| DVD & Video Guide 2005by Mick Martin, Marsha Porter  (8 customer reviews)Paperback: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 (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 2005 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 TWENTY YEARS! Including • BRAND-NEW DVD LISTINGS • DIRECTOR AND STAR INDEXES • COMPLETE ACADEMY AWARD LISTINGS • WHERE TO BUY THOSE HARD-TO-FIND VIDEOS |
Reader Reviews |
 Easy manageable size. Reviews are very small. (Splits in half!), Tuesday, October 11, 2005The big downside to these volumes is that they eventually split in half! However... 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. |
 Guide is found lacking, Saturday, September 03, 2005Very simply, this is not the best movie guide out there as other reviewers have stated. While, it does add a lot of new films released each year, it does so at the expense of older films. The reviewers have a tendancy to gush over these new releases and underrate or compleletly ignore films that truly have standed the test of time. I don't want to get in a rant about specific film reviews but I think the reviewers do follow a certain pattern. If the movie made lots of money it is most likely to be rated higher than so called "flops". However, an exception is made for films that are too violent, too sexual, or too dark, even if they were succesful or developed a cult following because this is basically a family orientated movie guide. Movies made in the last several years are usually rated higher than the ones that were made in the film industry's youth. Many people's opinion will agree that today's films are more entertaining for today's audiences but I am of the opinion that there are film treasures to be found in all eras. In some cases the reviews of these older films are so vague that it makes me wonder if the reviewer ever saw the film that is being reviewed or are they just recycling and paraphrasing some old review. The biggest weakness of this book is that it does not include a great many movies at all. In comparison with the Blockbuster movie guide and Maltin's classic guide, this one is the most likely to have the film missing. It is weak on B-westerns and films prior to the 80's. Maltin's classic guide is good because at least pre 1960 films won't be dropped and forgotten completely, the blockbuster guide is nice because it has detailed reviews that aren't too pompous in regards to the reviewers opinion. Besides the lack of old reviews I do have a problem with this guide's ratings of many more modern films. Independence Day given 4.1/2 stars, this film is truly awful besides the special effects. The US is having all kinds of problems finishing off the Iraq war yet we could beat aliens in a day or two with the president doing the dirty work. This is laughably bad even though President Bush might think it is believable, Starship Troppers was better or at least more entertaining treating basically the same subject tongue in cheek, the reviewers gave Troopers 2 stars. Perhaps the most disappointing visit to the theater I ever had was going to see Star Wars episode one, the reviewers gave it 5 stars, saying it was only second to the original. What? Enough said. Episode two also got 5 stars. I could go on all day ripping on the reviewers here, instead let me just say this is not for film buffs, maybe if you are half way interested in films and want to save a couple of bucks buy this guide. No guide will ever be fully comprehensive or objective, and this one is truly an example of that fact. |
| Quite Adequate, Sunday, July 10, 2005 A mammoth effort has gone into producing this encylopedic near-complete listing of any movie you are likely to find on cable or in your local Bockbusters. This book will give you a "first take" on whether to rent or watch. The complete listing of actors/directors in the appendix is a treat to track a career and to find other work by artists you admire. Leave it next to your TV and you will consult it every week -- but you will inevitably be left frustrated, as if you had a too-tiny portion of a good but not great hor d'oevre. There is a maddening lack of "attitude" in almost all (but not all) of the reviews so that movies that are clearly masterpieces and movies that are simply terrific or very good are described in much the same language. |
 Movie fan MUST HAVE!, Saturday, July 09, 2005This book is a "must have" for movie buffs like myself! Very handy when you want info on movies, actors, directors..... It's AWESOME!!! |
| The Greatest Book Ever Written, Friday, February 11, 2005 Oh my gosh, I honestly don't know where I would be without this book. You have no idea how many movie buying/renting decisions have all been decided through this book. Their rating system is fun, although I don't rely on it completely. Some of my favorite movies have received the Turkey, and some I didn't think too highly of got rave reviews. Mostly I use the book just for informational purposes though. It tells who directed and starred, the year it was made, and even why it got the MPAA rating it did. This is the ultimate guide to movies, whether you're just looking for a movie to rent or wanting to know the year a movie was made, this has it ALL! |
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