Book Review - How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition by Robert Greenberg

I've always loved music and thought I knew quite a bit from a decade of piano lessons and several music courses in school plus my time around music experts picking up tidbits from them. Then I read this book and realized I had a lot to learn.

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition by Robert Greenberg is a nonfiction book that covers the history of Western music from Greco-Roman days (what little we know about their music) to the early 20th Century and its structure and development. It is available as an Audible Exclusive Audiobook.

The Good

Information. This book has so much information from the history of music to the structure, the people, the cultural influences, and everything in between. There's a reason it's over 35 hours long, but every minute is filled with information.


Clarity of Explanation and Illustration. The author does an excellent job of explaining music theory and musical instruction and presenting several examples, again well explained, to illustrate the point. Even someone with next to no knowledge of music could follow the information, and yet even a music expert would not become bored or feel insulted.

Author's Excitement. The author is the reader, and he has so much enthusiasm for the material that is contagious and makes the reader equally as excited about the material.

The Bad

...

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the author had spent a little more time in the 20th Century and the development of music to the present day. The 20th Century produced an incredible amount and variety of music with as much development as the centuries that had come before combined.

Overall

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition by Robert Greenberg is a nonfiction book that covers the history of Western music from Greco-Roman days (what little we know about their music) to the early 20th Century and its structure and development. This book has so much information from the history of music to the structure, the people, the cultural influences, and everything in between. There's a reason it's over 35 hours long, but every minute is filled with information. The author does an excellent job of explaining music theory and musical instruction and presenting several examples, again well explained, to illustrate the point. Even someone with next to no knowledge of music could follow the information, and yet even a music expert would not become bored or feel insulted. The author is the reader, and he has so much enthusiasm for the material that is contagious and makes the reader equally as excited about the material. I wish the author had spent a little more time in the 20th Century and the development of music to the present day. The 20th Century produced an incredible amount and variety of music with as much development as the centuries that had come before combined. I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 eReaders.

  

 

Movie Review - The Lion Hunters (Bomba, The Jungle Boy)

It's a shame we don't have film franchises today, and by that I mean a series of movies that lasts for at least six films or more. Fast and the Furious is the only one that comes to mind. And the Avengers movies. See what kind of storytelling is possible with a franchise?

The Lion Hunters is a 1951 live-action film based on the Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood and is the fifth film in a 12-film franchise. It is unrated and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Action. This film has more action and less talking, which works well in a jungle film and takes advantage of the medium.

Cinematography. Even though all twelve films in the franchise were written and directed by the same guy, some of the films just have better cinematography than others, and this is one of the best. The scenes are framed so well, the action shot in a way that makes you feel like you are part of it (as much as is possible with stock footage inserts).

Silent Storytelling. This film uses a lot of silent storytelling where it's just the visuals and the music to tell the story and describe the action, and it is done well and creates a good amount of suspense.

The Bad

Bomba is a Jerk. Bomba is kind of a jerk in this one sabotaging a group who is doing nothing wrong and is obeying the law just because he is friends with the animals.

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish Bomba would have had a better reason for behaving the way he did. He comes off as the bad guy as times and is the instigator of some of the problems.

Overall

The Lion Hunters is a 1951 live-action film based on the Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood and is the fifth film in a 12-film franchise. The cinematography is really nice. Even though all twelve films in the franchise were written and directed by the same guy, some of the films just have better cinematography than others, and this is one of the best. The scenes are framed so well, the action shot in a way that makes you feel like you are part of it (as much as is possible with stock footage inserts). This film uses a lot of silent storytelling where it's just the visuals and the music to tell the story and describe the action, and it is done well and creates a good amount of suspense. The only negative is the motivation for Bomba. Bomba is kind of a jerk in this one sabotaging a group who is doing nothing wrong and is obeying the law just because he is friends with the animals. I wish he would have had a better reason for behaving the way he did. He comes off as the bad guy as times and is the instigator of some of the problems. Otherwise this is a great film. I highly recommend it and give it 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

    

 

Movie Review - The Golden Idol (Bomba, The Jungle Boy)

As the Bomba film franchise continues, I find myself liking them more and more. You really don't need a big budget to make a great film. Why can't modern movie makers realize that?

The Golden Idol is a 1954 live-action film based on the series of  Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood. It is unrated  and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Action. This film is mostly one long chase scene, which is unusual for a 1950s flick. There is a lot of fighting, deception, gun play, and jungle action.


Peril. There is real peril with several competing parties willing to kill to get the golden idol.

Twists. While the twists weren't anything unexpected or surprising, they did add a lot more content to the story.

The Bad

Dialogue. Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and unnatural.

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish the dialogue were a little more natural, but that is more a product of its time than a complaint against the filmmakers.

