Customer Reviews

Cinescopes

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I came across Cinescopes at a local bookstore recently and as a lifelong movie buff, picked up a copy on a whim. Man am I happy that I did! Not only was I surprised by the writers clear love of such a broad range of films, but I was even more fascinated by the insightful psychological implications of WHY I relate so deeply to some of my all time favorites. As a died-in-the-wool "rationalist", I don't put much stake in a "pseudo-science" like astrology, so I found the Cinescopes approach in this regard truly refreshing. Planning to purchase multiple copies for holiday gifting.

MORE FUN THAN A FORTUNE COOKIE (AND TASTIER TOO!) ***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***

Cinescopes takes western astrology and gives it a 21st century overhaul. In this present era dominated by distraction and disconnection, Cinescopes provides a fun, relevant and easily digestible manner to reconnect with both yourself and your friends and family. We all need a character 'check up' once in awhile and what easier way to do it than with your favorite film characters at your side.

The authors of this book have combined their educational credentials and film industry experience to create a unique, fun, and not-so-scientific analysis of personality type based upon favorite movies. I participated on the Internet before I bought the book, and to validate my "Charismatic Performer" profile, I entered another ten movies and obtained the same result. It appears that in some instances, your profile may not portray what you are as much as what you wished you could be (your alter-ego, as it were). In the last few days, I have encouraged many people to find their Cinescope and have enjoyed the feedback and discussion.

CINESCOPES has the potential for being the 21st Century's answer to Trivial Pursuit and will probably stimulate us to watch movies that we haven't seen in a while and view some from others' Top Ten (I have spent a lot of time on IMDb lately). My only criticism is that the list of movies in the back of the book is very incomplete. No White Christmas? No Interlude? Last night on Turner Classic Movies, The Sterile Cuckoo with Liza Minelli (nominated for two Academy Awards) was on, and that wasn't listed either. Because this book is so different and has provided me with a winter diversion, I forgave the omissions and awarded it Five Stars for originality.

This book really tells it how it is! I can't believe how my top movies, no matter how many I look up, keeps pointing me to the same Cinescope! The writers are so creative and just amazing coming up with this....a perfect gift to the movie lover in your life...and hell, who is not a movie lover??!!!

Anyone who loves (or even just "likes") the movies will love this little book. It reminds me of Linda Goodman's "Sun Signs" back in the 60's only you don't have to know what time you were born and consult an ephemerus to see which planet was on the horizon at that very moment.

It's as easy as figuring out your ten favorite movies--which, as another reviewer has pointed out, may be the only drawback here. When I asked five friends to tell me their ten favorite movies, all but one of them whined about not being able to narrow it down. The fifth one said she didn't go to the movies much. Imagine...

Cinescopes is about what your movie choices reveal about your personality. Originally a website (www.cinescopes.com)

where visitors could plug in their ten favorite films and get a reading, this book makes it possible to do it yourself.

Armed with a list of ten favorites, the reader consults a glossary of film titles with code designations. The reader writes the code next to each favorite title on her list, then looks for which code appears the majority of times. I tried this on a number of friends and types do emerge!

The system identifies 16 different personality types and although most peoples' film choices won't adhere to just one of them, when the majority do, the Cinescope personality is a lot like what Linda Goodman identified in Sun Signs as your astrological personality. Only this turns out to be far more accurate.

The reader matches the code that appears most often to the corresponding Cinescope type and turns to that chapter to learn all about herself (or all about the friend you've sneakily tricked into giving you their ten favorite movies, unaware that they will soon be in your power because you know all their innermost secrets!!! But I digress...)

If the codes add up to a tie, the authors tell us to read both Cinescope personality chapters.

Each chapter describes the basic personality of that Cinescope "sign". For this review, I'll just choose one: the Dedicated Idealist: "...Dedicated Idealists have secret goals that drive them..."

The chapter includes a list of famous characters with this personality (Chris Gardener in THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS) and another list of actors who might have been typecast with the personality of that Cinescope. For example, Dedicated Idealist typecasting would apply to the roles of Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Jack Lemmon and Toni Collette.

Next comes an examination of the personality strengths of the Dedicated Idealist, and gives examples of quintessential statements one of these characters might make. For example, Jane Fonda's naive character, Judy, in NINE TO FIVE: "Don't tell me what I can or can't do! Those days are over! And if I want to have an affair, or play sex games, or do M&Ms, you can't stop me!"

Then comes an examination of personality weaknesses, deepest secrets, and Cinescope personality at work. Such revelations as typical modes of transportation and culinary favorites demonstrate the depth of this often hilarious, usually right on track system.

Examples of quintessential behavior (ie., telling the boss off, throwing papers in the air, and exiting dramatically) help to further identify the character type. And then there are the segments defining the Cinescope personality with friends and in love, most compatible Cinescope type, least compatible Cinescope type and other Cinescope types with some of the same likes and dislikes.

