Koncocoo

Best Genre Films

Darth Vader and Son
Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown's delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars® moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. "Darth Vader and Son is Brown at the top of his artistic game with beautiful full-color pages, many of which seem imbued with a sincerity that I would expect to find in his next autobiographical work, A Matter of Life. Author and illustrator Jeffrey Brown turns run-of-the-mill parenting activities into fun moments full of Star Wars references...Overall, Darth Vader and Son is a fun read for adult Star Wars fans who like a good laugh, as well as for children just learning to love these characters." "From potty training to lightsaber batting practice to ice cream runs, the endearing absurdity of the duo's dynamic makes for a remix treat of the most entertaining variety. "When the first Star Wars film conquered the world in 1977, no one could have possibly foreseen it going on to become such an ubiquitous part of our cultural heritage. of Darth Vader raising a four-year-old Luke Skywalker, the book twists father/son moments into scenarios within the Star Wars playground. However, the book also provides ample proof that adding a babysitting Darth Vader to any Star Wars situation makes it gently humorous.
Reviews
"In 54 pages Brown illustrates all the common expressions of child rearing and places them in the nerd universe of Star Wars."
"Mostly one liners from the movies, but if you've got a dry sense of humor (or maybe if you're a die hard Star Wars fan), you'll enjoy it."
"I grew up during the Star Wars era - where Anakin Skywalker was a mangled, cyberfilled ball of hate with only the vocal talents of James Earl Jones saving him from eternal peril (that Jones' voice can save the soul of a man who blew up a flipping planet is quite a testament)."
"Hilarious!"
"It is full of images from the original Star Wars movies, but it doesn't follow a specific timeline like the next book in this series: Star Wars: Vader's Little Princess."
"My husband flipped through and read the entire thing when he opened it."
"Maybe I will see if the library has the rest in this series, which would still only make for an hour of reading, tops."
"Perfect gift for a Star Wars fanatic, soon-to-be brother-in-law."
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The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made
Note: Pages are cut unevenly as the trim is "gatefold" meaning pages cut at different lengths and is intentional From the actor who somehow lived through it all, a “sharply detailed…funny book about a cinematic comedy of errors” ( The New York Times ): the making of the cult film phenomenon The Room. The Room, a 2003 film written, directed, and starring the inscrutable Tommy Wiseau, was massively and enthusiastically lambasted by critics, proclaimed by some as the worst movie ever made (an insult, some movie fans might say, to Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space).
Reviews
"Greg Sestero has done something fantastic. I think as fans we sometimes forget that these characters we see onscreen (and yell insults to on countless midnight screenings) are portrayed by actual human beings, separate from their characters. Without this book I would never have known that I've memorized The Room better than Tommy Wiseau."
"Knowing the background story behind various scenes has me wanting to go back and watch the film again to find the context!"
"This book covers Sestero's account of his time with Tommy Wiseau, and the making of the infamous film "The Room.""
"Kooky, weird and touching, it tells the now infamous story of the making of The Room, that wonderfully terrible film that has now become a cult classic."
"There is no making sense of "The Room," and little likelihood of understanding Tommy Wiseau -- but this is a fascinating, funny, and oddly moving revelation of how the Worst Serious Movie Ever Made was actually put together in all its glorious awfulnesd."
"This book is amazing I read it cover-to-cover in like two days I couldn't put it down watching the movie The Room is a experience all on its own but the things you discover in this book make the film even more obscure."
"What an incredibly fun read!"
"When I read that Greg Sestero was writing a book about his experiences working on the movie's production, I thought it would be a book full of behind the scenes disasters and stories about the film's director, Tommy Wiseau. This book is fascinating and enlightening, and anyone interested in film should read it."
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Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
Covering more than 2,500 characters, creatures, planets, vehicles, Droids™, weapons, technology, and more from the Star Wars™ universe, this visual tour is the ultimate compendium for the epic saga and beyond. See the blasters of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope™ , look at the stormtroopers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens™ , and study the geography of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story™ . Tricia Barr is a prominent blogger and podcaster who has been sharing her passion for Star Wars™ since cosplaying Princess Leia in 1977.
Reviews
"I'm not super into the lore of Star Wars as most fans are, but this book does a fantastic job as being a visual aid to the Star Wars universe."
"Grandson loves it and refers to it often."
"great addon to any star wars collectors stash."
"Excellent visual encyclopedia."
"My great grandson loved it!"
"Great book for “kids of all ages”!!"
"Got book for granddaughter."
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Best Literary Criticism

