There are many reasons that make Josh Cooley’s collection of Cinematic
Classics better than other film books
Some film books are informative, some are entertaining and some have ‘fun’ thrust on them; Josh Cooley’s Movies R Fun is one such book that features in all three categories. It is informative for those who aren’t well-versed in films, entertaining for those who know their films and can be made a fun activity, depending on your imagination.
You can use this book as a guide to learn about Hollywood films that you haven’t seen, you can go through it to refresh your memories of Hollywood flicks that you love or even think of it as a collection of classic moments in Hollywood that should be preserved for their ‘being just classic’. These moments are taken from films that have been released since the 1960s, because before that, most moments were in the black and white, which goes against the ídea’ of this book.
The writer, who also works as an artist for Pixar, must be commended for presenting the most memorable and hilarious scenes from Hollywood films in an illustrated and funny manner. You will find Brad Pitt’s character from Fight Club asking for trouble to Sharon Stone’s character from Basic Instinct sitting in her famous cross-legged pose, in these pages. Also accompanying these illustrations are famous scenes from The Godfather, The Terminator, Fargo, Goodfellas, as well as Rosemary’s Baby and Die Hard, and if this list doesn’t make you go for this book, nothing will.
Since this book has less words and more pictures, it is easier to understand no matter what age bracket you fall in. If that’s not encouraging, the quality of the illustrations is surely going to win the day for you. You might be a reader who adores the Golden Era of Hollywood, loves the entertaining 80s or believes that the newer the film, the better the quality, these pages won’t fail you. It has everything for the readers no matter which era they prefer, and which genre they are more comfortable with.
And then there is the text that suits the minds of the film buffs who literally live in the place called ‘down memory lane’. Be it the iconic scene from Donnie Darko, Leon the Professional, or Jaws, every iconic moment makes its appearance to give readers something to cheer about.
The way this book has been written reminds you of books that are usually written for younger audience, hence it reminds the readers of a children’s picture book, which tackles films that are appropriate for grown-ups. It might look like a film book for kids but it’s appropriate for those who are only kids at heart, and refuse to grow up.
And if you are in the mood to show off your skills as a Hollywood buff in front of your friends, this book will provide you the opportunity. How? Every page where an illustration is present, the name of the film from which it is taken isn’t mentioned. Sit around your friends and use this book to start a game, the answers of which would only be known to the biggest film buff in the group, or to the person who has seen the names mentioned on the last page.
Each illustration is playfully illustrated and captioned in these pages to cover more than 75 years of Hollywood. Add to that the fun reading and you have a book which doesn’t let you grow. You can read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s dialogue from Predator in his own style or imagine the shower scene from Psycho, while going through this book.
It would have been great had movies before the 1960s also been part of this book because many pre 1960 flicks had some very interesting dialogues, scenes and monologues. Some of them including the Gone With The Wind line ‘Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn’, and ‘Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns In All The World, She Walks Into Mine.’ from Casablanca could have been included here. They are not only amongst the most memorable lines from Hollywood, excellent illustrations could have accompanied them as well.
Some of the films included here could have been avoided too, like monologues from Kick-Ass, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Drive, Deliverance etc. because they were good films, but not classics. It would have been better had the writer penned a piece about his experience as a writer and an artist because the way he has explained the book’s synopsis at the back cover, it would have turned out to be an interesting read.
Also, 43 posters are way too less for an interesting book like this and it would have been great had pages could been added here.
