MovieCritics Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Pieces of Advice for Critics to Come
Filed under: Cinematical Seven », Columns »
"I believe that children are our future
(Thank you)
Teach them well and let them lead the way..."
-Randy Watson (Eddie Murphy), Coming to America
It might be presumptuous for someone as young as I am to offer up words of wisdom to any fledgling film critics out there, but in an age where print critics are only dwindling in number and online reviewers are subjected to constantly shifting standards of the industry, the prospect of constructive advice is my effort to provide something that wasn't necessarily there when I started in the field. Just because anyone can start their own review site doesn't mean that they should, but hopefully, some of the following tips will help encourage those of you still determined to give this a go to hold yourself and your work to a higher standard.
Monday Morning Poll: Farewell To The Movie Critic
Filed under: Critical Thought », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing »
While trying to decide which movie to go see this
past weekend, my father called me up and asked my opinion on the latest flicks. Seeing as I've been knee-deep in Gen Art festival screenings (Behind the Mask was awesome!) and the last mainstream film I saw
in the theater was Inside Man, I recommended that
one.
However, when I told him to go read some critic reviews to help nudge him toward a decision, he scoffed, "Bah, what do they know -- they're always wrong anyway." After I hung up the phone, I decided to take a sample poll and call some of my friends to ask them if they ever look to a movie critic to help choose a film. I spoke with six people (I know, I didn't think I had that many friends either), all of whom consider themselves rather "artsy" and not one seeks out the critic's guidance. But why?
The consensus was that the critic gives too much of the film away. Oh, and the trailer doesn't? One of my friends felt that most critics remind him of that annoying kid from school who walked around with a very "I know everything and you know nothing" kind of attitude. He followed that up with, "Hey, at least I don't need a dictionary to watch a trailer." Seriously, why are we making a whole what-to-do over the fact that studios aren't screening certain films for critics when no one bothers to read their reviews anyway?
So, I ask: Do you read reviews? If not, why? Should movie critics dumb down their reviews, just like Hollywood dumbs down its films, in order to attract more people? Is that the answer?
Film critic semi-obituary: Whither Paul Tatara?
Filed under: Obits »
With the passing of Paul Clinton from his
mortal coil, it's time to remember CNN's other film critic. "Wait," you may ask, "CNN has another
film critic?" Yes indeedy - at least up until 2003, that is. Whereas Paul Clinton's editor claimed he constantly
had to slice the world "perfect" out of Clinton's reviews, I can only imagine how many synonyms for the word
"suck" the editor had to remove from the reviews of Paul Tatara. Tatara practically served as Clinton's id at
CNN for several years; the two of them even posted dueling best/worst lists at year's end. While Clinton was known for
being diplomatic in the face of schlock, Tatara was unsparing in his distaste for most of what Hollywood had to offer._thumbnail.jpg)
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