When reviewers didnt see the film?

faceman

While listening to the review on Today FM last week (i think it was today fm, where Matt Cooper has a bloke and a girl reviewing the films), i couldnt help but feel that the male reviewer hadnt watched all the film.

He started discussing things in the plot that, er well, didnt happen!

Have you come across film reviews where you got the impression the critic didnt watch all the movie or any of it?

c - 13

The one who does the reviews on moncrief on a friday evening. She always gives the impression she's never heard of the film even.

SO what did you think of FILM X
Well .... ... I really really didnt like it at all ...
/End of review

Very helpful there thank you

People like that are the reason I use sites like rotten tomatoes to source reviews.

Duggy747

faceman wrote: »

While listening to the review on Today FM last week (i think it was today fm, where Matt Cooper has a bloke and a girl reviewing the films), i couldnt help but feel that the male reviewer hadnt watched all the film.

I think you're right, I was listening to it about Iron Man and couldn't help notice he was using similiar words and sentences as another review I read (possibly from Empireonline or AICN). Hmm, thought I was the only one.

I've noticed it a lot and even went so far as to ring in to Matt Cooper and challenge them on it.

ztoical

Alot of "film reviewers" just get the press packs for the film and base their review off that - for alot of them there aren't enough press screenings and they either have to wait and see the film when it opens [thus not have the review ready in time] or just base their review on what the studio press packet tells them or what other reviewers have said.

johnny_ultimate

I have a feeling Cosmo Landsadaen of the Sunday Times simply reads every other review of a film and than writes the exact opposite of it, and for some reason the paper publishes his faeces.

Of course, this is just a conspiracy theory. There are others who clearly do not watch the film. As mentioned before, radio 'reviewers' are often too worryingly vague and ambiguous to take seriously.

Reviewer: I liked this film. The cast was good, the film was good. I enjoyed it.
Presenter: Excellent. And what was it about?
Reviewer: I dunno... space or something?

The preceeding conversation is entirely fictitious, but I have heard stuff worryingly close to that scenario.

Galvasean

I remember reading a review for the simpsons movie in an irish paper before its first screening here. Suffice to say it got five stars. When the reviewer opened along the lines of "The Simpsons has been the best TV show for many years, showing no signs of slowing down and the film is no exception" I started to get suspicious. Plus the review only mentioned bits that were in the trailers. It rounded off proceedings stating taht the film would clean up at the Oscars...
Did it even get a nom?

krudler

always makes me laugh when newspapers review movies because they piece the "review" from what you can find out in a trailer, that ****rag the sun is the worst for it reviewing movies that have a press embargo on them the week before they come out, i guarantee they'll have a review of the dark knight that states batman may fight the joker in this....

Crucifix

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I have a feeling Cosmo Landsadaen of the Sunday Times simply reads every other review of a film and than writes the exact opposite of it, and for some reason the paper publishes his faeces.

Ha ha. His reviews are the reviews I just love to hate, he's always so wrong about everything for such terrible reasons.

Snake Plisken

yeah they really have some jokes reviewing the movies on Moncreef's friday show, some of the reviews are just crap the girl doing it at the moment hasn't seen half the movies and the guy before her was just as bad and was slating films that he obviously had no knowledge of, oh for a decent radio reviewer like the BBC have with Mark Kermode!

Apolloyon

That reminds me of years ago when Dave Fanning was reviewing one of the Star Trek; The Next Generation movies. He was obviously reading off a teleprompter and talking as if extremely knowledgeable about the cast. He started to rattle off their names saying: Picard, Data, Dr Kruger - all your favourites are in this one.

And I'm like...Dr Kruger? He meant Dr Crusher obviously! Not a big mistake if you're not familiar with the series but he had been conducting the review as if he was a big fan. That just annoys me!

Oh in other news, my first post. Go me!

faceman

Snake Plisken wrote: »

yeah they really have some jokes reviewing the movies on Moncreef's friday show, some of the reviews are just crap the girl doing it at the moment hasn't seen half the movies and the guy before her was just as bad and was slating films that he obviously had no knowledge of, oh for a decent radio reviewer like the BBC have with Mark Kermode!

I really like kermode (even though i dont always agree with him) and he has no problem in saying he didnt watch all a film or watch it at all.

He is very cautious about his reviews though because a really poor film (the name escapes me) quoted his review on it's poster, but the comment kermode made was tongue in cheek. He talks about it still.

senordingdong

c - 13 wrote: »

The one who does the reviews on moncrief on a friday evening. She always gives the impression she's never heard of the film even.

Ohhh I HATE her.

The woman has no interest in movies and gives the dumbest reviews I've ever heard in my life.

dulpit

I like Kermode (as someone else said) but the problem i have with it is that the podcast is released on a friday (i think) and i generally go to cinema on a friday, which means i hear reviews of films i've already seen...

monkeyfudge

Apolloyon wrote: »

That reminds me of years ago when Dave Fanning was reviewing one of the Star Trek; The Next Generation movies. He was obviously reading off a teleprompter and talking as if extremely knowledgeable about the cast. He started to rattle off their names saying: Picard, Data, Dr Kruger - all your favourites are in this one.

