Capo
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Post by Capo on Apr 11, 2008 22:19:41 GMT
There are many, of course, and subsequently many different kinds of critics: the kinds who'll critically analyse a work without really saying whether or not they liked it, and then others who'll do nothing but respond subjectively. I like a balance between the two, personally; and I like learning different critical theories (structuralist, post-modernist, post-structuralist, etc.) because I think it opens your critical potential up and you can appreciate films (or books, etc.) in ways you normally wouldn't. I'll admit Southland Tales could be analysed quite interestingly as a cultural artefact, but so could Date Movie. You could write a fascinating critical paper on films like these, but they're still shit, unless we remove the significance of authorial intent altogether from the critical process, which I have no interest in doing except as an isolated intellectual exercise. I'll never approach art in that way as a matter of course. This is taken from the 2007 top ten thread, as I relate to it very much. My current and growing frustration with my film degree stems from the "film as cultural artefact" approach to a lot of units. My choices next year (my final year) have the likes of "Whiteness and Ethnicity in American Film" and "Gender and Genre in Contemporary Cinema". I know from looking at the lists of films these units show that I won't enjoy it for an instant. I'd be writing "fascinating critical papers" on films I don't give a shit for. My entire degree, at this point, seems an "isolated intellectual exercise", and I don't know what to do and how to do it. |
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Post by seyfried on Apr 11, 2008 22:50:06 GMT
The problem with a film like Southland Tales is that it explicitly asks for its starts to play vignettes and counter-performances to what they usually are casted as. In the case of Mulholland Drive - and in my mind this is important to get the full effect - the role of blonde/brunette is one of historical agency. Many of Diane's "inhibitions" regarding the film industry are explicated through the texture of her dreams, and are more so commentary on the state of previous superficial casting preferences within the old Hollywood industry than anything. It's little wonder, that Sunset Boulevard was the film asked by Lynch's actors to watch before shooting on the set of Eraserhead. The guy's been trying to coax that "feel" for 30 years now.
I don't see any problem with this lack of "self-containment" (though, I've hardly ever claimed to be some sort of film purist) and with Film becoming more and more of an exercise of commenting on genre and on cultural relevancy it's going to be something essentially required for these films. Southland Tales shares a textures with JG Ballard's Atrocity Exhibition: the wars are both described or displayed as being predestined by the media. And in my mind, nobody should watch the film without reading the comic - which I was recommended be beforehand. I suppose that's a fault of Kelly's, and perhaps my level of clarity (and insincerity) with Southland Tales isn't exact "fair" because of that advantage, but then again, it's like me faulting a dinosaur expert for liking Jurassic Park more than I did. Ok, not really. Lol.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Apr 12, 2008 1:12:26 GMT
Southland Tales shares a textures with JG Ballard's Atrocity Exhibition I will come to you one night when you're sleeping and cut your throat. |
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Post by seyfried on Apr 12, 2008 1:39:49 GMT
But I'm not afraid of clowns.  Edit: In all honesty, maybe a little.  |
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Apr 12, 2008 1:47:37 GMT
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Post by seyfried on Apr 12, 2008 1:52:48 GMT
In light of his recent antics, wetdog, I'm pretty sure Kramer's the real monster in that photo.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Apr 23, 2008 3:43:46 GMT
I've said it many times: a film critic is an educated film viewer who tries his best to describe and recomend films to the viewing audience and on occasion, enlightens the potential audience as to themes that they may not have seen in the film.
It's all subjective. We try to establish these rules for ourselves and try to rationalize criticism styles but it's pointless. You write what you know and what you feel. It's as simple as that.
The difference between Southland Tales and Date Movie is simple. Date Movie did not aim for greatness. It appeals to the retards and morons of the world who find scatalogical humor to be worth watching and paying for. Sotuhland Tales meanwhile is the work of a well liked director who has already directed a neo-cult classic. There were more expectations for him to do well in directing his film.
What film is worse? Date Movie in my opinion for dulling American humor just a little bit more and perhaps moving people away from seeing film as an artform.
Southland Tales is just a film that failed to achieve its goal.
I don't really have a critical style save for a description of the films main plot and an analysis of the best and worst elements. And if there's a theme or something in the film that is important, I'll mention that too.
Writing styles is something that shouldn't really be analysed too deeply. I write with spontaneity and truth.