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
One of The New York Times Book Review 's 10 Best Books of the Year Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls―the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. It was only in her sixties, after losing nearly everything in the Great Depression, that she turned to children’s books, recasting her hardscrabble childhood as a celebratory vision of homesteading―and achieving fame and fortune in the process, in one of the most astonishing rags-to-riches episodes in American letters. “An absorbing new biography [that] deserves recognition as an essential text.... For anyone who has drifted into thinking of Wilder’s ‘Little House’ books as relics of a distant and irrelevant past, reading Prairie Fires will provide a lasting cure.... Richly documented (it contains 85 pages of notes), it is a compelling, beautifully written story.... One of the more interesting aspects of this wonderfully insightful book is its delineation of the fraught relationship between Wilder and her deeply disturbed, often suicidal daughter. We’ve long understood the Little House series to be a great American story, but Caroline Fraser brings it unprecedented new context, as she masterfully chronicles the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family alongside the complicated history of our nation.
Reviews
"The Zumbro river runs under my porch and canoeing downstream takes me to South Troy where Laura and her cousins waded, and where baby Freddie is buried. But that book is dominated by Laura's narrative, and there's only so much that editorial commentary can correct or expound when entire facets of her life were simply omitted. Enter Caroline Fraser and "Prairie Fires," a biography of two women, a textual history of their work, and the historical context of their times skillfully interwoven as a narrative. The Prairie Queen, New York Review Books, circa 1994) to learn everything that can be known about Laura Ingalls Wilder, including her family, her daughter, her times, and even the natural history of the Midwest. Prairie Fires starts strong, with genealogical research harking back to the colonial Pilgrim era, then flashing forwarding to the Dakota War of 1862 (a skirmish of which wiped out the Dustin family just ten miles from my childhood home, six months *after* the mass-execution at Mankato). For me the book was literally a page turner, I couldn't put it down, took it on vacation, read it in every spare moment, several times hiding in the bathroom just to get to the end of a chapter. But Prairie Fires is not only about Laura, spilling a considerable amount of ink on her daughter Rose Lane, a very unflattering picture: selfish, immoral, manipulative, petty, mentally ill (manic depressive), dishonest, modestly talented, irreligious (flirting with Islam her whole life), plagiarizing, economically incompetent, politically hypocritical, casually anti-semitic. You will finish Prairie Fires in no doubt whatsoever about the absurdity of charges that Rose Lane ghost-wrote the LIW series, and you will wonder how it was possible for such a hack to ever make a dime as an author. Ms. Fraser seems generally in favor of collective politics, supportive of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, and bothered by Wilder's criticism thereof. She spends a great deal of energy detailing the misguided attempts by Laura's successors to corral her work into the Conservative/Libertarian cause, and in this she is somewhat successful. But her attempts to explain away the fundamental reasons why people like Laura Wilder resented the very New Deal programs intended to help them come across as feeble and condescending. But we hear again and again and again the litany of supposed hypocrisies: the homestead act was a Government Program after all, everyone necessarily took jobs off the farm, the bank where Laura worked administered Government Lending, the frontier was only open thanks to the Army, Pa cheated the Railroad, Almanzo lied on his Homestead Application... and that's about it. It's a mighty thin list to set against decades of hard toil, thrift and scrupulous morality, and it doesn't bear the weight of being Exhibit A in Wilder's Real Politics On Trial."
"Wilder struggled to turn her family's pioneer story into the inspiring, heart-warming, heroic tale that fills the Little House books. And yet, Fraser's affection for the books and their author shows through her admission of their myopic worldview, omissions, and outright fabrications. My own grandmother was born in a log cabin in Wisconsin, and she married my grandfather, whose family homesteaded not far from Walnut Grove. When Wilder presents the pioneer story while minimizing or totally ignoring the plight of the displaced and murdered Native Americans, she is telling the tale as my family would have told it. Fraser expands the view to encompass what we must admit if we are honest: our success and wealth were built on the suffering of real people."
"I am a Wilder fan, having visited her home twice, taught her books many times, and been quotingly familiar with them since the age of seven. After all this valuable light brought to our subject, which is a rocky life covering nearly a century, one comes away, if anything, even more impressed by the resilience of Laura Ingalls. And she did it, in league with her daughter, beginning in later life, in a farmhouse, on Big Chief nickel tablets that are a handicap to write on, besides."
"Wonderfully entertaining, touching and very enlightening."
"Fascinating back story of my favorite childhood author."
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Best Telecommunications & Sensors

