Boxing Fan

More political than truly objective

Revisado: 02-24-25

I will admit to liking certain things in this book. I believe it is quite fair to use science to question some ideas of the far left and left-wing bias in our universities. But the author cherry-picks his science and only uses it to attack the left. He completely ignores anything on the right that is unscientific, like climate change denial, the racist and easily debunked great replacement theory, and the cauldron of anti-semitism on the far right. Nor a negative word on Trump, the most anti-scientific President of my lifetime. I would love to read a well-reasoned book that would go after the lack of rationale and dogmatic thinking that now often dominates much of the political spectrum, left and right. Unfortunately, that is not at all what this book is.

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Another good one by Kat Timpf

Revisado: 01-18-25

Her book on comedy was a little funnier, and there were some repetitions from that book here. But once again, Kat is funny and smart. And though I'm a life-long liberal, I'm onboard with the main idea presented here. I may disagree with Republicans on many issues, but I don't hate them, and I hope they don't hate me. All the binary thinking, angry social media and hatred are destructive to our democracy. Thanks for another good book, Kat.

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I've just discovered Kat Timpf

Revisado: 01-12-25

I'm a lifelong liberal. And after sampling a little of Gutfeld, I don't see myself watching the show. Sounds like I'm building to a negative review, right? Nope. I loved this book! I give it five stars, and I rarely give any book five stars. Kat is smart, funny and very insightful. I found myself agreeing with almost all of her points, on comedy and otherwise. Like I said, I'm not sure I can get into Gutfeld. But if someone gives Kat Timpf her own show, I would really be interested in that. I'm onto her book on binary thinking!

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A decidely mixed review

Revisado: 08-18-24

Before I turn to my criticisms, let me say that Robert McKee is very intelligent and well read. And some of the techniques offered up here are, at their best, solid... if a bit simplistic and reductionist. At the worst, his method is formulaic and soulless. If you are a writer learning your craft, by all means, pick up some basic rules and techniques. And then strive to go beyond such formulas, so your writing is not as banal as listening to Robert McKee drone on. Ironic, as he calls for brevity and to avoid repetition in one's writing. And yet his own writing is never, ever brief and he repeats himself ad nauseam. I feel pity for anyone who has to do a whole seminar with this guy. Listening to McKee in a voice barely better than a monotone go on an on is enough to make you want to give up writing and do, well, anything else! It was amusing to me that McKee uses an excerpt from Alexander Payne's brilliant film, Sideways. I can tell you Payne and frequent collaborator Jim Taylor did not achieve their Oscar winning script for Sideways utilizing McKee's methods or anything like them. I know, because I met Payne once. I asked him what he thought of script gurus like McKee? He frowned and said, "I think that stuff is what is bleeding the life out of American filmmaking." Well said, Alexander.

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I enjoy David Thomson's books

Revisado: 08-05-24

This is the third book of his I've read, and I always enjoy them. I don't agree with his every thought or his opinion on many films. But his arguments are always interesting. I come away from each of his books like I've just had a very long and enjoyable chat with a learned film friend. Yes, we argue a bit. But I feel very stimulated after. A bit more alive. And a bit more in love with cinema.

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Good behind the scenes of early Scorsese films

Revisado: 12-04-23

I enjoyed this book. Lots of interviews with Scorsese and those that have worked with him. The book only goes up to Cape Fear because it was originally written in 1991, which would be a good thing for Audible to mention. So it only covers films from Martin's NYU days up through the early 90s. But it still takes you through movies like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, Goodfellas and all the others of that twenty-plus year era. There's some added features at the beginning and end of the book that are more current. But primarily, it's a good behind the scenes look at the making of some of Scorsese's most iconic films.

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Another good read from David Thomson

Revisado: 07-23-23

This is the second audio book I've read by this author. And for true film historians, I can strongly recommend him. Like me, you may not agree with every thought or theory of David Thomson. But he never fails to challenge me or intrigue me with his insights. Some of the best chapters are told from a very personal perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

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Excellent book on noir

Revisado: 07-09-23

An excellent overview of film noir. Besides the author's encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, the stylized prose and smart, gruff narration make it seem like you're almost listening to a noir character's voice-over film narration. A great touch! This is one of my favorite film books on Audible.

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Thought provoking read on great filmmakers

Revisado: 06-17-23

An intelligent, interesting listen. It is a very personal, subjective look at some of the greatest film directors ever. This personal take is at once the book's greatest strength and weakness. It can at times be infuriating to listen to filmmakers and their movies that you absolutely love being trashed. But most of the time, even when I disagreed with the author, I found his insights quite arresting and worthwhile. Hey, I sometimes don't even agree with my best friends on our favorite films or directors. So despite this small gripe, I still think it was absolutely a rewarding read.

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Mixed Review

Revisado: 06-02-23

There's much great info here on women in film in the U.S. studio days. But the writer far too often pits women vs, women. The last chapter that pits Katharine Hepburn vs. Bette Davis is awful. Why put two of the great women of film history against each other? There's much to like in this book, but the bias of the author comes through often and distracted me in every chapter. It could have been a much better book, but I took what I could from it.

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