After all, I'm just an asshole with an opinion.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on May 7, 2008 10:28:10 GMT
Continuation of discussion from this thread. I see. Just wanted to see if you thought all multi-page essays on film were, to use your word, atrocious. Your earlier statement coupled with your views expressed elsewhere gave me the impression that you don't value that stuff at all. My earlier comment on authors showing off and my previous post explaining my position were both made seriously. However the "atrocious" comment was intended to be a joke. Gotcha. Well, as an aspiring filmmaker like yourself, wouldn't it be beneficial sometimes to be able to deconstruct the magic of images to understand filmmaking better? It can even intensify your appreciation of the film, scene, or a specific image-sound moment. As far as the essays helping me as an aspiring filmmaker, I am not so sure. You mean to tell me you haven't learned anything from even discussions or posts on FCM? Even little things that in a way help you as a filmmaker in terms of forming your artistic sensibilities, noticing things you didn't notice yourself in the first place, understanding your opinion of the film better, etc.? There's no doubt in my mind you can find edification in film criticism be it capsule film reviews or monographs. All DVD commentaries like film criticism pieces are of varying quality, but so are the movies we talk about on this site. Do we let the valleys discourage us from seeking out the peaks? No. With that said, Roger Ebert's DVD commentary on the Citizen Kane DVD is informative especially if one hasn't been exposed to the mountains of writing on CK over the years from which Ebert draws his insights from. The essay on the second disc of In the Mood For Love gives a lot of context and background to the film's setting and even significance of Mrs. Chan's cheongsams. I think you'd find Youngblood's on the Criterion L'avventura disc extremely helpful. James Quandt's commentary on Criterion's discs of Pickpocket is great. So are his video essays for the Teshigahara set especially for Woman in the Dunes. Any aspiring filmmaker should also look to filmmaker commentaries on films made off-Hollywood. For example, Charles Burnett's legendary national treasure of a student thesis film Killer of Sheep was shot on weekends for about a year. Richard Linklater's Slacker is a seminal U.S. indie film. A film set in and shot in Austin, Texas. I don't know if I misled you guys into thinking that I am opposed to analysis of a movie. My point was perhaps, " why would you want someone else to do it" Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but... It's not like people who read film criticism are people who don't think about/analyze a film themselves beforehand. It's about supplementing your own thoughts on a film, seeing what someone else thought about it that strengthens or challenges our "stance," etc. Isn't that what we all do on this site? A reviewer/critics's personal thoughts are significant in a two or five sentence capsule review; significant in a one-sentence write-up (provided it's not summarizing the plot or naming characters or crew). Point is, no matter the length of the piece of criticism, the critic's critical approach/apparatus or personal aesthetic/values is there. It's unrealistic to think that even the most seemingly objective analysis is not filtered by or influenced by the critic's approach or values. For instance, I could post up screenshots of a particular Antonioni passage and ask people to critique the visual style - cinematography, mise-en-scene, etc. Such an analysis is usually seen as a more objective one than thematic analysis. Yet each member's critique would no doubt be colored by each person's values, etc. |
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Post by svsg on May 8, 2008 2:36:25 GMT
I prepared a long post in reply, but decided to scrap it... too many unconvincing points... I think you have a point there, which I cannot dispute. Reviews do help in understanding the medium. So do forum discussions and essays. Especially the discussions here. Maybe I just have an inexplicable fear of long essays  |
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 8, 2008 2:40:02 GMT
tl;dr
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Post by svsg on May 8, 2008 3:09:13 GMT
For instance, I could post up screenshots of a particular Antonioni passage and ask people to critique the visual style - cinematography, mise-en-scene, etc. I think we should do something like what you mentioned. That would be a good thread. |
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Post by ronnierocketago on May 8, 2008 16:15:36 GMT
I prepared a long post in reply, but decided to scrap it... too many unconvincing points... I think you have a point there, which I cannot dispute. Reviews do help in understanding the medium. So do forum discussions and essays. Especially the discussions here. Maybe I just have an inexplicable fear of long essays No essay is too long if its got considerable good thought behind it. Likewise, no bad essay is too short. Geoff over at BB.Net has been an asshole recently over "too long reviews," while likewise he's been posting his reviews or rants which basically farts that lack opinions. SVSG, I say you should try to engage in essay-writing. We'll be here to support, critique, and help ya out. I mean, you're a good dude with good opinons. You're not Irishman or Geoff. |
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