The Disney Book
This classic DK-style book is packed with stunning visuals including concept art, original story sketches, merchandise, a range of movie posters, and collectibles. Divided into three sections that focus on animation ("Drawn Disney"), live-action TV shows and movies ("Disney in Action"), and the theme parks ("Experience Disney"), the book presents the highlights, accentuating the positive: Mickey Mouse, the innovations that Disney made in animation, his pioneering forays into television, and more.
Reviews
"The recipient was so pleased and loved that the book came with an original piece of filmstrip from the movie Brave."
"Product excellent delivered quickly."
"added to collection love the book."
"My daughter is a Disney fanatic and so we added this book to her collection as a Christmas gift."
"This is an awesome book!"
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Best Movie & Video History & Criticism

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made
From the actor who somehow lived through it all, a “sharply detailed…funny book about a cinematic comedy of errors” ( The New York Times ): the making of the cult film phenomenon The Room . But more than just a riotously funny story about cinematic hubris, “ The Disaster Artist is one of the most honest books about friendship I’ve read in years” ( Los Angeles Times ). The Room, a 2003 film written, directed, and starring the inscrutable Tommy Wiseau, was massively and enthusiastically lambasted by critics, proclaimed by some as the worst movie ever made (an insult, some movie fans might say, to Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space). But it’s also the story of a very interesting friendship between Sestero and Wiseau (who knew each other for several years before The Room), and the story of an enigmatic and incredibly self-absorbed man who, in making his film, seemed to be trying to exorcise a troubled past and build an entirely new version of himself.
Reviews
"Greg Sestero has done something fantastic. I think as fans we sometimes forget that these characters we see onscreen (and yell insults to on countless midnight screenings) are portrayed by actual human beings, separate from their characters. Without this book I would never have known that I've memorized The Room better than Tommy Wiseau."
"Kooky, weird and touching, it tells the now infamous story of the making of The Room, that wonderfully terrible film that has now become a cult classic."
"There is no making sense of "The Room," and little likelihood of understanding Tommy Wiseau -- but this is a fascinating, funny, and oddly moving revelation of how the Worst Serious Movie Ever Made was actually put together in all its glorious awfulnesd."
"This book is amazing I read it cover-to-cover in like two days I couldn't put it down watching the movie The Room is a experience all on its own but the things you discover in this book make the film even more obscure."
"What an incredibly fun read!"
"When I read that Greg Sestero was writing a book about his experiences working on the movie's production, I thought it would be a book full of behind the scenes disasters and stories about the film's director, Tommy Wiseau. This book is fascinating and enlightening, and anyone interested in film should read it."
"Like many people out there, I was sucked in by the myth of the famously bad movie The Room."
"As a huge fan of "The Room," I went into this book expecting to hear a first-hand account of the wackiness that must have occurred while filming and maybe a little inside info on Tommy Wiseau. In a way, Greg Sestero has created the moving, raw, true-to-life biography that "The Room" was supposed to be. Also, the book is informative and interesting as it follows Greg through the excruciating process of trying to make it as an actor in LA."
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Best Screenplays

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
“Save the Cat” is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying, including: The four elements of every winning logline The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by ― and why they’re important to your script Why your Hero must serve your Idea Mastering the 15 Beats Creating the “Perfect Beast” by using The Board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair This ultimate insider’s guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a showbiz veteran who’s proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat. Blake Snyder has written an insider's book that's informative ― and funny, too.” – David Hoberman, Producer, Muppets Most Wanted (2014), The Muppets, The Shaggy Dog , Raising Helen, Walking Tall, Monk (TV).
Reviews
"A little different take on the perspective of writing in general. and screen writing specifically ."
"I guess I should have expected it to be well written."
"Very helpful for screenwriters."
"This was recommended from a YouTube filmmaker video .. glad I took the plunge."
"I am learning about screenwriting and this book came highly recommended."
"Great book on screenwriting (or writing in general)."
"The writing style is easy to read and not preachy."
"It stretched my thinking in regards to the typical genres taught, and I find that refreshing and creatively stimulating."
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Best Video

