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DVD & Video Guide 2004 (Video and DVD Guide)
by Mick Martin, Marsha Porter
(10 customer reviews)Paperback: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 (Ballantine Books)
| List Price: Price: $1.50 You Save: $18.45 |  |
| DVD & Video Guide 2004 (Video and DVD Guide)by Mick Martin, Marsha Porter (10 customer reviews)Paperback: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 (Ballantine Books)
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Editorial ReviewsBook Description Wondering what video to rent tonight? This bestselling, fact-packed guide is the only sourcebook you and your family will ever need. Mick Martin and Marsha Porter steer you toward the winners and warn you about the losers. DVD & Video Guide 2004 covers it all—more films than any other guide, plus your favorite serials, B-Westerns, made-for-TV movies, and old television programs! Each entry, conveniently alphabetized for easy access, includes a summary, fresh commentary, the director, major cast members, the year of release, and the MPAA rating, plus a reliable Martin and Porter rating— from Five Stars to Turkey—so you’ll never get caught with a clunker again! THE BEST IN THE FIELD FOR 19 YEARS! Including • BRAND-NEW DVD LISTINGS • DIRECTOR AND STAR INDEXES • COMPLETE ACADEMY AWARD LISTINGS • WHERE TO BUY THOSE HARD-TO-FIND VIDEOS “THE BEST.” —People “THE BEST ALL-AROUND VOLUME.” —Newsday Mick Martin, a lifelong film fan, has been reviewing movies professionally for thirty-one years in all forms of media. He worked for The Sacramento Union from 1976 until its demise in 1993. His other passion is blues music, which has resulted in ongoing tours of Europe and twelve CDs with his band, Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers. Their latest releases are In One Ear and Blues Rock, USA. Marsha Porter, author of numerous short stories, articles, and a teacher’s handbook, holds a master’s degree in educational administration. She’s taught a foreign-films class and written a monthly column. Currently, she does freelance writing and editing and teaches English. |
Reader Reviews |
 An excellent guide, Friday, August 27, 2004The reviews are great in VDG. The best part is the actor and director index in the back of the book. I've never found another guide with this in it. |
| The best, complete, honest, no nonsense movie guide around, Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Ten years ago, long before Istarted surfing the web, I purchased my first ever copy of what was then called VMG. As I was passionate about movies (and still am), I read every single review there was in the book, and in the end it looked as tattered as hell. I still have my first copy, it's yellow-brownish and torn, and for me symbolizes my great love for this book and for movies. I've leafed through Maltin's guide quite a few times, and the "video and dvd movie guide" is hands down the best there is. Here's why: The book is very easy to read, the title is highlighted, the stars are bold and clear (unlike in Maltin's). Not to mention the Turkey! The fabulous cast and director indexes. Today, at the Internet age, you can log on to imdb.com and find complete filmographies, but in the past those indexes taught me a great deal about cast and directors body of work. And it still does. Sometimes I don't feel like opening the computer to find something. This is a no nonsense guide. It's totally unpretentious, it usually shows a movie true worth, without over analizing, without apologies. It is impossible to agree with everything in the book, yet I've seen hundreds of films which appear in this guide, and as far as I'm concerned, it stands at about 90 percent hit, 10 percent miss. So, ten years later, I'm still buying the new editions of this book. It was and still is a great tool for me, and it taught me a great deal about movies. People Magazine was right. This is THE BEST. |
 very good but sometimes frustrating, Friday, January 02, 2004I get this tome every year for Christmas from my hubby because I couldn't live without it! I used to get the Maltin one, but I switched because I like the more complete Porter and Martin way of reviewing--from a big old turkey to five stars and also because of the Oscar guide and complete actor guides in the back. I like to just read this book and mark movies I'd like to watch, which leads to my only two complaints: 1) I wish the foreign films with subtitles were not mixed in with normal American movies--or if they must be, mark them in an obvious way before I get all excited about it--there are plenty of people, like me, who can barely sit through a subtitled film no matter how highly rated. 2) There are TONS of movies not rated at all. Now I know that the point of this book is only movies you can RENT, but when I''m playing with the TV remote and come across a movie, I'd like to be able to look it up and see if it's worth watching. Many times I go through the bother of looking it up only to find that, apparently since it's not in video stores, it's not in the book. Otherwise, the reviews are very good, (though some inexplicably longer than others) sometimes downright funny. Be forewarned, though, ladies...a great chick flick can nearly never get a great rating, but a great shoot 'em up invariably will. |
 Sometimes Incorrect, Tuesday, December 23, 2003I was all set to title this review "head and shoulders above Maltin's guide, 4,000 more reviews of movies that can actually be purchased" But now I see that statement is not entirely true. Who wouldn't prefer a guide devoted to films you can actually buy instead of wasting space on movies that have never been released on home video, and as such are virtually impossible to find? And all this for a dollar less than Maltin's. But what if Martin/Porter are wrong? So far I've found two movies that haven't been released in the Martin/Porter guide. They are also reviewed in Maltin's guide and correctly identified as unavailable. Plus, there are some films that Martin/Porter don't review, but Maltin does, then again the reverse is true. The main reason I switched is that I have used Maltin's guide since 2001, and all of them with the exception of the 2003 guide have fallen apart in one way or another. The 2001 guide actually split in half. I think that I'll stay with Martin/Porter for at least another year and give them a chance to correct their errors, but getting your hopes up that something is available only to find out that it is not is quite frustrating. |
| Easy manageable size. Reviews are very small., Monday, December 01, 2003 I also own a stack of other film encyclopedias but for weight and manageability this is the best of the lot. The book is around 2 inches thick - but is the size of a novel and you can hold it in one hand. It is a full resource (with over 18,000 titles!), easy to carry around and has a full listing of directors and cast at the back along with Oscar winners. Overall the reviews are not very good and they are limited to just four of five lines at best. I mostly do not use it for the reviews though. It is more of a "find a director or star that you like and quickly flick through the index and the corresponding works to see what else they have done". For that it is very impressive but if you are looking for in-depth reviews then you should go elsewhere for the more unmanageable volumes and Arnold Schwarzenner to help carry them around for you. |