Movies Books

Whoever does not have a copy of this beautifully written book on their bed-side table, should have. It is a true gem!

"Good writing is like poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes. It should excite your nervous system. It should knock you out". That's what Sairica's book does!! =)

I had the privilege of being given a preview of this book by the author herself....It was awesome! I very much look forward to receiving my copies!
-J.F.

This slim book contains some powerful words. Beautifully written with evocative verses which conjure up those unsaid moments that form part of contemporary life. Poems to read over and over, a book to treasure.

This is my all time favorite book. It is about thirteen year old Eric Kirby. He went parasailing in hopes of seeing real live dinosaurs. His parasail crashed on Isla Sorna. He made
friends with a young iguanadon he named Iggy and at the end of
the book he rescues Dr.Grant. It is continued by Jurassic Park 3 the Junior Novelization.

Thirteen-year-old Eric Kirby goes para-sailing above Jurassic Park with his friend Ben, with hopes of seeing real live dinosaurs. But after a minor accident where Ben dies he is trapped on the island... With no escape. It's just him and a dynasty of ferocious dinosaurs!
This isn't a very good adult book, but children with an intrest in dinosaurs or Jurassic Park will love it.

All thirteen-year-old Eric Kirby wanted was a chance to get to see real, live dinosaurs up close. So when his mom's boyfriend, Ben, offered him the opportunity, he jumped at the chance. Eric and Ben will get to parasail over the Jurassic Park Island, observing the dinosaurs from a safe distance. But something goes very wrong, and the two fall from the sky onto the island. Only Eric survives the fall, and he is trapped in a hostile prehistoric environment where he is the prey. It will take all of his wits and courage to stay alive until help arrives - but how can one kid survive among the deadliest predators ever to walk the earth? This was a thrilling story, not only for fans of the movies, but for readers who like adventure stories. The book ended with a cliffhanger that will lead into the new Jurassic Park movie, so now I have to wait until the movie comes out to find out what happens to Eric, which won't be for a whole month, or read the novelization. Still, this was an exciting, although short, book.

Jurassic Park Adventures One Book Review

Jurassic Park Adventures One is a book about a kid named Eric Kirby who has to get to a test safe house to escape dinosaurs on an island. When he tries to get out of the test house, he can't. Some people have to save him. Their plane crashes in the rescue. If you like dinosaurs, this is the book for you. The stars of the book are Spinosaurus, T- Rex & Raptor. Eric makes friends with an Iguanadon & names it Iggy. Eric is a hero. He goes out to save a man, but does not know who he is.

By James

Wonderfull story telling, wonderful stories of Minnesota farmers.

I'm going back to the library in an hour to look for Red Earth, White Earth by Weaver and A Gravestone Made of Wheat and Other Stories. The rest of his books appear to be geared towards young adults.

Novels and novellas
Saturday Night Dirt (2008)
Defect (2007)
Full Service (2005)
Claws (2003)
Memory Boy (2001)
Hard Ball (1998)
Farm Team (1995)
Striking Out (1993)
Red Earth, White Earth (1986)

Short story collections
Sweet Land (2006)
A Gravestone Made of Wheat and Other Stories (1989)
WWJD

Nonfiction
Barns of Minnesota (with Doug Ohman) (2005) a picture book

Will Weaver - what an interesting writer! His word pictures and the way he presents his characters are intriguing. Each story in Sweet Land has a different flavor; some thought provoking and some hysterically funny! Our book club will be adding Will Weaver to our "must read" lists!

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection. Great reading for relaxation in a hurry. Will reread them all.

I watched the movie Sweet Land before I read the story, A Gravestone made of Wheat, and I loved it. But after reading the 15 page story, I was wondering why in the world the movie director chose to interpret the story as he did. Seems to me he completely missed the essence of the story - which is as elegantly simple as Karen Blixen's Babette's Feast. The other stories are amazingly well written as well, but the idea behind "The Gravestone made of Wheat" makes it the jewel of the book. I love it!

One of the central facts presented is that Technicolor is like no other motion picture color process. And that it has been nearly abandoned in the USA in favor more efficient processes, none of which are as good as Technicolor.

Amazingly, the only remaining Technicolor lab on earth is in Beijing.

This book provides an extensive review of the technicolor procsss and its development over the history of its use.

