I am annoyed by movie reviews. They are written on the premise: tell as much about the movie as possible, without saying the one thing that happens in the climactic scene.
So a typical review will say "This is a film about coming of age in a small town. It features lush cinematography, a great performance by Gwenyth Paltrow, and takes the philosophical stance that it is better to leave home for the unknown than to stay and never know what could have happened. Young Lily graduates high school while her mother cares for her dying father. She falls for a friend who is leaving for the big city in the Fall. It all builds to her needing to make a decision one way or the other."
So now I am supposed to pay $9 to see the one scene at the end of the movie that the review didn't tell me?
And I hate reviews that give away the philosophical premise or statement of a film. "This movie is an allegory that takes a stand in favor of assisted suicide". Great, now there's one other thing I don't need to worry about figuring out. In fact, I would have preferred you told me the whole plot and left out the interpretation altogether.
That really pops my corn.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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BrianM
MikeB
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3 comments:
If you don't want to know anything about a movie, why read a movie review? If they don't describe the plot or underlying themes, what else should they say?
I usually read movie reviews after I see a movie to see what they have to say. Before seeing a movie I watch the trailer. I always avoid any lengthy reviews before seeing a movie.
besides, until recently we saw most movies on DVD...now that we get the free tickets to all PG and under we see more b/c of the Radio Disney connection.
The funniest are the comments under "info" on digital cable- they are brutally honest and will say funny comments.
I would be happy if there were two options, trailers and reviews. Trailers, or even short reviews intended for people who haven't seen the movie yet, should give away much less about the movie than they currently do.
Full reviews should go ahead and talk about the whole movie, including the ending, since I can't see why you would risk reading one of them if you hadn't already seen the movie anyway.
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