The Wes Anderson Collection
Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience , The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads , The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel. , and Mad Men Carousel . “In The Wes Anderson Collection , Seitz expands a series of video essays on Anderson’s influences, illuminating as much of Anderson’s process as possible in a massive, beautifully rendered volume. Although it looks (and sometimes reads) like a coffee table book, The Wes Anderson Collection brings together style and substance to provide a loving homage to Anderson’s films and moviemaking in general.”. ( FILTER ). “ The Wes Anderson Collection comes as close as a book can to reading like a Wes Anderson film.
Reviews
"It's a cool book to page through in moments of time or fully immerse yourself in if you're interesting in making films."
"Anderson doesn't release many films....this book shows you why."
"Essays and interviews by Mark Zoller Seitz, amazing illustrations by Max Dalton and endless fascinating stills from the films plus a potpourri of relevant items from old films, books, magazines, catalogs and advertisements that will have you intrigued and wanting to keep returning again and again to marvel at all this content."
"When I first got the book it was damaged on the corners of the spine (like it had been dropped) but Amazon was great about exchanging it and I had a new book in perfect condition in just two days."
"Bought as a gift for a Wes Anderson fan."
"This was purchased for my son a 21 year old burgeoning film director/producer and he really loved it and read it from cover to cover."
"It's rich with content, behind the scenes photos, exclusive illustrations, and excellent interviews with Wes Anderson."
"This is absolutely essential for anyone who enjoys the films of Wes Anderson and also for anyone who is interested in film as an art form."
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Best Screenwriting

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee. The few words that do reach the audience, in the form of the characters' dialogue, are, according to Robert McKee, best left to last in the writing process. ") In Story , McKee puts into book form what he has been teaching screenwriters for years in his seminar on story structure, which is considered by many to be a prerequisite to the film biz. In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources as wide ranging as Aristotle and Casablanca , Stanislavski and Chinatown , that it is impossible not to come away feeling immeasurably better equipped to write a screenplay and infinitely more inspired to write a brilliant one.
Reviews
"Writing fiction is an incredibly personal experience, so to be clear I'm not saying that people who love this book as a writing how-to are wrong. I think if you have a certain mindset or approach to writing, this book will be extremely helpful to you. Some fiction writers employ a very methodical, intellectual approach, putting stories together like watchmakers carefully constructing a complex timepiece, creating detailed outlines first and using them as blueprints to build their stories. Some writers employ a more organic, intuitive approach, where creating a story is an unstructured process of discovery (the so-called "pantsers", because they work from "the seat of their pants"). Like I said earlier, if your writing mindset and approach are on the same wavelength as what McKee teaches, this is gonna be awesome for you and you're going to love it. But if you go about putting McKee's tools into practice and it just doesn't work for you, or you're simply not that kind of writer to begin with, don't panic if it feels like your brain has been taken over by McKee for a while."
"Engaging, in-depth exploration of what makes a good story, showing such an impressive wealth of knowledge and experience."
"Very inspiring for a new 'wannabe' author like me."
"Must read for anyone writing screenplays, novels, or stories of any kind."
"Story covers all elements of fictional script writing; themes, structure, design, dialog, and characterization; yet McKee dives so deep into each that any reader will be left with new profound ideas about the meaning of script writing."
"The writing is yours, but in McKee's Story you will find everything you need to understand about structure and deepening your thinking in relation to the construction of values, characters, conflicts and rythms of a good story."
"Better material than going to college for it."
"Good book for those who desire to make films.."
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Best Documentary Movies

Directing the Documentary (Portuguese and English Edition)
A two-stage cinematic learning process: camera observation skills, then advanced storytelling Dozens of real-world exercises and case studies to demystify production processes and enhance your skills Easy-to-comprehend guidance in the creative, technical, and artistic aspects of directing Fresh coverage of the latest filmmaking technology Expanded sections on grant writing and fundraising, emphasizing proposal and pitching skills A self-assessment of your interviewing skills and expanded coverage of narration-writing A companion website (www.directingthedocumentary.com) that includes handy production checklists and forms, updated projects, exercises, and video examples. Rabiger has added to his in-depth analysis of the creative and practical implications of documentary production in this latest edition, with new sections on grant writing, technology, and case studies. "This book is a time-proof classic, a one-of-a kind roadmap to reaching excellence in documentary making that reads like good, inspiring literature.
Reviews
"Bought it as a Christmas gift."
"I feel like im in film school, it covers everything from A-Z."
"Excellant."
"This is a great textbook for understanding documentary production."
"Excellent for the practical student of documentary film."
"Best documentary book I know, really helpful and easy to read."
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Best Movie Theory