The author correctly points out the weaknesses of the Eastmancolor process and gives support to the superiority of dye transfer processed films. Mr. Haines has an excellent eye for color, and he lists a complete history of films using three strip technicolor and dye transfer matrices. He is not afraid to attack the studios and Kodak's short sightedness in dumping the process. As a result, film negatives are fading fast, and many films are losing their original look. He does list one chinese company that still uses the process, and I hope that they are still in business. Sadly films will never look as good again. END

This is a very complex book with a lot of technical information, some of which I didn't understand. However, I did get the overall gist of the writer's arguement which is the Technicolor process was vastly superior to the Eastmancolor process that replaced it. I've seen some 16mm film collector prints in Technicolor which were gorgeous. One of them was "The Adventures of Robin Hood" which was beautiful. Rich and vibrant...it took my breath away. I also saw 16mm Technicolor prints of "North by Northwest" and "Singin' in the Rain" which were spectacular. Boy do I love Technicolor. You can actually buy these prints on ebay if you have a lot of money.

I can't believe Hollywood abandoned this process. It's hard to compare old Technicolor movies with current Eastmancolor films like "Minority Report" which is drained of color and looks terrible. Are current directors color blind? I guess most people have never seen a Technicolor print and don't know what they're missing...

This book is better than Fred Basten's "Glorious Technicolor" in that it details all the different processes that used dye transfer printing including Cinerama, Technirama, 3-D, VistaVision and CinemaScope. Basten's book only covers the 3 strip camera and pretty much ignores the fifties and sixties. This book lists every film that was printed in Technicolor and lists them in each category or process. My only complaint is that unlike the Basten book, there are no color pictures. There are a lot of technical diagrams though.

In Haines second book, "The Moviegoing Experience 1968-2001", he made the technical aspects of his subject a bit easier to understand but this book is still an excellent reference source.

Haines is also a film director and made a very interesting 'film noir' movie called "Unsavory Characters" which I saw on DVD. The color portions of that movie resembled a Technicolor film from the era so he seems to understand the aethetics of cinematography. I also saw his "Alien Space Avenger" on videotape. According to The Perfect Vision magazine, it was printed at the Technicolor lab in China!

I read that Technicolor dye transfer printing was revived a couple of years ago and used on "Rear Window" and "Apocalype Redux" but few people in Hollywood cared and it was shut down again. Shame on them!

There's no question that the author is the greatest champion of Technicolor and has made an impact on film history by chronicling the story. He's one of the most interesting writers and directors out there and I hope someone discovers him soon!

This book is delightful. It is a must for every theater goer, folk music lover. I think it should be required reading for ALL drama students and students in general. It is a rollicking story of a lifetime spent being in the present moment, facing all forms of worldly turmoil from a childhood in Vienna as a jewish boy to manhood and family in America.
It is the loving story of a man choosing to fight for human rights with only his guitar as a weapon.
From his days in Israeli theater and on to England in Repertory theater to appearing on American stage, movie screen and television to activism of all colors, this story reveals a man whose quest for LIFE brings him into our lives. And we are all the better for it.

SHalom and God speed to a wonderful character in my life.
Mrs. Leslie Van de Ven, RN, BA

"Theo" is a wonderful journey through the life of an interesting, entertaining, many faceted person. You'll be facinated to follow him from his birth place in Vienna, through his many travels and career to his comments on the present day world conditions.

He is a jack of all trades and master of all!

Theodore Bikel's name is syynonymous with the Arts. His autobiography detailing his years on the London and Broadway stage and his Hollywood film career is stuffed with anecdotes about actors and legends. It brings a real sense of living that charmed life. I enjoyed every minute of his story.

His experiences escaping the Nazis as a child, his passion for folk music, and his stewardship of actors' and civil rights show him as a champion of the less fortunate and a righteous individual. This is the story of a totally expansive life and in spite of my earlier knowledge and enthusiasm for his work and music, I came away with greater insights and understanding of the man's drive and achievement. It's a great book. I recommend it to every theator-goer, activist, music lover, and any soon-to-be fan of Theo Bikel.

I first discovered Theo when I was in college -- and a friend of mine found some folk music records of his at a campus record store.

Then I discovered he's an actor. And a writer. He's written some wonderful books on folk music, with the stories that go with the music. He wrote the back jacket copy for the records, and it opened gateways into the music and out of the music into the world that music came from.

He's appeared on almost all the major hit TV series. Most memorable for me is that he is/was Ivanova's Uncle on Babylon 5 and Worf's human father on Star Trek: DS9 etc.

You surely know who he is -- you've seen him again and again.

But only a true die-hard fan like me -- who goes to his concerts whenever I can -- picks up enough about his life history to get a feel for where this immense talent comes from.

Theo is one of the major influences that led me to become a professional sf writer. Today, I play his CD's and tapes made from the old vinyl in my car -- and it gives me the strength and energy to keep on. Keeping-on has begun to pay-off! Just today, I have another new title now available on amazon.[com], The Unity Trilogy.

