I found this book quite fun It looks like a sour-grape review here. The author has some laugh-out-loud comments and seems to be frank, and fair.
Admittedly, I am a film buff, so a book like this is very entertaining indeed. And, unlike many of the other in this theme, touches on some of the modern bad films.
One of the funniest parts of the book is a "They Really Said It" section. The author pulls out a line, or lines, and you can tell, even in the "context" of some off-base plot, the words are just wrong.
If you have a love of film, or know someone who does, this is fabulous! I am getting a couple for people I know. There's several areas that will interest different kinds of enthusiasts, which makes it a great gift. 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See
I'm not certain what traumatic childhood event is required but there are some of us who grow up with a decided love for bad cinema. The more inept and inconceivable it is the more relished and appreciated it is. For these strange souls, and I count myself among them, a pinnacle moment is starting at the screen and wondering how a million dollars and a years hard work could have resulted in a scene so inept that the purely rational mind boggles, threatens to run away, and insists you do something more productive with your limited time on earth. When its contortions are finished you are left with a special kind of laughter and pure joy that takes you back to your childhood innocence.
Like a man with an alien symbiont implanted in his brain, those of us who share this strange affliction are motivated to dig through the refuse of Hollywood find these pestilent treasures and then share them with as many unsuspecting victims as we can find. Steve Miller, a kindred soul, has done exactly this with "150 movies you should die before you see".
The book is most akin to a field guide, giving you a brief overview of each film in little informational tidbits. Each begins with the principle credits, a paragraph of plot summary, a description of "why it sucks", a one to 5 thumbs down rating, "crappies" awards for notable badness, a sample of bad dialog, a couple of little known facts about the film or its principles, and finally a trivia question pertaining to the film in some way. All this is done in about one and a half to two pages and is sometimes accompanied by the movie poster or a still from the film.
Steve Miller is good at concise writing, giving you a feel for each movie in a quick paragraph or two and highlighting what it holds in store for the prospective viewer. The only problem with this brief format is it is difficult for the author to really delve into the horrible grandeur of any given picture and build to a comic crescendo. Miller must either gloss over the highlights or hit us hard and fast with unexplored adjectives leaving you wondering if they were truly deserved or not. More time with the authors thoughts as to why it sucks would have led to a more entertaining read I think. As it stands, to taste the full foulness of any given offering you will have to endure it first hand or do further research in the writings of other brave souls.
I found myself most drawn to the two trivia portion of each overview and had most of my "Wow, that's amazing," moments while reading those and testing my trivia knowledge. Here the format seemed to prompt the author to dig deeper as where in the summary and review sections it seemed to only hold him back.
The films are organized into chapters which serve to break up the book and each section briefly explains the criteria under which the films were selected for it. The justifications vary from the film subject, to where it was made, to the budgets lavished on these turkeys. Honestly I found the organization a bit confusing with two chapters dedicated to big budget duds and a final chapter reserved for the worst of the worst but featuring films that would fit well into the other headings. They do a good job breaking the book into readable chunks but aren't so useful to zoom in on what you want to find.
The scope of films selected is one of the book's strong selling points. Unlike many chroniclers of bad film, Miller chooses as many modern clunkers as he does relics of the distant past giving you a broad overview off all that bad cinema has to offer. He should also be credited for trying to reach beyond his own personal criteria for badness and taking an objective look at what repulses people from cinema. Many bad movie buffs have a sweet tooth for the offensive and outrageous but Miller acknowledges these as faults for the general viewer. As a result, he includes a few films considered cult classics by many as well as films that clearly are intentionaly well crafted weirdness that just goes too far for the mundane movie goer.
Some reviewers are wont to object loudly when Miller skewers one of their sacred cows and explains "why it sucks" but Miller goes out of his way to explain his choices and notes in the forward that among this collection are some of his all time favorite films. It takes some humility to recognize the bad in what you hold most dear and I salute him for that... even if he is totally wrong about Kung Fu Hustle. ;)
All in all the book brought me great enjoyment as an fan of the genre of terrible film by taking me on a tour of bad cinema I'd only heard of in whispers and rumor. It is like a great hall with mysterious doors promising many forbidden pleasures and it is a great place to start on a bad film odyssey. If you want to expand your horizons in bad film, 150 movies you should die before you see is perhaps the best available modern guide.
I received a copy from a friend as a gift. The chapters titles were funny on there own. The authors reviews of the movies kept me laughing and groaning. While some of these titles I haven't seen, his satire and humor made me want to check them out. Everyone has there own favorite bad movies including this writer.
I liked how each entry had a "Why it sucked", favorite quote, single entry quiz and tidbits of other random trivia. My favorite was chapter 15 "Test your stamina!"
I groaned at the movie titles alone... I can't wait to try to sit through one of these un-recommended movies
I've got this book sitting with my coffee table book collection and every time I have people over it's the first coffee table book they reach for now. - Steve Miller - Fun - Funny'
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