Star Wars Millennium Falcon: Owner's Workshop Manual
This Haynes Manual traces the model history of the Corellian Engineering Corporation’s YT series of spaceships and the development of the YT-1300 model line before focusing on the Millennium Falcon, itself a modified YT-1300. Ryder Windham is a former editor of Star Wars comics and has written more than fifty Star Wars books, including Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force and The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader .
Reviews
"Very imaginative creation of a historical narative for the SW universe, and this ship design."
"I am looking to scratch build a Falcon as a prop in a RPG."
"Lots of cool background info on the ship's manufacturer and models you could get."
"Fun reading, incredible amount of fictious info regarding history of Correlian engineering and the fiction of all the YT-1300 systems."
"My brother was finally able to fix his Freighter with this detailed book :)."
"However, I will not be reviewing this "Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual" as a repair manual but as a reference book. What would have made this book perfect is to see a history of the ship beyond "Return of the Jedi," but the author says this was done so fans can enjoy the book without spoilers."
"A lot of ink is used fleshing out spaceships that are NEVER seen in the Star Wars universe, so I felt more attention should have been given to the Falcon."
"It's a bit outlandish to be obliged to fill out boilerplate ratings about the plot, mood, pace and characters of a tongue-in-cheek repair manual."
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Best Movie Industry

The Art of Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios' Big Hero 6 is the story of Hiro Hamada, a brilliant robotics prodigy who must foil a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. Jessica Julius is a creative executive at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where she has worked on such films as Frozen , Tangled , Wreck-It Ralph , The Princess and the Frog , and Bolt . For many years, Hall worked within the story department and was the head of story on The Princess and the Frog and Meet the Robinsons .
Reviews
"This is an awesome art book for those into not only digital and traditional art mediums but for designers and graphic artists/designers and architects also! This book surpasses the art of the guardians of the Galaxy ( a book that I loved btw) and is almost on par with the first art of iron man movie book (which to me is top 5 in art of movie books due to the depth of information and photos and most important production art the makers included in their book)."
"Cited by art director Scott Watanabe, there are also influences from anime films such as Tekkonkinkreet, Ghost in the Shell and Akira. Looking at the city's environment concept art, you'll be able to spot Japanese elements such as the tapered rooftops, Koinobori (carp-shaped wind socks), a Golden Gate Bridge lookalike with Torii design elements, signboards with Japanese typography, wooden curved bridges, cherry-blossom trees, etc. There are also major characteristic San Francisco elements such as the roads with very recognisable cable cars, sloping hills, Victorian-style houses, etc. Finally the last part of the book talks briefly about the cinematography used, such as lighting, the new Disney Hyperion renderer and colour script. There's a good amount of text included in the form of introductions for each environment and character, and quotes from the staff talking about the designs."
"The art is absolutely stunning, and the format is like a comic book."
"It is a great book for anyone interested in the movie or just as a reference to gain insight and inspiration for your own concept art."
"I enjoy collecting art books for inspiration on my own artwork & the good people at Disney & Pixar have made that possible."
"It focuses quite a bit on the landscape and the creation of san fransokyo, which i loves to flip through, while giving brief descriptions of some of the scrapped ideas and methods used to create effects, such as cgi art."
"This book has a lot of pages about the settings of the futuristic Sanfransokyo (however you spell it haha), characters and armor."
"If you don't absolutely love Big Hero you must somehow have misplaced your inner child... get this book and rekindle your love for the child you lost."
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Best Movie Biographies

The Magnolia Story
By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper , they have become America’s new best friends. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garners the attention of a television producer who notices her work on a blog one day. The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby Joanna’s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck Joanna’s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple Memories and photos from Chip and Jo’s wedding The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way. Chip Gaines and his wife, Joanna Gaines, are co-founders and co-owners of Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market and Magnolia Realty in Waco, Texas. Hand in hand is exactly how Chip prefers to work, which makes Fixer Upper even more fun to watch, and he enjoys seeing his and Joanna’s passions merge to complement and serve one another.
Reviews
"They have overcome adversity and have built a life full of love, family, talent, professionalism keeping their faith first and foremost."
"Great reading couldn't put it down made me smile,laugh and see some things in life we all go through similar."
"I have been a huge fan of Joanna and Chip right from the very first show."
"This is a must read for all Fixer Upper fans."
"I found the back story of how the Gaines met, and got started, to be very interesting, and I would recommend this book to others … particularly someone who enjoys the TV show or has a passion for revitalization."
"Reading the history that led to "Fixer Upper" is fascinating, and it just makes me love the Gaineses and the show all the more. So The Magnolia Story is not a literary marvel, but it does appear to be true to who the authors are in real life (or at least on TV)."
"Chip and Joanna serve as role models for a marriage and individuals alike with their kind hearts and loving ways."
"I can't even imagine my husband making those kinds of decisions without my input, but their relationship comes off as very balanced despite these peculiarities."
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Best Movie Adaptations

