Review of What's That From?: The Ultimate Quiz Book of Contemporary Movie Lines (Paperback)

Very entertaining and educational for us wannabee movie buffs. It reminds me of the many times spent sitting around after work in the restaurant where I waitressed, trying to identify similar movie quotes, while playing pass the pigs, and doing shots. Wonderful book, when is the next edition.

Product Description
Do you know what films have given us the following quotes?
"What we have here is a failure to communicate."
"Excuse me while I whip this out."
"Would somebody get this walking carpet out of my way?"
"I don't know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper, it does just fine by itself."

And how are you at movie trivia?
In The Blues Brothers why are Jake and Elwood "puttin' the band back together"?In Airplane!, which dinner was poisioned: the fish or the chicken? True or False: Diane Keaton won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Annie Hall.

For the movie buff and video hound, What's that From? provides hours of entertainment.You can test your knowledge with more than 1,000 quotes and questions from more than 250 contemporary films--from Academy Award winners to cult classics.Also included are bonus questions on actors and directors, special categories on individual actors, movies, and themes (Wester, baseball, sequels), plus a section devoted exclusively to Academy Award-winning performances.

It's all here in the ultimate tribute to the great movies of the seventies, eighties, and nineties from National Lampoon's Animal House to When Harry Met Sally... So the next time you hear someone say, "It's just a flesh wound, " you won't have to ask "What's that from?"


About the Author
Jai Nanda, an avid moviegoer and graduate of the University of Michigan, lives in New York City.


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Review of American Film Institute Desk Reference: The Complete Guide to Everything You Need to Know about the Movies (Hardcover)

"In Hollywood, anything can happen. Anything at all." ~Raymond Chandler

If you are looking for a one-volume source containing the information about movies and the people who produce them, this is an excellent reference manual. If information makes you high, this book will make you feel slightly heady. There is information on everything from film history to the biographies of major players. I enjoyed the hundreds of photos, quotes and factoids.

This desk reference is divided into five main sections:

1. Movie History - Take a journey from 1830-2002, decade by decade.

2. Movie Basics - An outline of who, what, when and where. This includes information on studios, creative people, how to break into the movies, buzzwords and coveted salaries.

3. Movie Crafts - The hands-on aspects of movie making. Producing, directing, writing, acting, cinematography, production design, costumes, makeup, hair, special effects, sound and music, editing, distribution and critiquing films.

4. People in Film - Profiles of historical and contemporary film-industry producers and players.

5. Films - Dream lists for the movie lover in you! See if you agree with the AFI's 100 Funniest movie list or read about the top 50 all-time box office hits. The movies are listed, then listed again with additional information. You can also read about the movies again in various parts of the book and page numbers are given for easy reference. Like "Some Like it Hot" is listed in AFI's Top 100 American Movies and while it is listed under AFI's 100 Funniest American Movies, they save space by referring you to pg. 383 for the detailed information.

This section also has a collection of "movie quotations" like: "I'd love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair." ~Bette Davis (Madge), Cabin in the Cotton (1932)

If you enjoy watching Foreign Films, this chapter has information about films around the globe. There are lists of films from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Sources - Addresses, phone numbers and websites for every facet of the film world. If you want to know about film projects in development, there are places you can find this information online.

You can find out information on:

What you have to do to sell your screenplay to Hollywood.
Where you can rent cameras if you wanted to make a film.
Why films get chosen for the Cannes Film Festival.
How the Oscar got its name.
The stars names found on the Holly wood Walk of Fame.

The main features in this book include: Lists of movies, essays, articles giving information about who's who, detailed cinema history, fascinating anecdotes, gossip, trivia and quotes from film personalities in side columns. Information on "screenplay formats and terminology" is a real bonus. It is pretty amazing to find all this information in one book! If there is another book out there that can compete, I haven't seen it.

Essential reading for any film critic and movie lover. If you are looking for movies to add to your must-see list, this book will have you adding hundreds of movies to your list. The Index is very helpful for finding movie information super fast (although I think they should consider expanding the index even further in future editions) and the AFI has gone out of their way to make this book a dream to read.

The perfect gift for anyone who loves movies.

~The Rebecca Review



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Review of John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001 (John Simon On--) (Hardcover)

John Simon is a maddening individual. He is the premier example on what William Goldman called the "Supercritic". This is one who seems to always find merit in works the majority of his/her colleagues dismiss, and grandly dismisses works most others praise. It would seem, therefore, that he should be likewise easy to dismiss... except for two things.
First, even when he is tearing apart a much beloved film or praising some dismal exercise, he's, well, right! That is, his points are always on the mark and exceedingly well argued, This can hurt, albeit briefly, any future viewings of a favorite film, and, probably, enhance viewings of a "dog" (I say "probably" because life's too short to test out this latter proposition). Second, he is. without doubt or peer, the most brilliant, witty, and pithy writer on (pick your subject-he's written on them all) Music, Theater, Books, or, as in this case, Film, not only of our time but, arguably, of all time.
Sure he's uncommonly (and unnecessarily) cruel to those he dislikes, commenting not only on their abilities (fair game), but on their looks, intelligence, life-style, what-have-you.
And, sure, he can be so maddeningly erudite that you know he's using words and phrases whose meaning only he can tell. But, those words! That wit! Do NOT start reading this 700+ collection of some two decades of reviews unless you've lots of time at your disposal, because once you start, you will NOT be able to stop,

