The three critics/orgs I chose:
NYTimes A.O. Scott- http://movies.nytimes.com/movies/critics/A-O-Scott
www.Spill.com
http://www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm
A.O. Scott: When it comes to critics they can talk about nearly anything they want. I like Scott because he talks about the rhythm and pacing of stories and their overall feel rather then just focusing on the plot or a specific aspect of a movie. When I was younger I may have enjoyed something along the lines of what I just described however now that I am more knowledgable in movie making I find the overall picture more interesting.
Spill.com: I came across this through hyperlink clicking and I found it very interesting. The website, from what I can tell, is a collective of four different hosts who do collective critiques on movies. What sets Spill apart is that they do their critiques set to an animated short, it's rather interesting in itself. I chose this critic/webpage because I like how you can get four rather different opinions on a movie. After watching a few of the videos myself I found that I agreed and disagreed with each of the four hosts at one point or another and took their critiques more seriously or frivolously according to our similarities.
http://www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm: This site doesn't click with me, however I do find it very intriguing and insightful (even if insightful means into something I may not believe 100%). For those who do not know the Catholic religion (forgive me for possible incorrect capitalization) has its own rating system for movies in the Media Reviews Office. The system reflects the moral views of The Church (again, capitalization). If you go to http://old.usccb.org/movies/movieall.shtml the ratings are at the bottom. I chose this critic/website because I find it very interesting. If you were to click through some of the movie ratings yourself I think you may agree. Firstly the MPAA ratings do not relate to the Catholic CNS ratings. Secondly some of the plot summaries and highlighted points might seem strange to point out or phrased in a jargon that... actually, yeah makes sense for the Catholic Church. Finally, and what I find the most interesting, is the base for which each system comes from. MPAA is fluid, it has the ability to change and mold with society. CNS is a religion, it is not fluid and is unaffected by the constraints of society. I think it is interesting reading the CNS "moral test"-esqu critiques because I never thought of it from that perspective. (It also brings into perspective on how much society has drifted from "morals" at least in the Catholic Church standard. For ex. The Great Gatsby was harshly rated because of it's general acceptance to adultery... The audience in the theater doesn't really care about that though.)
When it comes to finding specific critics however, I struggled. I searched for a solid day before writing this post. I'm not exactly sure how to come across critics with a similar [personality, driving factor, moral standard, thought process]. I guess the best way is to just keep looking!
I completely agree about the difficulty of finding individual critics that share your taste in media. I also liked what you shared about Spill.com. I have since explored the site a bit and it certainly is a very different approach to critiquing films. I enjoy the conflicting views presented in the shorts, and it definitely helps me get a well-rounded idea of the film's strengths and weaknesses in a short amount of time. I found it interesting that you selected the Catholic News website as a source for media criticism. Little did I know that the church has its own ratings system! Certainly a strange site, but yes, I agree that it is definitely interesting to explore.
ReplyDeleteWell I certainly didn't expect to see religion pop up as a source of criticism, at least not in this context. I find that website interesting, because you're right, that is certainly a unique and niche service they have there. With social acceptance moving away from traditional catholicism, I find it interesting to see the sheer effort put into reviews of movies like The Hangover Part III and 42. I appreciate the effort to adjust modern society to traditional catholic morals.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing spill.com, I've never heard of it before! I like it because it's such a creative way of reviewing movies. It's not just one article from a single reviewer, it is like a radio show with a collaborative critic. I watched the Star Trek review because I plan on going to see it this weekend. I find it interesting that you included catholic news in your list. I've been on the site before but have never actually explored it. It is a niche review website, and one that could generate a lot of discussion within.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one who had trouble finding specific critics for this assingment, I had trouble too since I really don't read that many reviews. I never been on Catholic News before, but I've been on similar sites that review new media with a Christian perspective, although less harsh than Catholic News (in a review for The Secret of Kells, although mostly postive did lament on how faith and religion play out in the film, albeit politely). The review for the new Star Trek film on Spill was well thought out: a good film, but perhaps trying to cater too much to the fans and not exactly pulling it off, but still a film worth watching
ReplyDeleteI too sincerely enjoy reading A.O Scott's critiques. I feel he brings younger knowledge to his writings that many other critics do not touch on. The editing, character development, and cinematography are topics he frequently talks about, and that is why I like reading his articles, as you said he does not just critique the story line. As for finding critics I can definitely relate to you. There are a handful of critics that I actually read their articles regularly, while the others I just here about on social media. I find your critics to be very interesting, especially the one about the Church.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic News ratings blew me away. I'm by no means very religious, but like you said it is very interesting! I didn't realize that the Catholic Church had it's own "rating" system. I can see where something like that would come in handy for those devout Catholics wishing to keep their movie choices based on their values, but do you think that certain "Bible Belt" theaters ever use them? I know I grew up in a very small town in Northern KY and our theater was EXTREMELY picky about what films were shown, especially if they were all guns, violence, and sex. It's a lot less strict now (new owners I think) but do you think that theater managers could afford to use those ratings as guidelines for their showings? Just a thought. Very cool though. -Jade
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you kids are looking at the Catholic Church and actually saying interesting things about it. It's part of my research interests.. not sure if ya'll knew that (apart from my blogger bio saying it). Thanks for not bashing the Church!
ReplyDeleteAnd from how I understand it, families use the Catholic ratings system more than anything else. More so to see what's good in the eyes of the Church. I personally use it when determining whether I can get away with showing something to youth group kids or not!