Kelly Cozy

A Nerd Girl's Guide to Cinema by Kelly Cozy is an excellent collection of 200 of her movie reviews. Many, namely the horror ones, appeared first on Horrorview but the others from a variety of genres were written for this collection.

Let me be clear up front, I am not in complete agreement with all of Cozy's reviews. That shouldn't come as a surprise, most people don't agree with another person on 200 things even if they have similar ideas, so agreement is not the reason for my rating. These reviews are well-written and quite entertaining in their own right, though I thought the ones I agreed with were far more entertaining, go figure. There is a fair amount of humor in the reviews but it rarely gets in the way of the review, which ultimately is serious.

I was a bit puzzled by a statement I saw elsewhere that "horror is NOT a particularly good genre for feminists" (emphasis theirs) since horror was a fairly significant portion of a couple of my Women and Gender Studies film classes and there is some wonderful work done on the topic. The names that immediately come to mind might date me but I would suggest reading some Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva or Cynthia Freeland. In addition, feminism is not some monolithic entity so one person really has no room to claim a work, whether a review or a work of fiction, is or is not feminist. They are certainly welcome to state their opinion but to dismiss simply because it doesn't match one's own ideas is, well, patriarchal in nature. Having said all that, I agree with that person that this was never meant to be a feminist assessment or critique, either as a whole or specific reviews. There is plenty that could be used in a feminist critique but this is a collection of movie reviews from a fan-reviewer to other film fans.

As I mentioned before, I had a few reviews with which I seriously disagreed. What makes this collection better in my view than many others was Cozy's presentation, which makes it clear to the reader how she approached the film. So even in disagreement I could understand why she may have felt the way she did, even if I still believed I would not, even given the same circumstances. I appreciate someone sharing the hows and whys of their views rather than just pontificating from on high.

I would recommend this to any film buff since Cozy makes a point of including many lesser-known films.

Reviewed from a copy made available from the publisher through Reading Deals Review Club.… (más)

A Nerd Girl's Guide to Cinema by Kelly Cozy is a very highly recommended collection of reviews for 200 movies that are either overlooked, failures, or cult classics. Her selection of movies included is off the beaten path of the usual review books. Rather than include the list of 200 movies she reviews, let me send you to her website, kellycozy.blogspot.com, where the complete list can be found.

This book would be a great gift for the movie buff in your family!

I have several movie review books, but Kelly's is decidedly different from those. This is not just a guide for bad movies. Kelly includes several that are overlooked gems which deserve a cult following or at least another viewing. She notes that: "My goal is to steer you toward some films that are a bit off the beaten path, and while there are plenty of horror, action, and sci-fi films covered here, you’ll also find reviews for many other genres: film noir, Western, art-house favorites, romantic comedies, chick flicks, musicals, anime, and even a porn film. The hardest part of this book was limiting myself to 200 movies." And, wonders upon wonders, Kelly includes a list of 200 more films she considers worth viewing. "Some are good, some are bad, some are in the middle, and some are just plain nuts."

Now, let me just say straight up that once I saw Kelly included a review of The Beast of Yucca Flats I knew we could be BFFs. Sure, we won't agree on every movie choice. I really do like old 50's and 60's sci fi, like Teenagers from Outer Space and The Giant Gila Monster, and Kelly might not be quite on board with that, but she will watch old Godzilla movies. I know she would give great commentary during whatever movie we decide to watch. I'll provide snacks.

As for the writing... her comments run from serious to snarky; I simply have to include quotes from some of Kelly's reviews:

"The Arena isn't a good movie, but there’s something weirdly endearing about its badness, like poetry written by a teenager."

"I try not to throw around the words 'masterpiece' or 'perfection' too often, but I really have to use them when I talk about Jaws. Everything about it just works so well."
"...but what really makes Jaws work is how real it feels. If the movie was made today, the beaches of Amity would be packed with pretty hardbodies. But the beaches of Jaws are full of ordinary people. Families, people of every age and variety, from the partiers in the opening scene to the wannabe landscape painter who sees the shark in the estuary. They’re people just like us and we identify with them."

"So I’m happy to report that Animal House holds up, and does so very well. Not only is it still funny, but time has been very kind to it."

"Remember those times in college when everyone in the room was drunk or stoned except for you? And they’d be prattling on about stuff they thought was so profound and sh*t, while you sat there and thought, 'Man, these people are boring.' Well, that’s pretty much what Performance is like. Ta da! End of review. Boy, that one was easy! Wait, my work ethic just kicked in..."

"In a better world, Phantom of the Paradise would have the cult that the far less deserving Rocky Horror Picture Show has."

"It can be difficult to find a genuinely sweet movie. Not sappy, not saccharine. Just sweet. Fortunately there’s Roxanne, a romantic comedy that should leave you smiling."

"Subtle as an icepick in the forehead, Snakes on a Plane should serve for generations as an example of truth in advertising. There are snakes. A lot of them. On a plane."

And now, for one of our all time favorite movies to laugh at: The Beast of Yucca Flats:
"There are few examples of cinematic ineptitude as mind-boggling as this movie - it does nothing right, and its only saving grace is a direct result of its ineptitude."
"The movie’s loss is our gain, because the narration (provided by Francis himself) is a joy. It’s flat and pretentious and weirdly poetical - Francis comes off as Ed Wood’s older, grumpier brother. Some choice samples of this narration include: 'A man runs, someone shoots at him.' 'Nothing bothers some people, not even flying saucers.' 'Boys from the city. Not yet caught by the whirlwind of Progress. Feed soda pop to the thirsty pigs.' 'Always on the prowl. Looking for something or somebody to kill. Quench the killer’s thirst.' And my all-time favorite: 'Flag on the moon. How did it get there?' You’ve got to love narration like that. Watch if you dare."
Oh we dared... and more than once.

I used to feature blog posts about our fun family movie nights with my nephew. They were entitled "Movie Dude Weekend." A Nerd Girl's Guide to Cinema makes me want to plan another Movie Dude Weekend asap.

"I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review."
(Regular followers can rest assured that all of my many reviews over the years have always been my honest opinion, however this direct quote is required for this eBook review copy.)

http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-nerd-girls-guide-to-cinema.html… (más)

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

A Nerd Girl's Guide to cinema is a book of reviews about "lesser known movies." The genres range from horror, sci-fi, drama, and even romance.

Kelly's reviews are very insightful and she has a distinct personality. As a writer she gets into the characters' minds and actions. She is humorous and a bit snarky at times.

I thoroughly disagree with her review of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang however. I just couldn't get past that scathing review. As a child of the 70s she seems to like movies that are "boring as heck" to me. But that is her opinion, of course.

Overall the reviews are insightful. I even added a few to my queue… (más)

I found Undertow to be engaging and suspenseful with a great twist ending. I did have one issue with the story. The main character Drew is portrayed as an alcoholic, however he is repeatedly shown as being unable to control having a first drink, but then being able to limit how many drinks he has after that. I feel that is an extremely unrealistic portrayal of alcoholism. I've spoken with many people in recovery and they all stated that once they had that first drink they couldn't stop themselves from the drinking binge that followed. That aside, it was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Note: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.… (más)