Product Description

"I find John's critical writing immensely entertaining even when I'm not in agreement... He has the gift, such a rare one, of being able to analyze the work in question, to be able to say why it is that it's so powerful, so touching; or, on the othe



About the Author
John Simon (1925-) was born in Yugoslavia and awarded his PhD in comparative literature from Harvard University. He has written theatre, film, music, and book reviews for many eminent publications, inc. New York, Esquire, Hudson Review, Opera News, and the New York Times Book Review. He is a past winner of the George Jean Nathan Award and the George Polk Award for Film Criticism. He lives in New York City. Bruce Beresford is the acclaimed director of Breaker Morant, and Driving Miss Daisy among others

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Review of It's One O'Clock and Here Is Mary Margaret McBride: A Radio Biography (Hardcover)

I work in Radio so I bought it out of obligation to the subject matter and boy was I surprised. I'VE READ IT FOUR TIMES. It is a fascinating story of how great radio is made and what makes a radio star. And she was a true star. Everything she did is true of every radio star I know working today--the news is, she did it first. I would give this to everyone thinking of working in radio and every young person (it will be inspiring to women in particular) who wonder what it takes to be a success in media. It takes every cell in your body. Bravo!!!!



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Review of The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film (Paperback)

I'll freely admit my admiration for Michael Weldon's work, this book, his previous, and his magazine. Even when I disagree with his assessment, he's always honest and straight-forward.

I read some other reviews complaining about the content, or lack thereof, in this book. I think there's a misundserstanding as to what this is. It is a continuation of Michael's previous book, the Psychotronic Encylcopedia. There may be references in the reviews to movies not listed here, but that's because those movies are listed in the Encyclopedia. The two books have very little common content.

I also read a complaint about inclusion of some mainstream pictures such as Basic Instinct. In defense, I would say that Michael's content covers exploitation films of all genres and budget levels, whether made for $26,000 or $26,000,000.

I also like Michael's editorial inserts in this volume, such as his favorite movies of each decade.

Both books are essential, though admittedly his first covers most of the classics. This volume, thankfully, is not only more up-to-date, but stretches back into the silent era as well.

I say...buy them both.



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Review of A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes (Paperback)

Sorry to say, this dictionary of the avant-garde has it's gaps, misinterpretations, and inaccuracies.It is quite valuable for the most part, but the aforementioned problems should be addressed before the next edition hits the racks.There is scant mention of free improvisation, Derek Bailey (and his many contemporaries), Paul Klee, Al Hansen (and many other valuable Fluxus artists indivudually) and much else, but there are referances to one-off a-g practitioners (such as that Republican apologist P.J. O'Rourke) and others.Weird...maybe RK was trying to use his dictionary to stir up debate, but that's not what dictionaries are fundamentally for, I think.




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Review of The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005 (Hardcover)

My favorite part of this yearbook is the scrapbook pages from each show with fabulous stories written by cast members about backstage rituals, opening night gifts, favorite lines or moments in the show, celebrity visitors, and exciting photos of the opening night parties, clowning around backstage, actors putting on makeup, etc. Reading the pages makes you feel not just like you've seen the show, but that you've been backstage and been on stage with the cast. On the "42nd Street" page, David Elder, who played Billy Lawlor, wrote his favorite moment in that show is: "Hearing the audience reaction during "We're in the Money" when I would hold the handstand. Also the audience's excited applause when the opening curtain would rise to show what looked like hundreds of tapping feet." From "Wicked:" "Shoshana Bean, the Elphaba with the trucker mouth, walked off the stage and trumpted a curse that would make Joan Rivers blush. As soon as it came out of her mouth, she turned to see (backstage visitor) Garth (Brooks) in his big old cowboy hat and dear Ms. Trish Yearwood with her girls. Elphaba turned a nice shade of green-red and said, gracefully, "Uh...I have to get out of makeup now." And from "Spelling Bee" Jesse Tyler Ferguson's favorite moment: "After I get eliminated from the Bee I give handshakes to each of the actors on stage as I exit. Dan Fogler always says something different to me. On the night of the first preview he said, "Welcome back to Broadway." On a night when the audience was really dead, he said, "You're always the lucky one." Celia always whispers, "I love you." If you love theater like I do, you'll love this yearbook.



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Review of Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem (Expedition Series) (Paperback)

Stephen Hunter is a talented prolific novelist, who also writes insightful movie reviews. It's always interesting to see if you agree with the opinion of a writer you enjoy. But here Hunter has given us himself. There is an epilogue that appears out of place, until you understand just how willing Hunter is to invest himself in his writing.

Excellent and unforgetable.

Product Description
Baltimore Sun movie critic Stephen Hunter takes aim at 13 years (1981-94) of popular movies, from film noir to teenage slashers, gangster flicks to sci-fi pics, and examines the current, and often violent, culture of modern cinema. Organized by topic, this book is a fascinating chronicle of today's increasingly violent and alienating culture.

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