Tired of the usual boring, dry movie discussion?  "The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies" is something new. Is it serious movie discussion? Is it funny? Do the writers know what the hell they are talking about? Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. OK, that’s too many Yes’s but you get the point.  Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini, both professional filmmakers and comedians, created Comedyfilmnerds.com to mind meld the idea of real movie talk and real funny. And they called in all of their professionally funny and filmy friends to help them. Comedians and writers who have been on everything from the Tonight Show to having their own comedy specials tell you what’s what on their favorite film genres.  While "The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies" is funny and informative, each film genre is given a personal touch. All of the Comedy Film Nerds have a love of film and a personal connection to each genre.  Read about a love of film from an insider’s perspective.  "The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies" is for the movie lover with a good sense of humor. Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini, both professional award-winning filmmakers and comedians, who have both screened and spoken at film festivals all over the world, including Slamdance and Comic-Con in San Diego, created Comedyfilmnerds.com to mind meld the idea of real movie talk and real funny.  And they called in all of their professionally funny and filmy friends to help them.  Comedians and writers from The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, The X-Files, Comedy Central, HBO, and Showtime tell you what’s what on their favorite film genres. The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies By Graham Elwood, Chris Mancini Morgan James Publishing Copyright © 2012 Graham Elwood & Chris Mancini All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61448-221-5 Contents FOREWORD By Doug Benson, PREFACE, 1 SCIENCE FICTION By Chris Mancini, 2 WESTERNS By Graham Elwood, 3 COMIC BOOK MOVIES By Mike Schmidt, 4 FANTASY By Jackie Kashian, 5 HORROR By Matt Weinhold, 6 COMEDY By Suzy Nakamura, 7 ROCKIN' MOVIES By Lord Carrett, 8 ANIMATION By Neil T. Weakley, 9 ACTION AND ADVENTURE By Chris Mancini, 10 WAR MOVIES By Allan Havey, 11 FILM NOIR By Greg Proops, 12 MUSICALS By Jackie Kashian, 13 DOCUMENTARIES By Graham Elwood, 14 FILM SCHOOL CLASSICS By Chris Mancini, 15 ROMANTIC COMEDIES By Laura House, 16 COPS AND ROBBERS By Graham Elwood, 17 SPORTS MOVIES By Mike Schmidt, 18 DRAMA By Dean Haglund, 19 FAMILY MOVIES By Chris Mancini, 20 MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES By Graham Elwood, 21 CULT CLASSICS By Neil T. Weakley, 22 SEQUELS, TRILOGIES, AND FRANCHISES By Dean Haglund, 23 MOVIES WE'RE ASHAMED TO ADMIT WE LIKE, 24 MOVIES THAT DESERVE TO BE YELLED AT By Dave Anthony, 25 MOVIES WE'D LIKE TO SEE MADE, 411 NERD, THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, INDEX, CHAPTER 1 SCIENCE FICTION By Chris Mancini Ever since I was a tiny little Tribble, I've always been an avid devourer of all things science fiction, and yes, I spent a fair amount of time alone deep in a book. I couldn't wait to see where Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and even Allan Dean Foster were going to take me next. But these were places I could see and hear only in my head. The thing about movies was that they actually showed me someone's vision of what the future or some far off fantastic world could be like. Unlike television, on the big screen it just looked real. It was more believable, like you were there. And I was. Every time a new science fiction movie came out, I was at the movie theater, eager to see what new world or future I would be visiting once the lights went down. Science fiction didn't really hit the mainstream until Star Wars came out in 1977. That was a watershed moment. It wasn't based on a book, or anything else, it was a science fiction film. And so the nerd age was born, opening the floodgates to more great films, along with some astonishingly bad ones. Remember Waterworld ? Sadly, I do too. But with every Mad Max comes a Thunderdome ... Science fiction films were relegated to the back of the cinematic bus for a very long time before they got the respect they deserved from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or even mainstream audiences. ( Star Wars won six Oscars, but not for Best Picture or Best Director, and the two sequels pretty much got snubbed.) Science fiction territory was still considered "fringe" and only to be enjoyed by nerds like me in between Dungeons and Dragons sessions. I was an awesome Dungeon Master, by the way. But at least the science fiction door was slowly opening. What's interesting is that disrespect for the genre was never even deserved. One of the first narrative movies ever made, Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon (1902) was science fiction. So why the hating? I think it has to do with anything that has "fantastic" elements such as aliens, robots, or elves being generally relegated to the kiddie table. Of course super lame science