Guides Reviews category: 501 books

When Candyman was released in 1992, Roger Ebert gave it his thumbs up, remarking that the film was “scaring him with ideas and gore, rather than just gore.” Indeed, Candyman is almost unique in 1990s horror cinema in that it tackles its sociopolitical themes head on. As critic Kirsten Moana Thompson...

The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen documents the public's seemingly insatiable fascination with the warrior woman archetype in film and on television. The book examines the cautious beginnings of new roles for women in the late fifties, the rapid development of female action leads during...

A Filmography of Cartomancy and Tarot 2000-2010 (81 films, numerous colour illus. and spread diagrams, indexes) is a catalog of such classics as Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003), The Mindscape of Alan Moore (2003), Edmond (2005), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny...

With its increasing presence in a continuously evolving media environment, the essay film as a visual form raises new questions about the construction of the subject, its relationship to the world, and the aesthetic possibilities of cinema. In this volume, authors specializing in various national...

Dragons? Wizards? Hobbits? Supervillain-cum-movie critic Mr. Satanism has had enough of all this magic and wonder, so he's back to take the piss out of fantasy films once and for all. Be they Arabian adventures, Arthurian fantasies, or hopelessly-outdated Dungeons & Dragons clones (what is this,...

Ever noticed a digital watch in a historical film? Or seen a camera crew in a mirror? There's nothing we like more than finding a continuity error, a historical inaccuracy or a technical blunder. This third edition of the bestselling Movie Mistakes brings you over a thousand slip-ups to look out for.

The 1960s and 1970s, a time when a proliferation of American television programs aired the seemingly never ending treat of Kaiju Eiga (giant monster movie).  Decades before instant viewing, creature feature shows regularly unleashed an array of towering city-stomping terrors with names like Godzilla,...

Mr. Satanism: "So, would it be wrong to say that I roast these movies?" Editor: "That could be construed as disrespectful, yes." Mr Satanism: "How do you figure?" Editor: "Witch trials were once a very real thing, you know." Mr....

For more than 100 years, the character of Sherlock Holmes has appeared in scores of films, as well as in a number of television series. For many people, the films made between 1939 and 1946, starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, with Nigel Bruce as his companion Dr. Watson, remain the most popular. My...

Kiss Me, Deadly to Nightmare Alley to The Honeymoon Killers to The American Friend—any fan of crime films will tell you there’s a palpable excitement in living vicariously through the corrupt, seductive, and often downright evil characters that inhabit these shadowy worlds. In this collection...

You love movies. Who doesn't? In Finding God in the Movies Catherine Barsotti and Robert Johnston show you how to combine your love of movies with your desire for God. Introducing thirty-three films of faith--ranging from Tender Mercies to X-Men--the authors identify and explore key biblical...

The Ultimate Unauthorized Resource to the Stories Behind Lost Lost is a complex and mysterious tale, one that draws on many sources for its themes and ideas—sources you must understand to become an advanced Lost expert. Lost*'s Buried Treasures* is the ultimate unauthorized guide to the ideas that...

The Vampire Diaries’ ultimate fan bible returns for season 3 Go deep into the heart of Mystic Falls with the latest volume in a series School Library Journal called “well written and thoroughly detailed.” Love You to Death features insightful explorations of each episode of season 3 with...

With a foreword by co-creator Kevin Williamson, the fan-favorite Love You to Death series returns with an essential guide to the fifth season of The CW’s hit show The Vampire Diaries. As the series hits its 100th-episode milestone, this companion delves headlong into the twists and turns of each...