Best movie eva!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... know that line?
Well, you will certainly not find that one anywhere on these pages.
In the following I'll share some of my thoughts on reviewing and evaluating the films I see.
First of all: the reviews obviously represent my own opinion that you don't have to share and also shouldn't share all the time because if everyone agrees there is no discussion, no life and no meaning to all this. Of course you should respect other opinions as long as they are based on proper reasoning and not entirely childish or simply stupid.
(Film) criticism is of course subjective. Still I simultaniously try to go into any kind of a movie open-minded and with a necessary shot of objectivity.
So just if I come over a flick that wouldn't fit into my usual or preferred category for matters of content/genre/whatever doesn't mean I will automatically dislike it.
On the other hand (and maybe even more important): just because I consider myself a lover of film doesn't mean I am going to pretend to love (or even like) every acclaimed "classic".
But I will certainly give a film like "Citizen Kane" (a bit of extra-) credit for its achievements that are of course fact not opinion. Even if I hated this film (which I don't, no worries) I wouldn't go ahead and bash the film because I know about its importance and influence.
About stars/ratings:
As great movie critic Roger Ebert once said in an interview I've seen: "Ratings are the bane of film criticism".
Generally my written words should clearly express if I recommend a movie or not (sometimes I might explicitly state that at the end of a review). So why the need for giving stars or something?
Well, simply to give a clear visualization of my attitude towards the film and a quick overview without having to read the whole thing. Of course, I would like you to read it, otherwise I would not need to make the effort and thoughts.
But the question of course is: why do we judge a film? Maybe to have our own opinion clearly laid out. But most definately to recommend it to friends... or other people.
To let them know if you think they should see it or not and what you honestly think.
You don't encounter your friend, throw statistics at his head and tell him "Go see this film, it's a seven out of ten!". I have also seen people whose rating scales reach up to 100. "67/100" or maybe even "68/100" !? ... that's nonsense. You tell a friend if it is good or bad. If it is great or if it sucks. That's why I think it's enough to have like 4 stars to kind of represent the categories you usually put flicks in ... something like this:
4 - Great (- Masterpiece)
3 - Good
2 - Mediocre
1 - Bad
0 - Disaster
That's enough. Some people may agrue that this is too limited and vague but as I said it's only a quick first impression. The details can be discussed in the written thing.
Another point: The amount of stars given is relative to the movie's "quality"!
4 stars here are not the same 4 stars there.
For instance:
I could (probably) give "The naked gun" 4 stars because it's simply one of the funniest comedies I can think of. Doesn't mean "The naked gun" is a "better" film than the four stars-recieving "Goodfellas" in terms of moviemaking and sophistication.
Or to use my reviews as an example: "Dogtooth" and "Sherlock Holmes" both recieved 3 stars. But I can tell you that the first one is by far more interesting than the latter and without a doubt a "better" film.
I generally prefer more "serious" films and honestly, in my ratings it may be easier for such a "serious" film to achieve a higher rating than for a comedy or some other stuff that is primarily playing for fun even if it is very good at what it does. A serious film that recieved 3 stars and maybe did not fully succeed may still be more interesting than a 3 and a half star-no brainer that is very good at what it does.
But no matter how I rate a movie please comment. Tell me what you think (in an adequate way)!
I am highly interested and I will read and reply.
... and that's all I have to say about that ...
I think this makes sense. Some people just tend to look at the imdb rating and do not "really" watch the movies. They are highly influenced by the imdb rating. Their opinion about the movie is solelly based on the rating. Those people may never watch movies with a rating e.g. under 8.00 and thus may never see aton of great films. By substituting the numerical rating(althogh you are giving stars) with adjectives, you really express your opinion about a movie and request the user to inform himself about the movie. I really like your website!!!
AntwortenLöschenhey dude, thanks for commenting. Appreciate it.
LöschenYou're right about IMDb.com. It is a very good overview to get some orientation in the movie world. And the ratings are often right. But you can't really rely on that. You always have to consider that it is primarily users that rate the films there. Different age groups, different tastes, and supposedly less distinguished judgements.
I personally trust the (professional) critics more (I read mostly American press, to be honest). Not to say that the critics are always right (not at all) but they usually have higher standards than the average user and are more critical (obviously) about things - at least, this is my impression/thesis. Most of them might also have quite good knowledge about film since their job gives them detailed insight into the subject and they may have a lot of experience as they might have been spending more time at the movies than the average person.
But in the end you should only trust yourself. Just make sure you know your preferences and what movies to pick. And be open for new stuff.
More reviews coming soon, I promise! I'm just really busy right now! And I plan to do an excursion on 'movie violence', may be up next week, so if you like to, check it out.
Kind regards
Elias