There's even a description of the Cinescope type's greatest nemesis with such ponderings as, "Why do Suits (the movie type) irritate Idealists do much?--Suits have the power, money, and control that Idealists strive to achieve. If an Idealist were to accept the Suit's offer to get ahead quickly and forfeit their ideals, they'd soon be wearing a stiff suit of their own."

There's an excellent list of must-see films for the corresponding Cinescope personality, (I had to keep adding them to my Netflix queue) and finally, each chapter concludes words of advice for the personality it describes.

Once I'd done my own Cinescope, I wanted to do all my friends' as well. I took the book to a party and it was a huge hit.

The writing is witty, insightful, based on pretty sound psychology matched with an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema and completely enjoyable. Both authors are screenwriters and film school graduates, and one is a clinical psychologist, while the other is a behaviorist working with autistic children and a novelist. They know their subject and their writing is a joy to read.

We bought this for a gift but ended up taking to every gathering over the holidays that went to. We brought along a chart that we made up to go with it. It was a fun conversation starter!

Cinescopes is awesome and eerily dead-on. From my favorite movies I learned that I am an Invincible Optimist. I bought this book for myself then ended up giving it to all my movie-buff friends as gifts.

"Movies are the mythic tales of today. They can make us cry, scream, or laugh. They can cheer us up or bring us down. And just like those ancient stories of humans struggling for the favor of the gods, movies tend to focus on a hero undertaking some kind of journey, whether it be physical, intellectual or emotional." - From Cinescopes

Quick: list your ten favorite movies.

Did Michael Clayton or Forrest Gump make the cut? What about Napoleon Dynamite, Hotel Rwanda, The Da Vinci Code, or Batman Begins? Did Toy Story, It's a Wonderful Life, or What the Bleep Do We Know make your list or perhaps No Reservations, Somewhere In Time, or E.T. is more to your liking?

No matter what cinematic fare you prefer, it is possible that your favorite movies can reveal intriguing aspects of your personality. In the clever new book Cinescopes, authors Risa Williams and Ezra Werb outline sixteen distinct personality profiles based on psychology, cinematic theory and mythology. All you need to do to find your unique profile is list your favorite movies, look them up in the index, record the appropriate Cinescope codes and determine which profile crops up the most by adding them together.

Do you enjoy Wayne's World, The Simpson's Movie or Airplane? According to Cinescopes, you would be an Invincible Optimist (IO). Having On Golden Pond, Mommie Dearest and Crash among your favorite movies would make you a Determined Survivor (DS).

Maybe you're a Destined Hunter (DH) like me, anticipating the thrills and chills of movies like Joy Ride, Misery and Saw. If you're an Existential Savior (ES) like my husband, you'd probably count The Matrix, The Mothman Prophecies, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind among your treasured films.

In addition to learning more about yourself (not to mention getting some great ideas for movies you'd enjoy based on your personality!), Cinescopes also offers each type's deepest secret, strengths and weaknesses--as well as behavior in the workplace, with friends and in romance. The author's also provide Quintessential Statements (corresponding movie quotes), most (and least) compatible Cinescope types, greatest nemesis, words of advice and much more.

I found my second highest Cinescope profile (Existential Savior) the most startling accurate and thorough, but my highest profile also gave some canny observations. However, my husband's highest profile (Existential Savior) didn't sound like him at all. The compatibilities were hit and miss, too, but hey...this is movie profiling we're talking about. Not all of our favorite movies were included in the book (e.g. Mr. Brooks, Prime, Red Planet, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, The Magdalene Sisters, etc.), and I found a code error for the Ratatouille movie (DY and IS are listed. I assume they meant DI and YS?)

Engaging and accessible, this engaging 176-page book would make a perfect gift for movie buffs or personality junkies, as well as serving as an excellent icebreaker for groups. Cinescopes would also make fantastic entertainment for family reunions, parties and holiday get-togethers.

If you want to know what your favorite movies reveal about you--a Vivacious Romantic, Youthful Sage or Passionate Maverick at core, perhaps?--check out Cinescopes by Quirk Books. At the very least, it's fun and fresh--but you may also walk away discovering a heckuva lot about yourself in the process.

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

Cinescopes is entertaining and can keep a party going for hours. This book is totally fun and allows you to really understand personality traits just based on what you enjoy watching. Movies are great because we relate to them, and Cinescopes is fun because it ties our movie trends to our personalities. You will definitely laugh a lot and learn a lot from this book.

I most certainly recommend this work and it is a fun read!

Fun! I did my top 10 choices and I think the results described me perfectly. This will by my top gift for friends this year. Would be fun for a party, a book club, any gathering - or just to read through on your own. Addictive -- you also find yourself trying to categorize people you know. Only thing I will say that the results are slightly more appropriate for a single vs. married individual as romantic pursuit plays a part in some of the descriptions, but don't let that stop you from buying the book.