Irish
10-11-2012, 02:46 PM
First, the backstory:
Over a decade ago, a videostore clerk is hanging out online in the AICN chat rooms. He's seen a preview and somebody asks him to write it up for the site. That review gets popular, and AICN asks him to keep writing.
Flash forward ten plus years and he's written and produced a horror movie -- the upcoming Sinister (with Ethan Hawke!).
This recent interview touches on aspects of the film (the basic plot line sounds vaguely similar to John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns meets an episode of Criminal Minds), but it's worth reading for what it says about criticism and movies and the genre.
If you're interested in any of that stuff, you'll probably like this:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/c-robert-cargill-interview-sinister
Q: But isn't film criticism about personal opinion?
A: No. I think that belief is the greatest problem with criticism today. Personal opinion is important in a critique, but criticism is about further enriching the experience of the audience. A reader shouldn't just walk away from a review knowing whether or not the writer thinks they should see it; they should walk away further understanding the film and having a broader experience because of it. And when you share your opinion, they should be able to understand unequivocally why you feel that way so that, even when they disagree with you, they can further their own argument as to how they feel about the film. Criticism is about making the audience smarter by engaging them, not by telling them what they should and shouldn't watch.
Over a decade ago, a videostore clerk is hanging out online in the AICN chat rooms. He's seen a preview and somebody asks him to write it up for the site. That review gets popular, and AICN asks him to keep writing.
Flash forward ten plus years and he's written and produced a horror movie -- the upcoming Sinister (with Ethan Hawke!).
This recent interview touches on aspects of the film (the basic plot line sounds vaguely similar to John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns meets an episode of Criminal Minds), but it's worth reading for what it says about criticism and movies and the genre.
If you're interested in any of that stuff, you'll probably like this:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/c-robert-cargill-interview-sinister
Q: But isn't film criticism about personal opinion?
A: No. I think that belief is the greatest problem with criticism today. Personal opinion is important in a critique, but criticism is about further enriching the experience of the audience. A reader shouldn't just walk away from a review knowing whether or not the writer thinks they should see it; they should walk away further understanding the film and having a broader experience because of it. And when you share your opinion, they should be able to understand unequivocally why you feel that way so that, even when they disagree with you, they can further their own argument as to how they feel about the film. Criticism is about making the audience smarter by engaging them, not by telling them what they should and shouldn't watch.