This is NOT the indepth exploration into the game changing sensation that is Street Fighter that I've been wanting and expectNow this is more like it!
This is NOT the indepth exploration into the game changing sensation that is Street Fighter that I've been wanting and expecting - but it's pretty damn close!
First off, the first 100 pages or thereabouts, is merely artwork - but EXCEPTIONAL artwork! But it's followed by an interview with the Capcom team that tells you more about the development of the game than any other publication previous. Followed by a game by game break down of how the franchise developed and what the team hoped to achieve with each installment. What I especially appreciated is the book includes hints, tips and tricks for people who actually play the games! So many books forget who they're aimed at. This doesn't!
Followed by a full page profile for each fighter that has appeared in EVERY game! That's a lot of fighters! Concluded with more artwork and yet another retrospective interview.
I'm kinda STILL waiting for the definitive Street Fighter celebration publication to arrive, maybe my standards are too high, but until that day, THIS is the BEST Street Fighter book I've ever read!...more
The question is; if you've listened to the entire podcast, do you really need to read this book? Obviously, the book can't containSo here's the thing.
The question is; if you've listened to the entire podcast, do you really need to read this book? Obviously, the book can't contain everything that the podcast covered. My answer? Yes. And the reason? The editing.
Cleverly, the book doesn't go in any episode order. Instead, it's been masterfully edited so that pertinent quotes from everyone who contributed to the podcast are handily placed where their importance lies. The book almost feels like a series narrative and while the chapters are divided by season, and sometimes, by interviews, the relevant information is always included within that section. No flipping back and forth to see actors' opinions on the topic; it's included right there.
With a few colour photos included, the book is really a tribute to the series and the lengthy, entertaining podcast that it spawned. If you liked the podcast, I think this is a worthy purchase....more
His Buffy The Vampire Slayer tie-in novels are the only ones that ring true with familiar witty dialogue and cleChristopher Golden knows his TV shows.
His Buffy The Vampire Slayer tie-in novels are the only ones that ring true with familiar witty dialogue and clever plots. In essence, his version of the characters feel like the REAL characters. And believe me, that's not always easy. You can either do it - or you can't.
This book feels like a genuine Sons Of Anarchy episode - and that's the highest recommendation I can give.
You can hear the actors' inflections in every line of dialogue. (Especially Chibs!) The plot flows from brutal violence to touching tenderness in the blink of an eye. You're always reminded of the stakes and how much the characters care about each other. It's very much an SOA episode. So much so, it would have slotted into the series canon effortlessly.
For the Jax obsessives, Golden scores the touchdowns. Jax is strong but knows when to bend, violent but intelligent, confident but listens to his brothers. This is an author who knows this show.
I debated a while about whether to buy this book but I'm glad I did. It feels like a worthy addition to the series - and considering the quality of Kurt Sutter's writing, that's no mean feat....more
The packaging! The design! The physical extras provided! I HAD to have this book!
Maybe it's my fault. I was hoping this would be an extensive look intThe packaging! The design! The physical extras provided! I HAD to have this book!
Maybe it's my fault. I was hoping this would be an extensive look into how Street Fighter 2 the phenomenon was developed and how it became such a success! A celebration of the game that singlehandedly changed fighting games. This isn't it. While the book is BEAUTIFUL, it mostly seems to chart how expert players made the game accessible, how the franchise progressed from year to year and huge full page spreads devoted to every character, even the obscure ones.
It's a glorious tome. Yes. 100%. But chapters are barely three pages. There's zero depth. Photos are beautiful but if you're looking for an exploration into how the games were fleshed out, this isn't it.
Be warned, because this is NOT a cheap book!...more
As extensive as this was, I couldn't say I was enthralled.
All the way through it, written with the cold emotional distance journalists are famous forAs extensive as this was, I couldn't say I was enthralled.
All the way through it, written with the cold emotional distance journalists are famous for, I couldn't help wishing I was reading this story from someone who was closer, who was THERE, who was INVOLVED. It reads like a data fact file but so, yes, distant.
It's obvious the enjoyable but uneven Black Mass movie, starring the always sublime Johnny Depp, took a ton of artistic license with this story, using this book as it's basis, but now I see why. To bring people into this incredible true life story, it took some valid leaps of faith.
