Predator - The Unofficial Guide to the Movie Franchise


Book Description

Predator is a product of the last great era of Hollywood action films - the eighties. A decade of bone crunching blood splattered foul mouthed blockbuster epics (Robocop, The Terminator, Die Hard, Commando) that wouldn't know what a PG-13 rating was if it skewered them with a spear and ripped their spinal column out to keep as a trophy (as the Predator is apt to do on occasion). In this book we'll take a deep dive into the original Predator and all the sequels it spawned. We'll discuss all of these films in this book and we shall also - of course - discuss the two AvP pictures too. We'll look at the background of each film, the development of them, and discuss worked and what didn't in the actual movie.







Beautiful Monsters


Book Description

The end of the 1970s was a turning point for science fiction and horror films. A new film would blend these genres together into a cinematic experience that would cross boundries, and which would feature a villain that audiences and critics alike would find far scarier than the knife wielding antics of Michael Myers or Jason and Pamela Voorhees That film was Alicn. In this unofficial companion, David McIntee takes us behind the scenes to reveal how the Alien films were developed, what their influences and antecedents were, and how they have continued to develop and influence to this day. We also take in the popular Predator films and see how, through various ranges of spin off merchandise, we arrived at the 2004 clash of the titans, the long awaited Alicn vs Predator movie. This book takes you further than ever before into the domain of the beautiful monsters. Book jacket.




The Binge Watcher’s Guide to the Twilight Saga


Book Description

In 2008, the first Twilight movie was released in the United States. The book series it was based on had already gained best-seller status and a devoted fanbase, but the five movies known as The Twilight Saga propelled this supernatural romance to unbelievable heights. Everyone had something to love, hate, or comment about regarding the forbidden love story between paranormal creatures and humans. More than a decade since the last of the films was released, theTwilight Saga remains a pop culture sensation. Much of the conversation around it has changed over the years as its primary fanbase has grown into adulthood. Many have called into question the details that kept the public swooning. The implications of so much that makes the series what it is looks much different in public opinion than they did while it was in the height of its popularity. The Binge Watcher’s Guide to the Twilight Saga aims to explore this work with a critical and respectful eye as you watch. Consider it your slightly judgmental best friend. This guide also includes movie trivia, soundtrack lists, and the series’ Lore. It’s a one stop shop to all you need to know about the films. Whether you’re a first time watcher or a long time fan, the book will accompany you on the journey that is the Twilight movies.




Beautiful Monsters


Book Description

Beautiful Monsters explores the ways in which "classical" music made its way into late twentieth-century American mainstream culture—in pop songs, movie scores, and print media. Beginning in the 1960s, Michael Long's entertaining and illuminating book surveys a complex cultural field and draws connections between "classical music" (as the phrase is understood in the United States) and selected "monster hits" of popular music. Addressing such wide-ranging subjects as surf music, Yiddish theater, Hollywood film scores, Freddie Mercury, Alfred Hitchcock, psychedelia, rap, disco, and video games, Long proposes a holistic musicology in which disparate musical elements might be brought together in dynamic and humane conversation. Beautiful Monsters brilliantly considers the ways in which critical commonplaces like nostalgia, sentiment, triviality, and excess might be applied with greater nuance to musical media and media reception. It takes into account twentieth-century media's capacity to suggest visual and acoustical depth and the redemptive possibilities that lie beyond the surface elements of filmic narrative or musical style, showing us what a truly global view of late twentieth-century music in its manifold cultural and social contexts might be like.




24


Book Description

A guide to the first season of the television series 24 provides episode summaries along with notes on the cast, trivia, and comments about each episode.




Joss Whedon, A Creative Portrait


Book Description

Spring 2012 saw the return to creative and critical success of Joss Whedon, with the release of both his horror flick The Cabin in the Woods and the box-office sensation, Marvel's The Avengers. After establishing himself as a premier cult creator, the man who gave us great television with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and web series Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog, as well as comic books including Fray and Astonishing X-Men, finally became the filmmaker he'd long dreamed of being. Drawing on a wide variety of sources and making use of psychologist Howard Gruber's insights into the nature of the creative process, Joss, A Creative Portrait offers the first intellectual biography of Whedon, tracking his career arc from activated fan boy to film studies major, third generation television writer, successful script doctor, innovative television auteur, beloved cult icon, sought-after collaborator, and major filmmaker with Marvel's The Avengers. Film and television scholar and Whedon expert David Lavery traces Whedon's multi-faceted magic from its source - the early influences of parents and teachers, comics, books, movies, collaborators - to its artistic incarnation.




Delta Quadrant


Book Description

This guide provides a companion to the series Star Trek Voyager. It examines each episode in detail, explaining technical terms and drawing the reader's attention to puzzles and inconsistencies. The highlights of each episode are discussed and a commentary provided.




A Day in the Life


Book Description

"A Day in the Life is your companion to twenty-four hours in the life of Jack Bauer, as detailed in the TV series "24. An everyman yet- superman flawed hero, facing insurmountable odds and determined and well-resourced foes. Someone with only his wits, his integrity, and his abilities as a one-man killing machine to keep him going, "24 is extraordinary, dangerous, high-octane, sexy television. It's "Die Hard meets James Bond meets "JFK. In this unauthorised guide to the series, best-selling author Keith Topping analyses all twenty-four episodes, highlighting the characters, the plot twists, the influences, the great moments and providing a commentary on this particular day in the life of Jack Bauer.




Wanna Cook?


Book Description

An accessible and in-depth guide to all five seasons of Breaking Bad "I am not in danger . . . I am the danger." With those words, Breaking Bad's Walter White solidified himself as TV's greatest antihero. Wanna Cook? explores the most critically lauded series on television with analyses of the individual episodes and ongoing storylines. From details like stark settings, intricate camerawork, and jarring music to the larger themes, including the roles of violence, place, self-change, legal ethics, and fan reactions, this companion book is perfect for those diehards who have watched the Emmy Award-winning series multiple times as well as for new viewers. Wanna Cook? elucidates without spoiling, and illuminates without nit-picking. A must-have for any fanÕs collection.