Which film critics do you trust (if any?)

When it comes down to it, even editors at alts are probably fine, thanks, without the writerly BS.

how do you mean?

I mean, if I give myself enough time, that's when I start making conscious "decisions" (to put it nicely) as a "writer" and adopting weird structural strategies, rather than just getting the damned review out on paper. And then it comes back with one paragraph annotated with a note from the editor saying something like "couldn't you just write 'The dog jumped over the fence.' here?" ... Exaggeration, but you know.

Most of my most liked reviews and essays are the ones I bang out the fastest – the equivalent of a band's B-side or single recorded for commercial reasons.

Eric OTM about how quickly one can write blurbs for weeklong or daylong features.

Seriously, if you're in practice and in routine (and work for a paper where your editorial staff remind you that sticking to appraisals of the story/script/performances is best), I can't imagine how easy it would be to be a FT blurbslinger.

But also how easy it would be to burn out on it.

Just ask Dickens.

Like my man Chuck D said
What a blogger know?

I don't even try to write well until I rewrite.

Now that's where I think taking a little extra time isn't a bad thing, because I always hand in my first draft.

I've read too much Henry James to let anyone look over my shoulder.

I think I went to the dictionary at least once in the midst of Eric's last Disney DVD review.

haha!

Most of my most liked reviews and essays are the ones I bang out the fastest – the equivalent of a band's B-side or single recorded for commercial reasons.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, May 16, 2008 6:19 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ya!

i think it really helps you as a writer to have to write lots of short fast things.

Writing short is harder, for sure.

Which word, MREs?

I think the only word I ever really stumped Ed on may have been crepuscular.

Ya, writing those 225 blurbs for City Pages was always a big chore. Those I would also send in as first drafts (at $30 a pop, I was not about to waste too much time on that), and frequently what I saw in print didn't even remotely resemble what I had submitted.

The trick is to squeeze the snark-per-syllable (SPS) count betwixt the synopsis.

And as for speed, I guess I dunno. This was probably one of the quickest reviews I've turned out as of late, and I think it's also one of the laziest.

I really have come to hate being on the Disney beat.

I don't remember, it wasn't "MREs." I'm hoping to stump Ed with refs to the Don Adams sitcom in my Get Smart review.

The Disney beat? Did you lose a bet?

xp Aristocats: OK, that'll do, I had to look up croque-monsieur!

(I saw that in '70 btw)

Ed must be hoping I'll crack (or, instead, write a review as tersely bitchy as the one I wrote about Bambi).

Haha, for that reference, I can thank the Food Network.

Eric, you could so get laid with that Evil Disney Misogyny stuff... if only...

Keep that sort of talk on the gay thread, dude.

Dennis Lim's eye-popper, new content on Thursdays:

http://www.movingimagesource.us/

AV Club...which means that i'm going to see the Strangers

I'm reading Howard Hampton's book and realizing that he's probably better in small doses. This thing is mildly infuriating so far.

^^^OTM. I had the exact same experience with that book. The dude is a poor man's Greil Marcus.

So...do I give up? I paid real money for this thing, but I only have so much time and so many books to read!

I love writing short things, since most of the time I don't have that much to say about anything.

In which case, you might try publishing that post!

(!)

That probably won't happen, but I wouldn't mind getting back into writing 50-word reviews of pop singles. Not sure who'd publish that, though.

I also like the short format because it allows me to refine my prose.

So...do I give up? I paid real money for this thing, but I only have so much time and so many books to read!

Ha, I don't know. I never finished it.

I haven't read any film books recently. I thought I was just burned out, but it's been long enough that I think I may have lost my appetite entirely.

Oh, I heard that Hollis Frampton's Circles of Confusion is going to be reissued soon. I love some of his films, but most of the pieces I've read from that book have been semi-mystical garbage.

I don't know. I have a long-ish flight and I just wanted something kind of fun that isn't total garbage. Maybe I'll stick with it and give it to my friend when I arrive. He might enjoy it more than I do.

Hi Adam. How's Valencia?

Hi John! It's not bad. I'm on summer break now, so I see little of Valencia, which is a good thing. I'm a full-time Angeleno right now.

Yes, when I visited Valencia, it seemed a little ... secluded.

It is secluded, but do not underestimate how that can also be an advantage.

I have a long-ish flight and I just wanted something kind of fun that isn't total garbage

http://www.amazon.com/Films-Jacques-Tati-Picas-40/dp/155071175X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213732140&sr=8-1

Thanks! I think I've read something by Michel Chion, something on sound in Persona, maybe? It was really good. Have you read that Serge Daney anthology and if so can you recommend it?

either of Simon Callow's Welles volumes kill time...

I didn't realize the Daney thing was published. I've heard nothing but good things about him. I wasn't super impressed with the articles Steve Erickson translated, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

That Persona piece is definitely Chion, from here. I've enjoyed everything of his I've read, he's really the only film theorist I've read from the last, say, 30 years who has anything new to say. The other books are a little heavier than the Tati one, which is sort of loose and organized around general themes. It's also much better than the fucking David Bellos bio.

Adam: this is one of my favorite books o' film, and one of the smartest.

either of Simon Callow's Welles volumes kill time...

I prefer Thomson's, actually.