Overall

The Golden Idol is a 1954 live-action film based on the series of  Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood. This film is mostly one long chase scene, which is unusual for a 1950s flick. There is a lot of fighting, deception, gun play, and jungle action. While the twists weren't anything unexpected or surprising, they did add a lot more content to the story. Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and unnatural. Overall, I enjoyed the film. I give it 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Movie Review - Bomba and the Jungle Girl

As the Bomba film franchise continues, I find myself liking them more and more. You really don't need a big budget to make a great film

Bomba and the Jungle Girl is a 1952 live-action film based on the series of  Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood. It is unrated  and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Story. This film has a lot more story than the other films with a few twists than usual. This also has more content and less aimless walking.

Characters. The characters in this film have a lot more to them and the film spends more time developing a back story and motivation.

Peril. This entry into the franchise actual has peril and times when you wonder if things will work out.

Fight Scenes. This film had more fight scenes and better fight scenes than the previous entries in the franchise.

The Bad

Dialogue. Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and unnatural.

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish the dialogue were a little more natural, but that is more a product of its time than a complaint against the filmmakers.

Overall

Bomba and the Jungle Girl is a 1952 live-action film based on the series of  Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood. This film had a really good story with several twists, some not completely obvious. The fighting was more intense than previous films, and the pacing was fairly quick with a decent sense of peril. The characters in this film have a lot more to them than most films from this era, and the film spends time developing a back story and motivation for all the major characters. Overall, I enjoyed the film. I give it 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Movie Review - Bomba on Panther Island

I love old black and white films, and I love Tarzan. So what wouldn't be great about an old film based on a series of books that rip off from Tarzan?

Bomba on Panther Island is a 1949 live-action film based on the Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood. It is unrated  and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Story. The story is pretty simple, but interesting.

Visuals. This is the second film in the Bomba series, and the filmmakers have learned a few things. The stock footage was better integrated, and the sets looked less like sets.

Silent Storytelling. This film uses a lot of silent storytelling where it's just the visuals and the music to tell the story and describe the action, and it is done well and creates a good amount of suspense.

The Bad

Pacing. This movie moves a little slowly and doesn't have as much content as an 80-minute film could comfortably have.

Lack of Action. The action that is shown is really well shown, but there's too little of it. And some of the scenes consist of closeups of the actors mixed with stock footage. While this was a clever idea and done well, it still doesn't look as good as one would like.

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish there had been more action. I realize this was a low budget film from a studio with few resources, but too much of the movie consists of people standing around posing or walking just to walk and not get anywhere.

Overall

Bomba on Panther Island is a 1949 live-action film based on the Bomba, The Jungle Boy novels by Roy Rockwood, concept very similar to Tarzan except Bomba is a teenage boy instead of a man. The story is pretty simple, but interesting. The visuals were an improvement over the first film, and the silent sequences with nothing but action and the music were really well done and created a lot of suspense. The action that is shown is really well shown, but there's too little of it. And some of the scenes consist of closeups of the actors mixed with stock footage. While this was a clever idea and done well, it still doesn't look as good as one would like. This movie moves a little slowly and doesn't have as much content as an 80-minute film could comfortably have. Overall, I enjoyed the film. I give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

TV Show Review - Five Came Back

I'm a big fan of film and history, so a mini-series like this is right up my alley.

Five Came Back is a 2017 3-episode mini-series. It is rated TV-MA for language and graphic images of war and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

The History. This documentary does an excellent job of covering the careers of 5 top Hollywood film directors, John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens, how they got into film, what they shot before World War II, what their role was in that war, and how it forever affected them. I've heard parts of these stories from time to time, but it was wonderful to see them all together.

The Visuals. This documentary included shots from many films of the era, many photographs of what went on behind the scenes, and plenty of new visuals to tell the story. It looked like a big budget Hollywood production unlike most documentaries that show their small budgets.

The Pace. While this is a documentary, it moves at a much quicker pace than most documentaries. I never found myself getting bored or watching the clock. It moved at the pace of most 1940s films, which was very appropriate.

The Perspective. Too often people have a habit of judging the past by current fads and thought, which makes no sense since the past was a different time with different circumstances. This documentary does an excellent job of keeping the proper perspective and judging the men and their films by the standards of their day. And several modern day directors give very insightful observations about their films and the effect they have on us even today.

The Bad

...

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I was totally satisfied.

Overall

Five Came Back is a 2017 3-episode mini-series. This documentary does an excellent job of covering the careers of 5 top Hollywood film directors, John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens, how they got into film, what they shot before World War II, what their role was in that war, and how it forever affected them. I've heard parts of these stories from time to time, but it was wonderful to see them all together. This documentary included shots from many films of the era, many photographs of what went on behind the scenes, and plenty of new visuals to tell the story. While this is a documentary, it moves at a much quicker pace than most documentaries. I never found myself getting bored or watching the clock. It moved at the pace of most 1940s films, which was very appropriate. Too often people have a habit of judging the past by current fads and thought, which makes no sense since the past was a different time with different circumstances. This documentary does an excellent job of keeping the proper perspective and judging the men and their films by the standards of their day. And several modern day directors give very insightful observations about their films and the effect they have on us even today. I highly recommend this show and give it 5 out of 5 remotes.