The story of Theo's life is the story of Art. And here and there you get to peek into the world as it was during some terrible war times -- and what it meant to escape all that horror.

This is a book to treasure. It should be available as an ebook download forever!

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

This is a great and QUIET toy that keeps my son entertained for quite a while considering he is only 2 yrs old. He only gets to play with it on Sundays during church which helps the book keep its "novelty" and keeps my son from getting bored during the hour that he needs to sit still. We like it and highly recommend it.

Peep, peep! Thomas and his friends are hard at work. All the people on the Island of Sodor depend on Sir Topham Hatt's railway every day, and they are always glad to see one of the engines coming down the line. Now, children can help, too, by creating their own scenes and stories with 9 fun magnets: Thomas, Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Mavis, Harold the Helicopter, and two Troublesome Trucks.

There are 6 colorful, magnetized, glossy pages to the board book. The story features short sentences, and children are given plenty of space to arrange the magnets on the story boards. There's a plastic sleeve on the side that holds the magnets when not in use. The closed book holds it shut, so it's unlikely for the magnets to spill out when handled by children.

My son has gotten a lot of mileage out of the magnets, even using them on the fridge and other magnetic surfaces.

We got this before a flight and it has been a great activity book for my 2 year old. He loves putting the magnets on the tracks and then saying 'goodnight' to them each evening as we put them back in the case. It's more activity than book. He loves it! Not a day goes by when we don't read it at least once.

While the story is so-so, the fact that it has magnets is a definite plus! Keeps the kids busy in the car, at home, anywhere and the magnets store nicely on the side of the book!

This is a fascinating look at a long-gone time. Mr. Blake's book not only gives the reader great insight into the artistry and work of Lon Chaney, it is a peak into the past, of the days of silent film.

Beyond the other rave reviews for this book relative to the artist, what made this book all the more valuable to me was Mr. Blake's description on movie-making at the turn of the 20th century. We can hear, feel and almost smell the greasepaint of that time, the hard work, the ramshackle artistry of these cinema pioneers.

This is one of the best books on early film, and a credit to the magic of Lon Chaney.

Before reading this book, I knew almost nothing of Lon Chaney except his reputation as a horror actor. I was amazed to discover exactly how misleading that title actually was. Blake's work introduced a genius at makeup and pantomime who was capable of playing any role convincingly. Through it, I gained a respect for a great but seldom-discussed actor.

This is one sequel that is worth waiting for! Armed with new information from the files of Lon Chaney's former business manager, Blake has written a worthy follow-up to his first book on the famous actor. This time, Blake covers Chaney's performances and the making of many of his films in the reader-friendly tone he established in his first book. Blake has broken new ground in film history, revealing that it was Chaney's idea to make "Hunchback of Notre Dame", NOT Universal's studio head, Irving Thalberg!! It is just amazing what new nuggets of information Blake dug up, including lengthy interviews with probably the only surviving crew memeber from Chaney's MGM days and a nurse who attended him during his last trip to New York where he sought a cure of his cancer. He also debunks the myth that Chaney would have played the title role in "Dracula". It is heavily illustrated with many super rare photos. This book is just as good, if not better, than Blake's first effort. Both are a MUST if you're an admirer of Lon Chaney.

Michael F. Blake's second book on Lon Chaney, A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures, is a worthy and much-welcome companion volume to the author's first book: Lon Chaney: The Man Behind The Thousand Faces. This book serves a two-fold purpose: First, Blake reveals a lot of new information he uncovered about the actor's life and films since his first book. Second, this time around biography takes a backseat to a detailed look at the films themselves (although there is still plenty to be learned of Chaney's life).

Being THE acknowledged Chaney authority and having acted himself at an early age, Blake is able to provide a knowledgeable and well-balanced analysis/commentary of Chaney's films (at least those that are not "lost"). While certainly the biggest fan of Lon Chaney, Blake maintains the needed objectively to fairly critique each film and performance. As with his first book, a big highlight here is the wealth of rare photos presented (including Lon both in and out of make-up), as is the always fascinating information on how Chaney, a make-up master, created those amazing characters. Blake is to be lauded for his vast efforts in keeping alive the legacy of one of the greatest talents of the silent era. Thanks to author Blake, all the many fans of Lon Chaney can be assured that Chaney's many talents and contributions to the world of film (and film make-up!) will never be forgotten.

I could not resist buying this book after seeing the fine film made from it. The book stands perfectly well on its own, but I found it extremely interesting to contemplate how writers converted it to the screen. The events and characters in the book are almost all the same as in the film, but the movie presents scenes in a different order and significantly revises the prominence/roles of various characters.

