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gosiamal's review
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.0
Wouldn’t recommend reading this on Kindle - the paragraphs get chaotic, the images are hard to view.
Not really sure what’s the purpose of the book, it briefly describes many movie, contains spoilers, and the worst of all, it seems to take pride in proposing you a lot of shitty movies with explanation why you shouldn’t watch them! There were few paragraphs with interesting stories, like Micheal Cimino story, I wish the book was more focused on that kind of content.
Not really sure what’s the purpose of the book, it briefly describes many movie, contains spoilers, and the worst of all, it seems to take pride in proposing you a lot of shitty movies with explanation why you shouldn’t watch them! There were few paragraphs with interesting stories, like Micheal Cimino story, I wish the book was more focused on that kind of content.
lwood23's review against another edition
4.0
Love their podcast, so got gifted this and it’s pretty good! A little bit judgmental at times (and an almost boringly repetitive slander of the Kardashians) but there are some great facts in this book.
The best thing? You can really hear their voices coming through their writing and it’s wonderful - like a long letter from friends.
The best thing? You can really hear their voices coming through their writing and it’s wonderful - like a long letter from friends.
joanna_m's review
4.0
An enjoyable coffee table book from the inveterate Wittertainers. It does suffer from its uncomfortable relationship to the 5 live show and podcast (this is a commercial not BBC book, and thus little mention is made of the radio show and its tropes, just as only cryptic passing references have got through on air).
Nevertheless, it is an attractively presented selection of facts and features about the good, the bad and the ugly of the film world, well worth a look.
Nevertheless, it is an attractively presented selection of facts and features about the good, the bad and the ugly of the film world, well worth a look.
dannymason_1's review against another edition
2.0
Got given this for Christmas in 2018 (I think?) and it's very much a Christmas book. Pretty insubstantial, the gimmick doesn't really add much, and the sections that try to replicate Kermode and Mayo's on-air rapport don't really work. There's still some good stuff, mostly in the more long-form essay segments, but I didn't get much out of this. The person who bought me it doesn't have Goodreads so don't worry about them being offended.
phire's review
3.0
The commentary was fun, but not much more than that. The central gimmick (prescribing movies for ailments) is not enough to pull together what amounts to hundreds of 1-2 paragraph reviews of various movies tied together with the loosest thread (eg "someone dies in it"), and I was sorely missing some sort of critical or thematic throughline. The "banter" between the two doctors is a pretty transparent recitation of in-jokes without much substance, and fails to retain the charm of their on-air dynamic. My favourite parts were the long-form essays about some little known fact of film-making, which makes me think I should be looking up Mark's books instead.
marcus_bines's review against another edition
4.0
Why wouldn't you read several episodes of Wittertainment in book form? Not revolutionary perhaps, but fun and frivolous, with some interesting essays thrown in for good measure.
phoenixrose14's review
5.0
A thoroughly enjoyable read, especially for film buffs/ film students.
The Movies Doctors delivers facts and stories about the industry as a whole as well as single productions and actores, while maintaining a comedic light heartedness about it.
Education through humour.
The Movies Doctors delivers facts and stories about the industry as a whole as well as single productions and actores, while maintaining a comedic light heartedness about it.
Education through humour.
bookstorebinge's review against another edition
3.0
Time taken to read: 11 days
Rating: 3 stars
Film sets are really dangerous places to work.
Wassup and hello to Jason Isaacs! The Movie Doctors is a Mayo + Kermode journey through the work of film, split into medically themed sections such as ‘Ear, Nose & Throat’, ‘Cardiology’ and ‘Morgue’. I am a STL (although binging my way through past episodes) to the film review podcast, but will start off by saying that the book doesn’t lack anything for not being deeply versed in the witterverse.
I think the difficulty with a book like this is it covers a wide variety of interests and styles with a common theme; rather than an ongoing plot or investigation. As such there is nothing I can really criticise, it is purely that that there are sections that I found really enjoyable and wanted to read more about versus sections I just didn’t really care about. I would definitely recommend giving this a read – the Nottingham Cineworld story was news to me and I was living in the city at that time. I have also definitely learned more about film in general and behind the scenes which I found hugely beneficial as someone who is academically unschooled in anything production related. (Sometimes you love something without understanding the active craft of creating).
Rating: 3 stars
Film sets are really dangerous places to work.
Wassup and hello to Jason Isaacs! The Movie Doctors is a Mayo + Kermode journey through the work of film, split into medically themed sections such as ‘Ear, Nose & Throat’, ‘Cardiology’ and ‘Morgue’. I am a STL (although binging my way through past episodes) to the film review podcast, but will start off by saying that the book doesn’t lack anything for not being deeply versed in the witterverse.
I think the difficulty with a book like this is it covers a wide variety of interests and styles with a common theme; rather than an ongoing plot or investigation. As such there is nothing I can really criticise, it is purely that that there are sections that I found really enjoyable and wanted to read more about versus sections I just didn’t really care about. I would definitely recommend giving this a read – the Nottingham Cineworld story was news to me and I was living in the city at that time. I have also definitely learned more about film in general and behind the scenes which I found hugely beneficial as someone who is academically unschooled in anything production related. (Sometimes you love something without understanding the active craft of creating).
ishaantiwari's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely enjoyed this, really interesting idea by the good doctors. This is very engaging and the concept has been executed really well. There's enough humour outweighs and actual critique of movies but that's not what the book is for anyway.
Makes for a really good coffee table book. The funny and witty banter that makes the show interesting is here too along with a couple of in-jokes like always.
Makes for a really good coffee table book. The funny and witty banter that makes the show interesting is here too along with a couple of in-jokes like always.
zainabathumani's review against another edition
5.0
As a long-time listener of Kermode and Mayo's Film Review Podcast on Radio 5 Live, I jumped to read this when I saw it in the library. I was not disappointed.
As a novice film reviewer myself, I found this book extremely valuable in increasing my general film knowledge. It is written in a light-hearted, conversational manner that suits its style and authors perfectly and helps to break up the bombardment of information.
I am going to buy my own copy as soon as I can.
As a novice film reviewer myself, I found this book extremely valuable in increasing my general film knowledge. It is written in a light-hearted, conversational manner that suits its style and authors perfectly and helps to break up the bombardment of information.
I am going to buy my own copy as soon as I can.