Historians and students of American avant-garde cinema often overlook the films of the 1920s through the early 1940s, considering them mere derivatives of their European counterparts. In fact, the American films possess an eclecticism, innovation, and naivete all their own. Marshaling his broad cinematic and cultural knowledge, editor Jan-Christopher Horak has compiled in Lovers of Cinema a ground-breaking group of articles on this neglected film period. With one exception, all are original to this volume, and many are the first to treat comprehensively such early filmmakers as Mary Ellen Bute, Theodore Huff, and Douglass Crockwell.

Watching movies every night at home with his cats, film scholar and cat lover Daisuke Miyao noticed how frequently cats turned up on screen. They made brief appearances (think of Mafia boss Marlon Brando gently stroking a cat in a scene from The Godfather); their looks provided inspiration to film creators (Avatar); they even held major roles (The Lion King). In Cinema Is a Cat, Miyao uses the fascinating relationship between cats and cinema to offer a uniquely appealing introduction to film studies. Cats are representational subjects in the nine films explored in this book, and each chapter juxtaposes a feline characteristic—their love of dark places, their “star” quality—with discussion of the theories and histories of cinema. The opening chapters explore three basic elements of the language of cinema: framing, lighting, and editing. Subsequent chapters examine the contexts in which films are made, exhibited, and viewed. Miyao covers the major theoretical and methodological concepts of film studies—auteurism, realism, genre, feminist film theory, stardom, national cinema, and modernity theory—exploring fundamental questions. Who is the author of a film? How does a film connect to reality? What connections does one film have to other films? Who is represented in a film and how? How is a film viewed differently by people of different cultural and social backgrounds? How is a film located in history? His focus on the innate qualities of cats—acting like prima donnas, born of mixed blood, devoted to the chase—offers a memorable and appealing approach to the study of film. How to read audio-visual materials aesthetically and culturally is of limitless value in a world where we are constantly surrounded by moving images—television, video, YouTube, streaming, GPS, and virtual reality. Cinema Is a Cat offers an accessible, user-friendly approach that will deepen viewers’ appreciation of movies, from Hollywood classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and To Catch a Thief, to Japanese period dramas like Samurai Cat. The book will be attractive to a wide audience of students and scholars, movie devotees, and cat lovers.

Picking your perfect flick can be an overwhelming experience. But fear not! Cinemastrology answers a question that has stumped even the most avid film buff for over a century: "What movie should I watch?" From contemporary comedies to Hollywood classics, from date movies to adrenaline fests, Cinemastrology is your guide to the art of selecting viewing based on your astrological sign. It includes profiles of all the sun signs and offers an extensive list of movie recommendations for each, complete with descriptions, behind-the-scenes stories, and insights into the unique qualities of each sign, from Aries to Pisces. Sections covering the stars that light up the screen and sign-compatible suggestions based on the sign of your partner or film-viewing friend round out Cinemastrology. Getting started is easy! All you need is a birthday and a passion for movies.

During the first eight years of its existence, Little White Lies magazine has published countless interviews with some of the biggest names in the movies. Yet staff and collaborators have all been encouraged to round-off these interviews by posing a single, searching question: 'What do you love about movies?' The answers have been entertaining, profound, personal, ridiculous, revealing and unexpected, but always unique. Now, for the first time, these declarations of movie passion have been collected into the ultimate one-stop celebration of cinema, with subjects including legendary directors (Francis Ford Coppola, the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, Pedro Almodóvar, Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze), as well as A-list icons (Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, Kristen Stewart, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hardy).Alongside these star-spangled testimonies are newly commissioned illustrations and immaculate art direction care of the award-winning LWLies creative team.

Each volume contains film stills, set photography, quotes from the cast and the filmmakers, Introductions, copies of handwritten notes by Adam Driver (Charlie) and Scarlett Johansson (pink) giving their perspectives on who the other character is. In envelopes adhered to front paste-downs of each other's volumes.

An Esquire Best Book About Hollywood A USA TODAY Best Book of 2021 “A lovely and loving book.”—Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club "I'm not sure I have ever read a book about movies that is as tender and open-hearted as Films of Endearment."—Mark Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Mike Nichols: A Life A poignant memoir of family, grief and resilience about a young man, his dynamic mother and the '80s movies they shared together Michael Koresky's most formative memories were simple ones. A movie rental. A mug of tea. And a few shared hours with his mother. Years later and now a successful film critic, Koresky set out on a journey with his mother to discover more about their shared cinematic past. They rewatched ten films that she first introduced to him as a child, one from every year of the '80s, each featuring women leads. Together, films as divergent as 9 to 5, Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple and Aliens form the story of an era that Koresky argues should rightly be called "The Decade of the Actress." Films of Endearment is a reappraisal of the most important and popular female-driven films of that time, a profound meditation on loss and resilience, and a celebration of the special bond between mothers and their sons.

Written with the flair that has made Jami Bernard one of the most influential film critics in the country, Chick Flicks is a celebration of the films women love to watch, cleverly organized into categories, such as Catfights (All About Eve), Emotional Rescue (Piano), Female Bonding (Enchanted April), Tearjerkers (Ghost), and Funny Girls (When Harry Met Sally). Illustrated with photos throughout.