| It's Only a Movie: Reel Life Adventures of a Film Obsessive |  | Author: Mark Kermode
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
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Seller: maherbooks
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 85
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 184794602X
EAN: 9781847946027
Publication Date: February 4, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 Trash March 15, 2010
Dr. M. Valt (UK)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've always enjoyed Mr Kermode's insightful, pithy and passionate movie reviews on t'radio. Unfortunately his autobiography (is it still a biography if you've never in fact done anything much?) is dull with a capital DULL. Away from the microphone he's clearly pretty much the same spotty northern dullard he alludes to in his early chapters. And whilst I remain grudgingly envious of a life spent successfully avoiding any type of real employment, I still resent the three hours of my life I wasted reading this rubbish. His "adventures" are not in fact at all adventurous (I have more fun taking my mum - cliched northern reference coming up - to Tesco), the people about whom he asks us to get all excited are either a) unheard of b) extremely uninteresting or c) Simon Mayo, and there is no evidence to suggest that he's ever had an original thought in his miserable life. Get Stuart Maconie's marvellous "Pies and Prejudice" instead. It's at least a million times better than this pointless drivel. Oh and "The Exorcist" is crap by the way.
 It's Only A Biography March 6, 2010
Chandler (London)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Mark Kermode is a great film critic, engaging on radio and tv and always worth reading.
However, this isn't a collection of his reviews. It's a biography. And a critic's life - attending film previews, interviewing directors and actors, presenting documentaries - doesn't make for an especially interesting read. The anecdotes from his early years are quite amusing but as he makes his way, the stories get longer and longer in the telling, and more Kermode-centric.
For example, the book ends with a meeting with Angelica Jolie who compliments Kermode on his hair. Kermode's reponse is "Thank you... I like my hair too". While he takes some credit for being the only person on the planet who couldn't return a compliment to Angelica Jolie, there's something a bit desperate about MK's self-importance and his relentless name-dropping.
This book is a missed opportunity. A little biography around the film criticism would have been fine; the anecdotes of a film critic turn out to be not that interesting...
 Hmmm not bad, but could just as easily be called 'All my anecdotes strung together' March 6, 2010
G.Rayner
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a massive Kermode fan, I listen to all the podcasts, I wen't to his tour, but this book really doesn't do the good doctor's talents much justice. Radio is clearly where he excels, this book, whilst amusing is ultimately a bit bland and most of the stories I had heard before. It's by no means a bad read, but a bit of a let down.
Disapppointing and I'm sad about that March 6, 2010
P. G. Harris (Lichfield UK)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that for me the Kermode/Mayo film programme on the radio is absolutely required listening, by podcast if not live.
That is probably why this book is such a disappointment. Yes it's easily readable, yes it's entertaining, yes Kermode writes as he speaks, but this book has a knocked off cobbled together feel which looks more like cashing in than having any merit of its own.
What I was hoping for was an autobiography which gave new information about the author. What the book delivers is a series of extended anecdotes, many of which are already familiar to fans of the radio show. The nadir of this is when Kermode repeats his review of Mama Mia. Now when this was broadcast, it was an absolutely jaw droppingly brilliant piece of radio. My better half quite rightly described it as being "one of those moments which make the licence fee worth every penny". Here it is cold and uninspiring, artificially shoe-horned in like the latest single on a greatest hits album.
The anecdotes are not, however, without merit. The extended trip to Russia, the shooting of Werner Herzog, and the story of Kermode's first radio broadcasts are all good value.
So, a qualified recommendation. It is worth buying, just don't expect too much of it.
reads like he speaks... March 1, 2010
music man
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found this lost it's way somewhat in the middlle which, much like the Soviet adventure went on a bit for no great reason - for us readers as well as for him. But as ever with the Good Doctor you get no nonense opinions and good anecdotes. Therefore I am an avid listener to his Friday bickering with Simon. However, I really could have done without all the italicising every other sentence, designed presumably to tell us which words to stress. It was like being shouted at by the book. I imagine this must be a bit like being in the room with him - OK for short periods but then starting to really irritate...
All in all not a bad read, but would have enjoyed it more without all the SHOUTING! :*)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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