronin", although "Analyze This" was very funny.

When looking through this book I'm surprised at how many De Niro films haven't been released yet on dvd. With each of his movies, the author lists the cast, gives a plot summary, and tells how the critics and public reacted to each movie upon its initial release. There are hundreds of great photos from his movies (including a nice color section in the middle of the book) that fans will appreciate. I was already a major Robert De Niro fan before I bought this awesome book, but reading it helped me discover many more of his great movies. This book is an absolute must for any De Niro fan!

You may think that Bobby D is the man, and you'd be right. But do you really understand WHY he is the man? Douglas Brode does, and in this project, he lays out all of the reasons De Niro has become one of the most prolific actors of his time. Informative and entertaining, The Films of Robert De Niro is a must read for fans of the actor and his movies.

This series of books is always outstanding for the bunch of pictures it contents. But the text equals the image, there's a lot of research for each movie De Niro's done -critic-guru Pauline Kael's comments among others-, and a few insights on the flaws of some of his movies, that may give you the right impression that this author knows some things about craftsmanship.