Know Your Enemy
"Seth Gordon's crass 'Four Christmases' is one of those grisly yuletide comedies that starts off attacking the bogus spirit of Christmas and the horrors of family life and ends up as a sentimental carol exalting the pleasures of both ... At the end, I felt that rather than pull a wishbone with any of those involved, I'd join a Christmas caravan crossing the Sahara through bandit territory, with Mark Thatcher as guide.."
Philip French on the new seasonal offering starring Vince Vaughn and Reece Witherspoon, as well as Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Jon Voight (all of whom should know better.
Ah, the delights of only now getting round to leafing through the Observer Review section from 30th November. Why, only nine days after everyone else I know that Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding has been loving AC/DC's Black Ice and that Georgina Baillie (remember her?) couldn't resist a peek at her mother's copy of Russell Brand's 'My Booky Wook'...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
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2 comments:
Ben, this is a good example of a problem that I’ve been considering for a while. Reviewing bad films is too easy. Cheesy rom-coms, formulaic weepies, or crass teen comedies are fertile ground for the film reviewers. It’s easy to throw in the, “I’d rather XXX than sit through this crap again” device, much to the amusement of reader, or find a new simile to describe just how terrible, the acting/dialogue, plot, special effects (delete as appropriate) really are. And don’t get me wrong, these reviews are often very funny. It’s fun to see someone erudite and witty really laying into a bad film.
But I think these reviews can become a bit formulaic too. I often see the same devices, the same simple criticisms levelled - and I’ve been guilty of this in the past. Basically, lazy journalism, that like the films reviewed – has nothing new to say.
Reviewing a bad film well is a real test for the writer. I’ve got one to do coming up and I’m currently stuck. One reviewer who gets these things right though is Roger Ebert. I’ve not agreed with him on everything recently, but he’s great on bad films.
Jon
Yes, points taken.
Don't know about you, but I also find it challenging to be positive about a good film - everything I try to say seems cliched and hackneyed etc, and I find myself repeating the same old buzzword adjectives. Perhaps that means I'm not cut out for reviewing after all...
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