The Art of Rick and Morty
Featuring exclusive never before seen concept art with a killer Glow-in-the-Dark cover, this is the art book that Rick and Morty fans have been waiting for!
Reviews
"I know this is alUUUUURP a a a lot to take in right now, but I mean it Morty… you gotta use that Amazon Prime account and order this book and when it shows up on your dooUUURRRRstep you need to eat it with your eyes."
"I have yet to finish the book but I love how it explains the thought processes behind the creative staff as they design the weird yet enjoyable characters of the Rick and Morty Universe."
"I love this book."
"Got this for someone as a gift."
"Pros: - Amazing glow-in-the-dark cover. - Great coffee-table piece or a gift for a Rick and Morty lover. - Offers a lot of interesting tidbits about side characters and their design (so your favorite is most likely going to be there). Cons: - Not as much information as other art books. - Finished character designs takes up the bulk of the book. Overall, if you're a huge Rick and Morty fan I definitely recommend getting this book for your collection for the cool cover alone, but if you're an avid art book fan just know that it's not as comprehensive as your typical art book."
"If you're a fan of Rick and Morty, or an inspiring artist this book is for you."
"It's actually packed with content from seasons 1 and 2 and has even more including the character concept art, tons of alien civilization character art(like the people on the purge planet and unitys planet and more), technology art and witty comments spread throughout as well."
"If you are a fan of Rick and Morty, or an aspiring animator you will love this book.It is beautifully made and assembled of extremely high quality materials,the printing and binding are exquisitely executed."
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Best Movie Encyclopedias

LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
StarWars.com says, "DK Publishing's fan-favorite tome on the minifigures of LEGO Star Wars is back—with some Han Solo-worthy special modifications." LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded brings together the full collection of LEGO Star Wars minifigures into a fun and fact-filled book. "DK Publishing's fan-favorite tome on the minifigures of LEGO Star Wars is back — with some Han Solo-worthy special modifications."
Reviews
"The book is comprehensive and includes a mini figure."
"Along with each figure in the book it shows facts and other info about them such as if they are the only figure with a certain color or something."
"It doesn't contain any of the Force Awakens figures, but I imagine they'll be re-releasing it when Star Wars IX comes out, so we get as complete a collection as possible (with maybe the white Darth Vader this time, maybe?"
"I would love to see something minecraft like this, but my son is really into minecraft and Star Wars like most boys his age."
"These LEGO books are great."
"We had picked it out at his school's book fair but he had to earn it and by the time he did (on the last day of the fair), they were out of it and dint have time to order it."
"We spent time going through the book with him showing me different figures I had no idea who they were (guess it is from the comic version on television)."
"Updated version of older lego book, my kids love this to compare and see all the star wars mini figures."
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Best Movie Reference

The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators
In this book, based on his sold-out master classes in the United States and across Europe, Williams provides the underlying principles of animation that every animator--from beginner to expert, classic animator to computer animation whiz --needs. Richard Williams has won more than 250 international awards for his animation.
Reviews
"One of the best well written art books I have read in a long time, Mr. Williams is full of knowledge, which he generously shares with others."
"This is a must have for everyone learning animation, it could be used by yourself or by teachers to teach about animation principles, and the amount of knowlege in the content of the book and animation exercises is amazing."
"It has so much detail to it that it still blows my mind every time I. open it."
"If you are getting into animation this is the book for you; in depth information on all the necessary topics that you need."
"An excellent book."
"Bought this as a gift for a friend when she started her Animation degree."
"This is one of the most useful animation books I have every purchased."
"One of the most detailed animating books I have purchased so far, it is really helpful."
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Best Movie Guides & Reviews

Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey
Harry Potter: Page to Screen , the follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Harry Potter: Film Wizardry , is a lavish and personal look at the entire filmmaking process that transformed J. K. Rowling’s fantasy series into a blockbuster movie franchise. Developed in collaboration with the creative team behind the celebrated movie series, this deluxe, 500-plus page compendium features exclusive stories from the cast and crew, hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and concept illustrations sourced from the closed film sets, and rare memorabilia.
Reviews
"This book gives you exactly what it said it would, harry potter page to screen in its entirety."
"It looks like a magickal volume and in a way it is, for it captures all of the magic of the Harry Potter movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. The first color photograph one comes across as one flips the book open is a full size portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts (Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in HP films 3-8). So, the contents...the book (531 pages) is divided into three parts: Part I: The Making of Harry Potter. Introduction. Setting the Scene. HP and the Sorcerer's Stone. HP and the Chamber of Secrets. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. HP and the Goblet of Fire. HP and the Order of the Phoenix. HP and the Half-Blood Prince. HP and the Deathly Hallows. Part II: The Art of Harry Potter. Introduction. Characters: Costuming. Locations: Set Design. Creatures: Special Makeup and Digital Effects. Artifacts: Prop Making. Part III: Epilogue. The Golden Boards. Acknowledgements and Colophon. The book goes in-depth into the many aspects of the film-making process, including valuable insights from and about the directors, actors, and all the other significant people who have worked on the movies, not forgetting the author of course. These details are enhanced by the hundreds of photographs that are found throughout the book, and what makes these pictures all the more extraordinary and valuable to the discerning reader is the fact that many of them were taken on set, during the making of the films, and apart from the photographs there are also full-color paintings in glorious detail. Btw, for those who are wondering about how this compares to Harry Potter Film Wizardry, I'd say they are both complementary (I own a copy of HP Film Wizardry) to each other. For example, in HP Film Wizardry, readers will get a chance to peruse a copy of the Marauder's Map, Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a catalogue from Borgin and Burke's, stickers in the Advanced Potion-Making pamphlet, two boxes of treats (sans the treats) from Honeydukes of Hogsmeade (you can tear them out and fold them into actual treat boxes, not that I would! This is a beautiful volume of substance for any fan of the HP books and movies."
"It is definitely a must for every Harry Potter fan."
"An excellent compendium which deserves a place on every Harry Potter fan's book shelf, detailing problems and solutions in interpreting the story."
"The second part of the book is dedicated to the art of the movies as represented in the costume designs, set design, make up and special effects, and prop making. Curiously, the live animals that "played" Hedwig, Crookshanks and Scabbers were left out of the book, which I thought was a strange oversight since a section or a few paragraphs on their role and that of the animal trainers would have really not been out of place in this book. Except for a picture in the "Locations: Set Design" section of the second half of the book, I couldn't find a reference of her and her character in the sections devoted to the making of "The Chamber of Secrets" or "The Goblet of Fire.""
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Best Amateur Movie Production

I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development From the Inside Out
A required textbook at universities worldwide for writing, producing, and development courses, the book sheds light on the inner workings of the feature film and TV development process, who all the players are, and how they fit together as content creators at film studios, TV networks, agencies, and production companies. What does "in development" really mean? Monika Skerbelis and Rona Edwards have lived the life of a studio and development executive, having developed and sold screenplays for the past 15 years.
Reviews
"The bookshelves and internet are overflowing with "How-To's" instructing the aspiring writer on how to conceive, write, and perfect their screenplay, but not many tell you what will happen to it once it is submitted and considered."
"I could be wrong, but I think this may be one of the only books that focuses on development."
"As a writer who has yet to sell a script, I've been told snippets of the information in this book by my agent and manager, but I never had the whole picture of what happens when my script leaves my hands."
"Perfect in this issue (I believe the only one about it)."
"For anyone interested in story development and story analysis -- this is a good book with valuable info."
"This book is marvelous in that it clearly shows new writers what will happen to their material once it is ready for Hollywood."
"In Hollywood, tourists buy maps to the homes of the stars."
"kind of fun, behind the scenes view of the biz."
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Best Movie History & Criticism