I'm glad I read it but now I wanna hear this story from someone who was there. I feel, for all the facts provided here, there's a better perspective on these events I've yet to hear....more
What a unique piece of work this is! This is NOT a run of the mill 'how they made The X Files' book, this is a spectacular 'WOkay, wow! I'm exhausted!
What a unique piece of work this is! This is NOT a run of the mill 'how they made The X Files' book, this is a spectacular 'What if you could gain access to all of Mulder and Scully's case files?'
It reads, looks and even FEELS like you got your hands on REAL X Files! The book is huge with pages that feel weighty, of solid quality and authentic! There's no hand holding here. These are Mulder's X Files, laid out in no discernible order. Make of the relevance what you will. We are stepping into INCREDIBLE DETAIL territory here! Autopsy reports, witness statements, photographic evidence and Mulder and Scully's case notes - on EACH case!
Yes, there's a covering and ending letter, something about how another agent has been forced to review the X Files and see if there's anything substantial within them - but make no mistake, if you ever wanted to pull open Mulder's cabinet and look inside, this is as close as you will ever get!...more
It should have been called 'Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Photo Book.'
While it's hardbacked, glossyWhoa!
This book has been seriously mistitled, dude!
It should have been called 'Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Photo Book.'
While it's hardbacked, glossy and beautifully printed, there must only be about 200 words in the whole thing. It's insane!
Photos are captioned and there's a foreword but the back proudly claims that Laura J Shapiro has been a consultant on Bill and Ted 3 for over 10 years. Surely, in all that time, she learned something worth reporting here? Instead, we get photos. Tons of them and that's great, but this is NO companion book. It's a photo book. Simple as.
One thing I can thank the Coronavirus quarantine for; giving me the time to discover (and binge) Kurt Sutter's brutal and brilliant treatise on the ouOne thing I can thank the Coronavirus quarantine for; giving me the time to discover (and binge) Kurt Sutter's brutal and brilliant treatise on the outlaw biker lifestyle, the 'not-for-the-faint-of-heart' FX series, Sons Of Anarchy.
The show didn't grab me immediately but insidiously by increments. The bikers looked cool as hell, there was violence aplenty, half naked sexy chicks and a pounding soundtrack but halfway through the first season, I was surprised how quickly I found myself caring for the characters and later, utterly shocked by how emotional I became over the unfolding events. The series is NOT for those easily offended. It's extremely violent and often exists in a moral vacuum - at least by some character's standards. It's often a bumpy ride but a fantastically satisfying one.
I sought this book out online minutes after finishing the final seventh season and I'm so glad I did. Like the numerous TV/movie celebration hardback books I already own, this one scores HUGE! Massive photographs adorn each page with TONS of behind the scenes details and interviews with major and minor cast and crew. It covers all bases. Characters, locations (including beautiful on-set photography), bikes, weapons, props, you name it. Like all good TV/movie books, it is simultaneously a celebration of the show and a sincere love letter to the fans who supported it. I read this in a matter of days and I know I will be reading it again soon.
This is very simple; if you are a fan of SAMCRO (and if you know what that means, then you are), you MUST own this book!...more
The on-set photography. Stills taken during the making of the classic sci-fi, Aliens.
If you're looking for depth or detaiThis is - what it says it is.
The on-set photography. Stills taken during the making of the classic sci-fi, Aliens.
If you're looking for depth or details, you won't find it here. There are a few snippets of interviews, some handily placed quotes, but ultimately this book's selling point is the photos, and on that, it scores pretty damn big!
Peaky Blinders seemed to come out of nowhere. What is now considThese are the kind of books I LIVE for!
Heavy, hardbacked, glossy, glorious - beautful!
Peaky Blinders seemed to come out of nowhere. What is now considered cult UK television had a very slow start. From acceptance to worship, a series about a 1920's Birmingham razor gang had to ruffle a few feathers to even be noticed. But once it was noticed? Cue glamour, brutal violence, a modern rock soundtrack, intoxicating storylines and the kind of performances Hollywood likes to fantasise about while it strokes itself to sleep at night.
It never pretended to be REAL. It didn't want to be. It was 'hyper real' - and hyper addictive.
Now, half way through Season Five (oh yes people, though we have had 6 episodes already, according to Steven Knight, we will have a 5.2 continuation), we get a celebration book - and it scores HUGE!
