Movies

When I read books about movie criticism, I expect insights from someone who is smarter than me. This is not that kind of book.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.

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WHAT'S MOVIES (AND OTHER THINGS) ABOUT?

Serrano discusses movies from the point of view of a massive fan—he knows what he's talking about, he can discuss them objectively, critically, and as a fanboy—mostly a combination thereof. In this collection of essays, he approaches films of the mid-80s (largely) to today, answering burning questions such as:

* Who's the better tough guy movie dog owner? (Will Smith in Legend, Tom Hardy in The Drop, or Keanu Reeves in John Wick?)

* Which Movie had the more intense opening, Face/Off or Finding Nemo?

* When did you know Booksmart was special?

* Who's in the perfect heist movie crew

* Which race was white-saviored the best by Kevin Costner?

* When did Michael B. Jordan break your heart into the most pieces? (which was immediately followed by)

* When was Diane Keaton the most charming in Something's Gotta Give?

The mental whiplash between those last two shows the range that Serrano is capable of. He also ranks the deaths/trauma in the Kill Bill movies, discusses adjusting recent Academy Award nominations/wins after making sure Romantic Comedies are given their credit due, what movie villains would be fun to hang out with, and how an NBA post-game style press conference with Michael Myers would go.

There's a great combination of movie knowledge/insight, social commentary, and humor mixed throughout each of these. Even when it came to movies I've never seen, have no interest in seeing, or saw ages ago and don't remember well, Serrano kept me pretty engaged and entertained.*

* Except maybe with the Fast and the Furious discussion, I don't know why...I just can't care about this franchise.

A WORD ABOUT THE NARRATION

I've heard Serrano as a guest on podcasts, and would've assumed his natural ability, experience, and passion would've made him a natural to read his own audiobook. But for whatever reason, Mario Toscano got the nod instead.

And I can see why—I had no problem believing I was hearing Serrano himself read these (maybe if I'd pulled up a podcast to listen to first, that wouldn't have been true)—which is important when I'm hearing something so personal or passionate as this often is (see Black Nerd Problems, for example). Toscano sounds like a knowledgeable film geek going off on various topics—I think he could've put a little more energy into some of the quotations, but I'm sure there are good reasons for not doing that.

OHH, MAN...

While researching this post, I saw that the ebook has three additional exclusive chapters...I might have been able to resist, but one of the chapters is "When Was Hans Gruber's Subtlety the Most Threatening?"

So, I'm going to have to buy a print copy of this, too. I have to read this take.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MOVIES (AND OTHER THINGS)?

I had a blast with this—it's the equivalent of sitting around with a bunch of friends talking about movies for far too long, which is one of my favorite ways to spend a lot of time. Even when I think he was out to lunch or arbitrary in some of his choices, I could get behind them for the sake of argument or be entertained by them.

Man, I wish I knew where he came up with some of the topics. If I spent a year doing nothing more than coming up with the chapter titles (never mind the content), I couldn't be half this creative.

I didn't need anyone reminding me of Opie Winston's death scene— ever . But especially not in a book about movies where I didn't know to be emotionally prepared for such a thing. Serrano lost a star from me for that one.*

* Not really, but it was cathartic to say that.

That incredibly important quibble aside, if you're a current/former/would-be movie geek, grab this, you'll have a blast.

I enjoyed this SO much. It read like a conversation I might have with a very funny and insightful friend about the movies I like (featuring amazing illustrations).

This was very mediocre compared to The Rap Yearbook and The Rap Coloring Book.
The content was too flimsy and any time the author establishes “rules” for his lists/ debate, he immediately writes “I know I just established a rule but I have to make an exception”. This happens at least twice a page and the joke gets stale.
The drawings were nice.