The Wes Anderson Collection
Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience , The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads , The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel. , and Mad Men Carousel . “In The Wes Anderson Collection , Seitz expands a series of video essays on Anderson’s influences, illuminating as much of Anderson’s process as possible in a massive, beautifully rendered volume. Although it looks (and sometimes reads) like a coffee table book, The Wes Anderson Collection brings together style and substance to provide a loving homage to Anderson’s films and moviemaking in general.”. ( FILTER ). “ The Wes Anderson Collection comes as close as a book can to reading like a Wes Anderson film.
Reviews
"I bought this for my boyfriend as we're both Wes Anderson fans and this book is lovely!"
"This book is like a beautiful, creative, inspiring story book for grown ups- it's full of images and interviews on every film that Wes Anderson has directed- storyboards, frames and screenshots from the films, screenshots from other films that inspired Anderson, plus tons of ephemera from all of the films."
"Essays and interviews by Mark Zoller Seitz, amazing illustrations by Max Dalton and endless fascinating stills from the films plus a potpourri of relevant items from old films, books, magazines, catalogs and advertisements that will have you intrigued and wanting to keep returning again and again to marvel at all this content."
"It's a cool book to page through in moments of time or fully immerse yourself in if you're interesting in making films."
"The production stills for Fantastic Mr. Fox are particularly stunning, but the on-set photos from The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic really give you a sense of the camaraderie between the actors."
"Anderson doesn't release many films....this book shows you why."
"When I first got the book it was damaged on the corners of the spine (like it had been dropped) but Amazon was great about exchanging it and I had a new book in perfect condition in just two days."
"Bought as a gift for a Wes Anderson fan."
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Best Movie Direction & Production

Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey
Harry Potter: Page to Screen , the follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Harry Potter: Film Wizardry , is a lavish and personal look at the entire filmmaking process that transformed J. K. Rowling’s fantasy series into a blockbuster movie franchise. Developed in collaboration with the creative team behind the celebrated movie series, this deluxe, 500-plus page compendium features exclusive stories from the cast and crew, hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and concept illustrations sourced from the closed film sets, and rare memorabilia.
Reviews
"This book gives you exactly what it said it would, harry potter page to screen in its entirety."
"It looks like a magickal volume and in a way it is, for it captures all of the magic of the Harry Potter movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. The first color photograph one comes across as one flips the book open is a full size portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts (Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in HP films 3-8). So, the contents...the book (531 pages) is divided into three parts: Part I: The Making of Harry Potter. Introduction. Setting the Scene. HP and the Sorcerer's Stone. HP and the Chamber of Secrets. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. HP and the Goblet of Fire. HP and the Order of the Phoenix. HP and the Half-Blood Prince. HP and the Deathly Hallows. Part II: The Art of Harry Potter. Introduction. Characters: Costuming. Locations: Set Design. Creatures: Special Makeup and Digital Effects. Artifacts: Prop Making. Part III: Epilogue. The Golden Boards. Acknowledgements and Colophon. The book goes in-depth into the many aspects of the film-making process, including valuable insights from and about the directors, actors, and all the other significant people who have worked on the movies, not forgetting the author of course. These details are enhanced by the hundreds of photographs that are found throughout the book, and what makes these pictures all the more extraordinary and valuable to the discerning reader is the fact that many of them were taken on set, during the making of the films, and apart from the photographs there are also full-color paintings in glorious detail. Btw, for those who are wondering about how this compares to Harry Potter Film Wizardry, I'd say they are both complementary (I own a copy of HP Film Wizardry) to each other. For example, in HP Film Wizardry, readers will get a chance to peruse a copy of the Marauder's Map, Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a catalogue from Borgin and Burke's, stickers in the Advanced Potion-Making pamphlet, two boxes of treats (sans the treats) from Honeydukes of Hogsmeade (you can tear them out and fold them into actual treat boxes, not that I would! This is a beautiful volume of substance for any fan of the HP books and movies."
"It is definitely a must for every Harry Potter fan."
"An excellent compendium which deserves a place on every Harry Potter fan's book shelf, detailing problems and solutions in interpreting the story."
"The second part of the book is dedicated to the art of the movies as represented in the costume designs, set design, make up and special effects, and prop making. Curiously, the live animals that "played" Hedwig, Crookshanks and Scabbers were left out of the book, which I thought was a strange oversight since a section or a few paragraphs on their role and that of the animal trainers would have really not been out of place in this book. Except for a picture in the "Locations: Set Design" section of the second half of the book, I couldn't find a reference of her and her character in the sections devoted to the making of "The Chamber of Secrets" or "The Goblet of Fire.""
Find Best Price at Amazon