VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Keith Houchen]

Super Mario didn’t impress the chin stroking guardian reviewer 

 

[Mr_Danger]

I’m not reading past “Kids will like this kids film but kids don’t understand fun.” 

[Factotum]

They also didn't like the last PUSS IN BOOTS movie so they can do one

[LEGIT]

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Super Mario didn’t impress the chin stroking guardian reviewer 

 

I mentioned this in another thread. My 7 year old loved the movie, and I thought it was good too. There's too much snobbishness with animated kids movies where critics judge them from an adult perspective and expect the drama, emotion and twists and turns of a Netflix thriller. 

[wordsfromlee]

Mark Kermode would always - presumable contractually - retweet Wendy Ides reviews saying something along the lines of “I don’t agree with her, but it’s a interesting piece”. 

[organizedkaos]

1 hour ago, LEGIT said:

I mentioned this in another thread. My 7 year old loved the movie, and I thought it was good too. There's too much snobbishness with animated kids movies where critics judge them from an adult perspective and expect the drama, emotion and twists and turns of a Netflix thriller. 

Conversly why does is anyone looking for a full grown adult to advise on these things? Particularly a one star review in the Guardian. There's a bunch of other places recommending it as a good time for kids. A review considering it from a different angle shouldn't even be of concern if you only want to find something that'll entertain the spawn for a while

Critics is one person giving their subjective opinion, I think there's some interesting points in that review regarding familiarity and fun etc. I also wouldn't  take a one star guardian review into account when deciding whether a child might like a film.

I like reading people's individual opinions on films, they can be helpful to get recommendations or simply to understand the wonderful wide range of reasons people get joy from films. Good reviews (both from snobby or fanboy critics) can be great signposts, bad reviews can be interesting things to think about. Someone having a negative opinion about something doesn't make it bad, or lessen the value you got from the thing. It just meant they didn't like it.

Edited April 11, 2023 by organizedkaos

[Factotum]

Pauline Kael was one of the absolute best and I still read her reviews today...and I mostly disagree with absolutely everything she writes about.

 

[SuperBacon]

1 hour ago, Factotum said:

Pauline Kael was one of the absolute best and I still read her reviews today...and I mostly disagree with absolutely everything she writes about.

 

Absolutely, and I'll also read old Siskel and Ebert as well. 

I don't actually mind The Guardian/Observer film critics, but certainly aren't looking to them for recommendations, or any other reviewer to be honest.

I think at 38 I know pretty much what I'd enjoy so don't read reviews for that purpose like I did in my youth.

A reviewer could say that a film is the biggest piece of shit ever, and if its something I'm interested in, I'll still watch it.

The irony of that Mario review is that they say kids will "routinely mistake familiarity for fun" That's basically describing nostalgia, of which adults are much prone to than kids. It's such a stupid thing to say, and unnecessary. "Hahaha, small kids. Your opinions are SHIT!" 

Like I said my 10yo and 13yo enjoyed it enough, I thought it was quite mediocre and never that funny, but that's just my opinion. 

I respect people on heres opinions more than professional critics to be honest.

 

[Keith Houchen]

Just now, SuperBacon said:

I respect people on heres opinions more than professional critics to be honest.

Same here. I’d take Devon’s or Lorne’s opinion of a film, for instance, over a critic I don’t know as I know what tastes are on this board so it’s a much better gauge if I’d like it or not. They’re still wrong about Mother! Obviously. 

[DavidB6937]

I've definitely cared less and less about reviews as I've got older. I tend to just give things a go or if someone I know says something was decent then I'll probably try it.

I do miss being interested by magazines and stuff like that but so many of the reviews just go down the middle safely all the time.

Or the other way if you're a newspaper looking for attention and just shit over it for the sake of knowing it'll get some social media attention.

[WeeAl]

50 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

They’re still wrong about Mother! Obviously. 

Did they like it or did you like it? Whoever thought it to be terrible deserves a free Chippy Tea for their good sense. 

I'm with you all on film reviews in here. It's much more likely to resemble my taste, and I value them a lot higher than other places. If I agree with about 75% of someone's takes on movies, then that's a good enough barometer for me - and I tend to find that on here. 

My brother and I, as well as a close friend of ours that we sometimes go to the pictures with, share a very similar taste in movies. Even then though I'll know by the type of movie that he's praising, whether I'm going to enjoy it or not, or if it's the other part of the venn diagram. 

If either of them come in and say to me "You know what, this Roadhouse remake doesn't actually suck and is fucking good" then I'll go in expecting to like it at that stage. (Despite knowing it's going to be a bag of shit as I type this). Same thing with the new Mission Impossible, or John Wick 4, or Clint's new movie, or The Nice Guys 2 when it comes out,  or whatever else. Their opinions will carry weight with me with certain types of movie. 

However if either of them call me and say that I need to go and see the new Batman movie, or the new Star Wars, I'm not even going to be paying attention. They'll be the same with me if I was to tell them they need to watch The Driver or Double Indemnity.

Similarly, if Dev praises the new Shane Black flick or Branquey find's a hidden gem 70's crime thriller he's ready to do a Thunderplex over, then I'll be asking what time TCM or Talking Pictures will be showing it. Though Devon being well into his foreign cinema won't really mean anything to me as it's probably not an indication whether I'm going to like it or not, as I'm much less likely to enjoy it than he is. 

That was a long winded way of getting to the point of what we're all saying anyway. Movie reviewers that you value get earned over time. Picking up a random one from someone you've never heard of, really doesn't mean diddly to whether you're likely to enjoy it yourself. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by WeeAl

[Lorne Malvo]

13 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

Did they like it or did you like it? Whoever thought it to be terrible deserves a free Chippy Tea for their good sense. 

 

One of the worst films of the past 10 years. Up there with I'm Thinking Of Ending Things.

[WeeAl]

2 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

One of the worst films of the past 10 years. Up there with I'm Thinking Of Ending Things.

Very appropriate to how we both felt at the end of watching it then. 

[Loki]

Also worth remembering that if you enjoy a film, no review or opinion can ever make that an invalid reaction.  Similarly, no matter how great and universal a movie's reviews are, if it bores the living Nolan out of you, then you shouldn't feel bad.  Art is always subjective!

Mother was shit though, beautifully made shit.  I am quite a sucker for a beautiful piece of celluloid and will put up with some right old stinky acting and screenwriting, but Mother tried my patience.  I would have walked but I was watching it at Bafta with the cinematographer in the front row, so it would have been rude.

 

[Hannibal Scorch]

5 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Same here. I’d take Devon’s or Lorne’s opinion of a film, for instance, over a critic I don’t know as I know what tastes are on this board so it’s a much better gauge if I’d like it or not. They’re still wrong about Mother! Obviously.