And I'm like...Dr Kruger? He meant Dr Crusher obviously! Not a big mistake if you're not familiar with the series but he had been conducting the review as if he was a big fan. That just annoys me!

Oh in other news, my first post. Go me!

A Freddy Versus Star Trek film would be pretty cool though.

JangoFett

I'm over here in Australia and there's a channel I watch that has a cinema review show a few times a week and this really fruity gay dude hosts the show and he is the worst film critic I've ever seen. He refers to all action sequences as pointless and only focuses on things like the love story, the emotional bits and the actors private lives....like THAT has anything to do with the film

Reviewing Iron Man he said kids would like it because they could buy the action figures.....seriously like, what the frakk? Kids would like it because it KICKS ASS!! And then he spoke for 20 minutes about Rober Downey Jnr's battle with booze and drugs....ok, while it was SLIGHTLY relevant because of Tony Starks battle with the bottle he should not have made it overshadow the movie.

BLITZ_Molloy

Things are particularly bad in videogame reviews in mainstream magazines/papers. Games take alot more time to review so this sort of carry on is rampant.

constitutionus

senordingdong wrote: »

c-13 wrote:

the one who does the reviews on moncreiff on a friday evening . she alaways gives the impression she never heard of the film even

Ohhh I HATE her.

The woman has no interest in movies and gives the dumbest reviews I've ever heard in my life.

me 3.

how the hell did she even get the job? is she actually PAID for that stuff? what gets me aswell is who the hell decides to send her to what films. sending a woman to review "300" is like sending a bloke to review "P.S i love you".

your just asking for trouble.

dumb in the extreme.

TBH ive given up on reviewers. i go to what i like the look of now.

constitutionus

constitutionus wrote: »

sending a woman to review "300" .

A woman, reviewing 300? What the hell were they thinking? I've never met a member of the female species whom enjoyed 300. Not one. Where as at least 75% of the guys who saw it loved it.

Cactus Col

Deleted User wrote: »

A woman, reviewing 300? What the hell were they thinking? I've never met a member of the female species whom enjoyed 300. Not one. Where as at least 75% of the guys who saw it loved it.

I know of at least one who liked it. But then, the film is a pile of crap.

Women can get action movies. In the same way chaps can get rom coms.

JangoFett

I'm just gonna say it...

Women and gay men can't review movies. I know it might annoy some female and gay members of the forum and I assure you it isn't anything against women or gay men but anytime I've seen a woman or gay man review a movie they've been ****. I'm SURE I can be proved wrong somehow but this is just personal experience

Karl Hungus

JangoFett wrote: »

I'm just gonna say it...

Women and gay men can't review movies. I know it might annoy some female and gay members of the forum and I assure you it isn't anything against women or gay men but anytime I've seen a woman or gay man review a movie they've been ****. I'm SURE I can be proved wrong somehow but this is just personal experience

I'm going to completely disagree with you there, because I know quite a few women and gay men who have fantastic taste in movies, and are extremely knowledgable.

That's not to say there isn't women and gay men doing reviews that are letting the side down, because there probably is, but on the whole, I don't really find gender and sexual orientation effects a person's objective view of films.

Dudess

How good of you to speak for all women. I used to write reviews for Film Ireland. Damn! What a waste of my life...

Snake Plisken

Anyone know if the Michael O'Dwyer who does the film reviews on the afternoon show is the same guy who had this great movie review show on RTE around 1986, I remember he had spot on reviews on Aliens and Ferris Bueller's day off.

Gunther_Gloop

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Anyone know if the Michael O'Dwyer who does the film reviews on the afternoon show is the same guy who had this great movie review show on RTE around 1986, I remember he had spot on reviews on Aliens and Ferris Bueller's day off.

I never saw him on the afternoon show, but the same Michael Dwyer that used to have that film show reviews films on the Marion Finucane radio show on Sundays around 12:40. I can't imagine there'd be too many other Michael Dwyer film critics traipsing around RTE. He also writes for the Sunday Times or somesuch.

...but anyway, if you've seen him on the afternoon show, how come you don't know if he's the same guy you used to see years ago?

Pigman II

JangoFett wrote: »

I'm just gonna say it...

Women and gay men can't review movies. I know it might annoy some female and gay members of the forum and I assure you it isn't anything against women or gay men but anytime I've seen a woman or gay man review a movie they've been ****. I'm SURE I can be proved wrong somehow but this is just personal experience

Women can write decent reviews. However I agree with you on the gay man thing. I think they're too busy daydreaming about other mens bumholes or something to concentrate on the screen.

JangoFett

The people with the sarky remarks, did ye read the bit where I said it was my experience?
Seriously, save the attitude.

"I'm SURE I can be proved wrong somehow but this is just personal experience"

See what I said there in my post, but instead ye act like sarky!

Dudess

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Anyone know if the Michael O'Dwyer who does the film reviews on the afternoon show is the same guy who had this great movie review show on RTE around 1986, I remember he had spot on reviews on Aliens and Ferris Bueller's day off.

