My Take on Movie Criticism

I just thought I should give my readers some sort of take on my philosophy for movie critcism, if I have any readers. I'm to eventually start gaining some kind of loyal base. I have a different idea of criticism than most critics and therefore you won't see me anything that often. I don't watch something with the intention of being critical of it, therefore if I pan its really really bad. Joking aside that is my philsophy.

Therefore while I take note of how its shot, how original it is, etc, I'm not afraid to get lost in it and am easily lost in a movie because I am simply a huge cinema lover.

I'm not easier than mainstream critics on everything, I'm actually a lot harsher on "critically popular" movies. I hate and despise it when I see movies trying to do something trendy, or profound, trying to do something artsy which they know will be a hit among the critics whose only criteria is to search for such a thing and praise it while condemning everything else that doesn't meet their snobbish standards. Notable movies I've panned because of this are Children of Men and No Country for Old Men. No Country I panned if only for the cliched scenes of Tommy Lee Jones and especially the ending. The ending of No country is the epitome of saying something because it sounds profound and sounds good and having people chuckle and applaud you as brilliant for it.

So in some ways I am a lot harder than most critics; I demand a natural feel, I don't want to be preached to or shown a pile of artistic crap that's meant to shock and astound me. Therefore very few movies meet my criteria of brilliant.

But my number one rule, my gold rule, is don't be a snob. The one thing I cannot stand more than anything else is the snobbish attitude in criticism today. Not so much movie criticism, movie criticism is tame in comparison to the snobbery of literary criticism. I'll criticize some popular novels for not being well done, but I'll still admit they were fun to read. I won't force myself to not enjoy them, I won't dismiss or dislike escapist literature, becuase what's wrong with that, we all need escapes and as much as these snobs would hate to admit all literature is a form of escape from our own realities, even the books they praise so highly, (and which I would probably also praise highly most of the time, if it weren't postmodern or minimalist).

So there you have it, my philosophy in criticism. Number one of all I try not to be a snob, I try to look at things fairly, intend to enjoy them, and review them fairly pointing out positive effects and negative and for many movies I give them a rating of how fun they are to watch, and then talk about how they failed or met standards of being well done and profound and sticking with you after they were watched. Thanks for reading, and I hope you bookmark and keep track oh loyal reader.