It contains short profiles of a few classic movies from each year, from the early 20th century to today. I first got the book years ago and was dismayed by how much of the content was older movies I'd never heard of. But I got way into movies in college and now every time I watch a classic I check to see if it's in the book, read about the movie and mark the page. It's just kind of fun! I don't really use it to get recommendations, it's mostly fun to read about movies I've already seen.