Yeah, I remember him reviewing The Fly and Working Girl, which was out in late '88. I remember it was coming up to Christmas. So it ran for a few years. He looks quite like Podge and Rodge.

JangoFett wrote: »

The people with the sarky remarks, did ye read the bit where I said it was my experience?
Seriously, save the attitude.

"I'm SURE I can be proved wrong somehow but this is just personal experience"

See what I said there in my post, but instead ye act like sarky!

Well if you're so SURE you can be proven wrong, why did you make the blanket statement "women and gay men can't review movies"? That's what I had a problem with. I don't care how much you back-pedalled afterwards. So you actually don't think all women and gay men can't review movies? Why say it so?

JangoFett

Wasn't back-pedalling anywhere there

I guess the "women and gay men can't review movies" was a bit too blanket but I did go on to say I could be proven wrong. I apologise for any offence caused. It was just my experience that anytime I read or saw a review by a woman or gay man it was off the mark. Thats my own experience.

I would also like to point out how there are no well known female reviewers, I know fame does not equate to them being right or wrong, but maybe these tv shows etc should seek out some women who are cinema lovers

Snake Plisken

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

I never saw him on the afternoon show, but the same Michael Dwyer that used to have that film show reviews films on the Marion Finucane radio show on Sundays around 12:40. I can't imagine there'd be too many other Michael Dwyer film critics traipsing around RTE. He also writes for the Sunday Times or somesuch.

...but anyway, if you've seen him on the afternoon show, how come you don't know if he's the same guy you used to see years ago?

As dudess said the guy in the 80's looked like podge and rodge the guy on the afternoon show looks more normal, so just wanted to clarify its the same dude!

monkeyfudge

Mariella Frostrup used to be one of my favourite movie critics when she had a late night movie review show back in the 90s.

Super sexy voice too.

Gunther_Gloop

Pauline Kael is one of the most famous critics ever. Now dead.


But anyway, I'm sure we don't need to trawl through a list of female and/or gay movie reviewers to prove the point.

I really don't think there are any good one-armed alcoholic black lesbian movie reviewers though.

constitutionus

Dudess wrote: »

How good of you to speak for all women. I used to write reviews for Film Ireland. Damn! What a waste of my life...

so..........








........ what'd ya think of "300"

Dudess

Gayest film ever...
Brokeback Mountain on the other hand... mmmmm (ironically nowhere near as gay as 300).

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

Pauline Kael is one of the most famous critics ever. Now dead.

Meant to namecheck her but you beat me to it...

I really don't think there are any good one-armed alcoholic black lesbian movie reviewers though.

LOL

JangoFett

I'm not gonna live that comment down am I?

Pigman II

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

Pauline Kael is one of the most famous critics ever. Now dead.

Yeah but she's a good example of a bad reviewer imho. She let herself become susceptible to outside influences. She'd give a good review to any Hollywood leading man who'd give her a wink or a nod.

constitutionus

Dudess wrote: »

Gayest film ever...
Brokeback Mountain on the other hand... mmmmm (ironically nowhere near as gay as 300).

Meant to namecheck her but you beat me to it...

LOL

ya shouldve seen the comic, they were all nekid in that !

Mark Hamill

In one of the tv guide magazines, they have a reviewer that they claim is a guy, but I think is a woman because of a particular complaint he/she used to make about films that I've only ever heard women make about films (admittedly, I haven't seen the complaint too recently, so maybe they got someone new)
That complaint is "the film was too long"
A film can never be too long.
A film can be boring, it can be badly paced, it can have a badly written story, but it can never be too long
When you pay nearly a tenner nowadays to get into a cinema, you should get something thats worth a tenner, I know people who wont even rent a film if its less than 90 minutes long, even if they're good they don't last long enough for what you have to pay.

Dudess

Pigman II wrote: »

Yeah but she's a good example of a bad reviewer imho. She let herself become susceptible to outside influences. She'd give a good review to any Hollywood leading man who'd give her a wink or a nod.

What gal wouldn't?! I know if Clive Owen or Christian Bale gave me a wink or a nod it'd be five stars from me! That then brings me to the issue of how I'd reward them for a drop of the hand. Ok, wink/nod - four stars; drop of hand - five stars.

JangoFett wrote: »

I'm not gonna live that comment down am I?

Nah, we've a new winner...

Mark Hamill wrote: »

In one of the tv guide magazines, they have a reviewer that they claim is a guy, but I think is a woman because of a particular complaint he/she used to make about films that I've only ever heard women make about films (admittedly, I haven't seen the complaint too recently, so maybe they got someone new)
That complaint is "the film was too long"
A film can never be too long.
A film can be boring, it can be badly paced, it can have a badly written story, but it can never be too long
When you pay nearly a tenner nowadays to get into a cinema, you should get something thats worth a tenner, I know people who wont even rent a film if its less than 90 minutes long, even if they're good they don't last long enough for what you have to pay.

Oh I've heard men say a film was too long. And why do you feel length equals money's worth? What about quality versus quantity? Sometimes a film is too long - when there's extraneous material. Why drag it out to two and a half hours when just as good a job could be done in two?