Different ways to watch/enjoy movies.

[Ace of Knaves]

Yea I agree with that. No movie should get a free pass just because it is aiming lower.

But what I mean with movie critics is that a lot of them are reviewing the film as a critic, not a movie fan, you know? They need to get that balance. Some of them go off on a tangent about the technical aspects of a film that most people don't have a clue about. But the job of a movie critic is to get both sides of the spectrum, not just the technical "high brow" for lack of a better term side.

 

[Evil Twin]

OTOH, I find the "you have to turn off your brain to enjoy it" defense of films to be equally lacking. Yes, films can be overanalyzed. They also can be underanalyzed. And, for a critic, I'd rather the former than the "it's kewl/teh suck" no thought review.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Ahh I see. And I'm inclined to agree to an extent.

But I do think there was some beautiful imagery in the movie too, that I felt heightened the scenes from the book. The scenes on Mars for instance, or when Rorschach and Nite Owl land in Antarctica. Or at the funeral. The Comedian's death at the start.

But like I said this was no way a personal attack on you. See the post above yours, I'm just curious about the different reasons people enjoy films

Yeah, there were some undeniably great images in that movie. Even though slow-motion was overused, I really like the shot of the Comedian crashing through the window and falling to the street.

I know, I was rather defensive. My aplogies.

And to get more to the subject at hand: Most of the time, I just watch and enjoy movies. Especially good movies. It's when a movie gets noticeably bad that I can't help analyzing. When the editing and timing are so aff that it becomes all I see. It happened recently, I was watching a Dutch film that was pretty poular when it came out, but it just felt like an abbreviation of a longer film by the utterly stupid and pointless use of jumpcuts. I just want to know and articulate what is wrong with that particular scene or entire movie.

Ofcourse, my analyzing focus isn't only negative. I love to marvel at good editing, that hits all the right notes like a good piece of music. It's orgasmic. Goodfellas for example or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

And I must say, when it comes to story and character motivation or plot holes....I do not pay a whole lot of attention. I hardly ever question the plot or story (again, unless there is very noticeably something wrong), there are people I know who ALWAYS ask questions about the plot the moment the movie is finished. I don't analyze that way, I just roll with the punches.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Cool. Yea I don't notice plot holes or things like that unless they jump out and scream at me. But I know a few people who constantly are like "Yeeeeea right..." or "So how did that happen?" etc. I'm just like "Watch the friggin movie man!"

 

[Art_of_Crime]

in some cases I do believe that film snobbery can be detrimental to your enjoyment of a movie. However I find that in most cases the more you know the more refined your taste can be. In some cases it goes way to far. In some cases the need to nitpick becomes overpowering.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Yea that's what I was trying to get at. Nit picking, LOOKING for faults can only ruin your own enjoyment of the movie, no one elses. So why bother?

 

[C. Lee]

Yea that's what I was trying to get at. Nit picking, LOOKING for faults can only ruin your own enjoyment of the movie, no one elses. So why bother?

Watching movies is the same as living life....some people are just pessimistic and have to nit pick everything to death....most of them don't even think about it or do it on purpose...it's just how they are wired.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Yea honestly I think sometimes people do it on a subconscious level. I feel bad for those poor shmoes.

 

[Evil Twin]

So, what's the line between nitpicking and analysis?

I draw the line when more weight is assigned to a point, however accurate it may be, than it deserves. For example, it's perfectly acceptable to point out in a science-fiction film it's a scientific fallacy to depict sound in space. It probably is a problem in a film that's aiming for scientific accuracy and versimilitude. But, in a sci-fi film with laser guns, faster the light travel, etc., pointing it out is missing the forest for the trees.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I think analysis is noticing and talking about something that is quite apparent. Something that doesn't necessarily jump out at you, but is definitely there.

Nitpicking is actively seeking out faults or whatever. Not just watching and noticing, but actually looking for things to nit pick about.

I remember when Wolverine first came out one of the discussions was about how his claws are shaped perfectly after the experiment. People were actually going on about this as though it was a big deal. That's nit picking, that's LOOKING for faults. IMO.

 

[Figs]

It kind of sounds like you are pissed at film snobs for making you feel inadequate and unsophisticated. Why do you care? Do you want to sound like one of those people? Why let it bother you? If you enjoy movies, and have no interest in learning about the more subtle and technical aspects of film, then don't worry about it. Don't let someone's criticism get to you.
On the same thought though, don't hold it against someone if their opinion differs from yours.

I agree with a lot of what Ace is saying. I am on both sides when it comes to film. I've been watching films most of my 29 years and I enjoy films that make you think and I do at times pay attention to cinematography, lighting and editing but I also can enjoy mindless action films, horror and comedies.

It has nothing to do with feeling inadequate and unsophisticated in regards to Ace. I'm older than a number of people that aren't just critical(which can be good a lot of the time) but try to act like professional film critics. Some of these people are behind me a good ten years when it comes to film knowledge and studying films over the years. The term "tries too hard" comes to mind a lot.

I don't feel inadequate in anyway(especially because of what I said about how many years I've had to watch and study film) just because when I happen to write a review I put my individuality and personality into it rather than use the cliche "professional critic terms and writing". There's nothing wrong with using a broad vocabulary at all but I get the feeling a good number of people who do are as I said, trying too hard, especially due to their age. At certain ages I highly question someones full knowledge and understanding of film due to lack of overall years to fully grasp it on the level of a pro. A number of times I think they just followed in the footsteps of professional critics and mimic a lot of what they say.

CFE is a great example of someone who writes great reviews and keeps his individuality and personality in them. A number of the other film watchers who give their reviews, you take their name away from it and you can't distinguish it from those other professional critics. They all sound the same and that's quite boring, it also ties into what I said above about copying professional critics.

Like I said before, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a much higher vocabulary and demanding excellence out of most films but I'll say again, some people(due to age) are trying too hard when I don't think their knowledge is on that level they're trying to be yet.