It's a weighty and glossy tome. The text is big so it won't take you long to read through it. Where it really earns it's five stars is EVERY major cast member is given a full 10 to 12 pages to talk about their character (yes, including Cillian) so you really get the actors' insight and incredibly BEAUTIFUL photos adorn every page. Mostly, they overwhelm every page - if I'm being honest!
With insights from the writer, director/s and production crew, the first Peaky Blinders official book is not some mere cheap cash in, it's obvious they wanted to give something back to the fans with this.
A beautiful and effective movie - borne from beautiful and effective words on the page.
Man, Cameron Crowe can WRITE! Usually, reading a screenplay isA beautiful and effective movie - borne from beautiful and effective words on the page.
Man, Cameron Crowe can WRITE! Usually, reading a screenplay is a stale and dull exercise but Crowe has such a way with words, they paint the scenes vividly.
(Always gotta know what was on the page to make a mega star like Tom Cruise sign on, right? Then again, him and Crowe are seemingly BEST friends.)
I can understand why the movie confused people but I'm baffled as to how anyone could hate it? Family Guy remarked that it's an 'abortion' of a movie and while it would take an essay or treatise to effectively address all the many layers, themes and subtexts of the film, I think it's EASILY Cruise' best performance in a sea of great performances.
So much was on the page from the get go and I love knowing that great movies started out on the page great. As Quentin Tarantino once famously said - 'Words are cheap. If you have no money, or even if you do, always start off with a GREAT script! It's free!'
Vanilla Sky isn't for everyone but if you take the journey, I'm sure you'll be riveted by what you experience. ...more
A photographer takes a photo of something unthinkable, unfathomable and it destroys his life slowly by increments. That'This is James Herbert on form.
A photographer takes a photo of something unthinkable, unfathomable and it destroys his life slowly by increments. That's as vague as I can be about the plot because to reveal more would do a disservice to the book.
I have a special fondness for this title because my own novella followed a similar vein; seedy ungrateful character learns the value of things through one moment that threatens his entire existence. Herbert has crafted a main 'hero' here we don't even need to like in order to follow and enjoy his story. The horrors, when they come, are as grounded as anything as Herbert has done before but this novel lays on a further layer of humour that makes the terrors somewhat more effective.
For me, Herbert's masterwork is still Fluke, a title that isn't even a horror - but Creed is oh so worthy of your time to see English horror done RIGHT!...more
If Wesley needed a Buffy/Angel reference tome, he'd go for this.
This is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL book!
Feels lovely to hold in hardback. Nicely weighteIf Wesley needed a Buffy/Angel reference tome, he'd go for this.
This is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL book!
Feels lovely to hold in hardback. Nicely weighted, raised embossing! Honestly, it's a physical pleasure just to flip through it's pages! Blood splattered across the binder and each page, glossy glorious paper quality that host the most fantastic images, rare and not, and that 'to-die-for' cover design, this certainly gets your attention, right off the bat!
I bought this ages ago but I avoided reading it till I finished both the Buffy series (years ago) and the Angel series (last night) because it is completely filled with spoilers. This IS what it says it is. It's an ALL reference guide to the 'Buffy-verse', a one stop shop to all that took place in both series', plus extended canon comic book series'.
I've only ever experienced both series' and a few novels (never dipped into the comics) but this looks pretty damn extensive to my eyes.
As the book has A LOT of ground to cover, there's no real indepth DETAIL to be found. No real analysis so if you are looking for that, you'll be disappointed. Instead, it encompasses as much as you could possibly hope to find in a single publication that focuses on Joss Whedon's universe. I found myself literally looking up every character and event AS they happened onscreen, just to see if they were referenced. They were.
This is essential for any Buffy/Angel fan. As much as a beautiful keepsake as it is a reference guide. There are MILLIONS of books based on this universe but none so consistent. ...more
Christopher Reeve is my Superman so I really didn't wanna see anyone else don the iconic cape. I enjoyed theI was conflicted when this film came out.
Christopher Reeve is my Superman so I really didn't wanna see anyone else don the iconic cape. I enjoyed the movie, despite myself, and after seeing Henry Cavill as Kal El in Man Of Steel, a two hour smash-a-thon, I love THIS movie now more than ever!
Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer understood that it's not Superman's strength that makes him special. It's his COMPASSION. He FEELS more deeply than anyone on Earth and he's not even from here. He is our human credential. That's what makes him SUPER. (Met Brandon Routh, cool guy! His girlfriend flirted with me!)
