In many ways, Serrano's conversations about movies fall outside my focal zone: principally in treating films that don't in themselves interest me, but also by honing in on gee-whiz preoccupations I find more amusing than fascinating. Instance: interrogating Denzel Washington's "race-forward football camp" for its success in integrating players across racial-cultural divides. Serrano deliberately phrases the question as Washington's (and not belonging to the character Washington played in Remember the Titans), because his analysis extends to other movies in which actors appeared, to examine whether they were positively or negatively affected by their fictional experience in football camp.

And yet, the discussions are enriched when framed this way -- precisely because Serrano takes seriously the situations created in movies, and across movies, and proceeds to examine critically what it means for viewers to understand those situations and characters as presented on the screen. The implications are ridiculous if taken literally: Ethan Suplee's character in TItans evidently was relatively open-minded (I haven't screened the film myself), and has no bearing whatsoever on Suplee's character in American History X, a rabid and violent neo-Nazi. It makes little sense to pretend either Suplee or his characters are the same person across these movies, yet Serrano does just that: he argues Suplee's character in Titans becomes radicalized by the football camp, ending up the loathsome person we see later in History.

But Serrano does this knowingly, and it affords him the opportunity to examine many facets of film, from production history to screenplay adaptations, from critical & popular response to a comparison to historical events upon which the films were based. In effect, Serrano teases out various implications, many of them unintended or perhaps merely sidestepped by those involved in making the film, and puts them front & center. It pushes up some interesting questions about film, yes, but moreso about the world we live in, and in which the films were made. And that made it far more interesting to me than at first I anticipated it would. In the instance mentioned above, the point isn't so much Serrano's "conclusion" about Suplee's character, as it is the discussion prompted by the question, and the observations made along the way, about systemic racism and racist behavior exhibited by some people and opposed by others. The question is an amusing agent provocateur, and successfully flushed out some interesting observations.

//

The only film I recall adding to my watch list is Booksmart. I've not yet screened it. ( )

Really enjoyed it. The creativity behind this book is really quite impressive. The last chapter made me want to watch Fast and the Furious movies, which I haven't ever wanted to do, ever. That's quality writing. ( )

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S MOVIES (AND OTHER THINGS) ABOUT?
Serrano discusses movies from the point of view of a massive fan—he knows what he's talking about, he can discuss them objectively, critically, and as a fanboy—mostly a combination thereof. In this collection of essays, he approaches films of the mid-80s (largely) to today, answering burning questions such as:
* Who's the better tough guy movie dog owner? (Will Smith in Legend, Tom Hardy in The Drop, or Keanu Reeves in John Wick?)
* Which Movie had the more intense opening, Face/Off or Finding Nemo?
* When did you know Booksmart was special?
* Who's in the perfect heist movie crew
* Which race was white-saviored the best by Kevin Costner?
* When did Michael B. Jordan break your heart into the most pieces? (which was immediately followed by)
* When was Diane Keaton the most charming in Something's Gotta Give?

The mental whiplash between those last two shows the range that Serrano is capable of. He also ranks the deaths/trauma in the Kill Bill movies, discusses adjusting recent Academy Award nominations/wins after making sure Romantic Comedies are given their credit due, what movie villains would be fun to hang out with, and how an NBA post-game style press conference with Michael Myers would go.

There's a great combination of movie knowledge/insight, social commentary, and humor mixed throughout each of these. Even when it came to movies I've never seen, have no interest in seeing, or saw ages ago and don't remember well, Serrano kept me pretty engaged and entertained.*

* Except maybe with the Fast and the Furious discussion, I don't know why...I just can't care about this franchise.

A WORD ABOUT THE NARRATION
I've heard Serrano as a guest on podcasts, and would've assumed his natural ability, experience, and passion would've made him a natural to read his own audiobook. But for whatever reason, Mario Toscano got the nod instead.

And I can see why—I had no problem believing I was hearing Serrano himself read these (maybe if I'd pulled up a podcast to listen to first, that wouldn't have been true)—which is important when I'm hearing something so personal or passionate as this often is (see Black Nerd Problems, for example). Toscano sounds like a knowledgeable film geek going off on various topics—I think he could've put a little more energy into some of the quotations, but I'm sure there are good reasons for not doing that.

OHH, MAN...
While researching this post, I saw that the ebook has three additional exclusive chapters...I might have been able to resist, but one of the chapters is "When Was Hans Gruber's Subtlety the Most Threatening?"

So, I'm going to have to buy a print copy of this, too. I have to read this take.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MOVIES (AND OTHER THINGS)?
I had a blast with this—it's the equivalent of sitting around with a bunch of friends talking about movies for far too long, which is one of my favorite ways to spend a lot of time. Even when I think he was out to lunch or arbitrary in some of his choices, I could get behind them for the sake of argument or be entertained by them.

Man, I wish I knew where he came up with some of the topics. If I spent a year doing nothing more than coming up with the chapter titles (never mind the content), I couldn't be half this creative.

I didn't need anyone reminding me of Opie Winston's death scene— ever . But especially not in a book about movies where I didn't know to be emotionally prepared for such a thing. Serrano lost a star from me for that one.*

* Not really, but it was cathartic to say that.

That incredibly important quibble aside, if you're a current/former/would-be movie geek, grab this, you'll have a blast. ( )

A bro-tastic movie book full of think pieces written by a bro for his bros (what is your mafia movie NBA style draft picks?). Fun if that's your thing but unbearable if it's not. YMMV. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jpa1NOjcHw

Enjoy! ( )