I wish I had seen the process, which must have involved scores of 3x5 cards showing major scenes from the book, all rearranged and rearranged again to finally arrive at a linear progression for the movie... one just as good as, but totally different from, the book.

It's worth paying a little extra to obtain this rare volume, just to read the original story. What a bunch of sleazy people these characters were!

Better than the Movie an action filled story of LA undercover cops running a drug bust. Proably the best of Petievich's books. His knowledge of law enforcement makes this a real page turner.

To Live and Die in LA is Gerald Petievich's best book by far. A treasury agent "Richard Chance" that will not stop at nothing to catch a top notch "funny money maker", "Rick Masters" Chance's partner agent "John Vukovich" (probobly a personality likeness of Petievich, in my opinion)who comes from a family of police officers torn between backing up his out of control partner and listening to his mentor Veteran Agent "Jim Hart". If you have alreay seen the movie and liked it a lot be sure to have an open mind if you decide to read the book...totally different. Example, in the movie Richard Chance and Jim Hart are best of friends...well in the book they are each others foe.

I have to give credit to the movie. It was very entertaining and unlike anthing else made back in 1985 when I first saw it. The ensamble of cast like Bill Petersen, John Turturro, Dean Stockwell and one of my personal favorites, WILLEM DAFOE (Spiderman 2002). - Read the book. It still one of the best reads. I still have my original paperback which I bought when I was in high school dreaming of becoming a T-Man.

This novel became an equally excellent movie directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), who then went on to direct an absolute LOSER of a movie entitled PYTHON WOLF. Where has Friedkin been since? This is unknown. . . Gerald Petievich is a former US Treasury agent who has worked the streets and managed to install his brother into not only TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., but the movie SHAKEDOWN as well (which included Dennis Hopper and Viggo Mortensen). -- The bar scene in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. -- : "Hey, Petievich, get over here!" delivered by William Peterson. Petievich has walked the walk and admirably knows how to talk the talk. His dialogue is some of the finest written, easily on a par with that of Elmore Leonard. His plotting and exposition is terse and spare. There is no overabundance of words. He has not, to my knowledge, written a book since 1991's PARAMOUR. This in itself is a crime. Petievich knows about plot, about characterization, and how to make it all work in a minimal number of words and sentences. GODDAMMIT, PETIEVICH, WHERE ARE YOU?!

I thought that this book is a must-have for any Party of Five fan. It tells the true problems that the Salingers go throgh. One thing that I did not enjoy about this book, was that, they say the word 'cool' way too much! I know that is not that big of a deal, but it really started getting on my nerves by the 2nd chapter. I read this book during the summer well Po5 is not on. I am very glad that I read this book. I recommend it if you like the word 'cool'! ~thanks~

I think that this book was great! I read it over the summer so I didn't put it down much. When I put it down it was a "Waht will happen next?" question. I read it again and again and loved it! It's a really good book to me.

I thought it was okay. It was Claudia's point-of-view. Which I think is good, because it shows what problems and messes other teenagers get into. Maybe if an adult read this they would understand us. It flows with the story, and it's not hard to read. It defines all characters nicely.

I bought this book today, and finished it today. I could not put it down. It's a Terrific book! If you love Party of five, I highly recommend this book. It is told from Caludia's point of veiw which is awesome. I love this book! I'm going to read it again tonight. Hey maybe I'll finish it tonight. I very highly recommend this book. If you get it, you won't regret it!

"The marriage -- if you will -- between television and the wedding ceremony has been a long and happy union," the press material for this book begins. Published in June 1999 by HarperCollins' fairly prolific TVBooks imprint, this fun guide holds its biggest value in its black-and-white photos -- there are a lot of them. Most of them are full-page shots. The book is arranged by decade and delves into the more-political motivations for some of the TV weddings it highlights: ratings gimmick, narrative device, show revival, new plot direction, etc. An airdate is given for each wedding, as well as a thorough "back story."

After reading this book, I was reminded how happy I am to be one the countless thousands whose parents let them watch more TV than was good for them.

TV Weddings is a hilarious look back at the tv weddings of the past few decades; I really enjoyed it. I have given the book to many of my popular culture obsessed family & friends. It's a great gift & a great read.

This book reviews the many weddings that have occured between main characters on all of your favorite TV shows. The author does an excellent job of recreating the episodes and the fun of the TV weddings. It's a great look back at some TV classics, bringing up a ton of memories (I had forgotten how funny 99's wedding headdress was!).