As 'Making Of' books go, this isn't all that great. It's shallow deep, not printed all that beautifully and the pics, though cool, aren't all that exclusive.
I actually wrote an essay on this play as a favour to a girlfriend years ago. It was part of her A Level coursework and she'd forgotten all about it!
II actually wrote an essay on this play as a favour to a girlfriend years ago. It was part of her A Level coursework and she'd forgotten all about it!
I had to read the play and write the essay in one night. Got a A- for it - or whatever the marking was back then. Not bad for one night's work!
From what I remember, I absorbed this material effortlessly, as you always do with great writing. It was dark and shocking and played right into my wheelhouse. I seemed to get the metaphors fairly fast and the intention of the writing was brilliant and forthright. I knew back then, even not being all that up on plays and the theatre and what not, that this was special.
Girlfriend was very appreciative, lol! So I'll always have a special place in my heart for this play....more
When I think of solid competent ghost stories with sustained tension and an expert grasp of pace, I think of this book.
This may have been one of the fWhen I think of solid competent ghost stories with sustained tension and an expert grasp of pace, I think of this book.
This may have been one of the first 'adult' books I ever read. Gripping, aware of shock but not shock value purely to disgust, it's a novel very much of an author at the height of his powers.
James Herbert is a legend in British horror literature. This book very much was partial to aiding, creating and maintaining that legacy....more
My problem with this book is my problem with every Stephen King book; it needs tighter editing.
Stephen King's power is hisTook me MONTHS to read this.
My problem with this book is my problem with every Stephen King book; it needs tighter editing.
Stephen King's power is his concepts. The man is an IDEA machine. His real talent is how he can take the ordinary and make it so creepy, so terrifying, that you have to keep reading. He can take a simple idea and make it so SCARY, you'll never think of it that way again.
That doesn't mean his writing carries that weight.
IT goes on FOREVER. Even when it's carrying such an epic weight, it feels like it should get to the point so much quicker. I love the scope. I love the concept. I love the characters.
I love that it should have ended 300 pages ago. ...more
Not bad at all. A competent and nicely flowing retelling of the first 3 Nightmare On Elm Street movies.
Dream Warriors is of particular interest in thaNot bad at all. A competent and nicely flowing retelling of the first 3 Nightmare On Elm Street movies.
Dream Warriors is of particular interest in that it differs wildly from what was finally released. The second and third act are completely unrecognisable. Thank God we got the cinematic version that we got!
The real reason to pick up this book is the bonus chapter; The Life and Death of Freddy Krueger. I don't know how much artistic licence Jeffrey Cooper was allowed but this chapter is phenomenal, giving real info, weight and gravitas to who Freddy was BEFORE the burning. It absolutely chills and excites and demonstrates far more understanding of the character than the pathetic Freddy's Dead movie we got. THIS should be the cannon for Freddy's backstory. Told with commitment and gusto, I've read it numerous times. If only someone would let Mr Cooper expand on this for a full novel........
Bottom line, with an ease of prose and a simple but effective style and tone, no Freddy fan should hesitate to pick this up....more
The title is pretty clear. This large-sized book is far more focused on pictures than text and what text there is doesn't delve too deeply.
There's a nThe title is pretty clear. This large-sized book is far more focused on pictures than text and what text there is doesn't delve too deeply.
There's a nice variety of shots from behind the scenes and movie stills to a smattering of award shows. (And one GORGEOUS pic of Johnny with Kate Moss, who was absolutely STUNNING back in the day!)
This isn't the book to read if you're after a detailed biography of Depp - Brian J Robb's book scores bigger on that front - but, let's face it, Depp's admirers are gonna want to get their hands on a heavily illustrated book....more
This is a nicely published and presented tome that barely touches on many aspects and myths of the vampire wIf you want depth, you won't find it here.
This is a nicely published and presented tome that barely touches on many aspects and myths of the vampire without ever really exploring any of it. It's surface light. There are some nice paintings and images (though it was all a bit TOO archaic and old fashioned for my tastes; there are no contemporary modern blood suckers among us?) and the quality of the pages is top notch but this is barely what it states it is.
Worth a look through but purchase? There's just too many better books dedicated to our suck heads out on the market....more
Loading...
