Customer Reviews

365 Four-Star Videos You (Probably) Haven't Seen

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I liked the size of the book, I take it to the video store to figure out what to get if the new titles are out. The standard vidoe guide (Lenard Maltin, etc.) is too big and has 99% movies that no one cares about. This guide has just the best movies, and she tells you why they are good, back ground or the context of the times, etc. The book is fun to read in its own right, even if you're not looking to get a movie. I think it is a good gift idea. I hope she writes a second version

Throw all of your other video guides away -- this one is the only one you'll need. Text is intelligent and funny, and out of the 10 or 11 films out of the book that I rented, I've really enjoyed all of them, and had never heard of any of them beforehand

This compilation is an excellent source for quick, clever, and insightful recommendations. The suggestions for double features or similar films are especially helpful. And check out the indexes!

I don't know how this totally inferior book got published. If I'd seen the cover before I bought it, saying she'd seen every Shirley Temple movie 8 times, that would have given me a clue as to her taste and I would never have bought it. A waste of time and certainly no one could consider her a responsible movie critic. The movies recommended are hardly 4 star movies. Most of them aren't even worth seeing. No wonder you probably haven't seen them.

In all honesty, I'm not a movie fantatic, but to imply one hasn't seen these 4 star films is rather problematic. I'm not quite sure who these people are--who haven't seen these films--that the writer has in mind. I've seen about all of these films; some are good, some not so good. The commentary is ok, but not on a par with informed film critics. Well, I guess if you haven't read much, you might have a book called "Great Books You've Never Read," and perhaps "1984" would be among them, but that tells us more about the assumptions of the writer than the audience.

My mom gave me this book to take to camp with me when I was 16 when I was bored. I'm 27 years old now and finally finished the entire book. The plus side is the book's convenient size. Its easy to take along with you on an airplane or to camp or whatever. Hamilton does a good job of summarizing the films; by the end of the summary, you have a pretty good idea of whether you'd like to see each film or not. The bad news is that Hamilton is an amateur film critic. In her list of 365 films, at least 250 of them are "three stars" at best and about 100 of them are not even worth watching at all. There is nothing distinguishable about this list of films that couldn't have been written by any educated person. What really kills this book is that Hamilton doesn't take the book seriously. She tries to include little humorous statements about each film, which comes off as forced (example for Time Bandits: "Its not nice to tick off the Supreme Being"). There's a little trivia question about each film, which I guess is fun for kids and amateurs, but annoying for those serious about film.

I mostly treasure this book because I wrote little notes to myself in the margins. I can see my own development over 11 years of watching films. For that reason, I recommend this book to clever, young movie buffs, but not for anyone over the age of 18 or so.

goo