"Have You Seen . . . ?" Immediately

I found this book to be a treasure trove of ideas on which films should be on one's must-see list, and yes, one may not agree 100% with Thomson's recommendations (and wonder why some movies were left off the list) but this book still does entertain and inform. The format of the book seems pretty straight-forward with an alphabetical listing of the movies (with the year provided), but I felt the author was remiss in not providing a comprehensive index. There is a chronological index at the back of the book, but none for the main actors, directors, the genre of a movie, etc, which makes this less user-friendly as a film reference book/guide.

Each movie that does make Thomson's list is given a page and the author basically provides his own opinions, insights and commentaries on what make a particular movie appealing and/or worth watching. The writing is concise, candid, and entertaining. I wish there had been more organization in terms of presenting a movie. For example, merely listing the title of the movie and the year of release followed by the commentary is insufficient. I would have appreciated a listing of specifics such as the actors, whether the movie was in color or B&W,total running time, the awards won (if any), etc. There are also no illustrations of photographs in the book. On the whole though, this is an interesting read, especially for those who love the movies, like I do. Some other books I'd recommend:
Roger Ebert's Book of Film: From Tolstoy to Tarantino, the finest writing from a century of film
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential FilmsGet more detail about "Have You Seen . . . ?".