Film Radar: Blog

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Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 * Some thoughts on the relevance of film critics

Back in 2005, I was invited to be a guest film critic on AMC’s THE MOVIE CLUB. I figured it would be great experience for me and great exposure for FilmRadar as well. In spite of this, I still felt a little strange about the whole thing simply because I don’t see myself as a critic. I see myself as a “Film Enthusiast” who happens to have a slightly public platform (this site and e-newsletter) for their enthusiasm. To me critics can often be elitist and wildly out of touch with audience tastes. I didn’t want to come across as one of those types. One of the movies I reviewed on the show was HERBIE FULLY LOADED starring Lindsay Lohan. I gave it 2 1/2 stars. People were shocked. I actually got numerous e-mails from friends and strangers asking me if I had lost my mind. I stand by that review though. I studied the work of filmmakers such as King Vidor, Jean Luc-Godard and Vincente Minnelli in film school. HERBIE is a movie wasn’t INTENDED for someone like me. That is pretty clear. What was also clear to me though is that it seemed to be very appealing to a certain specific audience. When I was in the screening, there was a whole row of tweener girls sitting in front of me and they loved the film. I could tell they were having a really good time watching it. THAT is why I gave it a positive review. It was effectively appealing to the audience that it was meant to reach in the first place. I felt the same way about BEWITCHED. Personally I wouldn’t have seen EITHER one of those films on my own accord simply because they are not my personal taste.
I tried to leave my personal taste out of the equation and simply endorse films based on what the general public would like.

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Friday, March 2nd, 2007 * THE GODLESS GIRL (1929)

As all of you who follow FilmRadar know, I am a passionate die hard silent film fan. I am always looking for rare and obscure things to see. I was thrilled to death when I saw the UCLA calendar and they were showing THE GODLESS GIRL. The film was released in 1929 and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. I had never seen this film before, nor had many of my friends who are also silent film addicts.

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