That line that KILLS any review...

[The Heart Collector]

I swear, there's one line that just absolutely destroys any credibility I had upon a review:

"it's not the masterpiece / brilliant work that everyone is claiming it is".


Oh Come on, buddies. Come on. There's like... err.. many critics in the world. What inclines some critics to just think "hmm... they're ALL wrong, even though art is subjective.... mhahhahahahaha i'll show them".


ARRGGGGGGH. If I read that line again I will fucking SPAZ.

[BubbaStrangelove]

LMAO!



Roeper - This movie is brilliant! An Instant Masterpiece!

Ebert - I have to disagree. I, for one, have to say that this movie isn't as great as people are making it out to be.


Roeper - Really?


Ebert - Yeah.


Roeper - No shit?


Ebert - No shit.


Roeper - Ah man. Guess I'll have to change my opinion.


Ebert - Yes, you should do that. It would be wise.

[BakeTheMooCow]

Heh, I'm guilty of using that line myself.. when I was talking about Citizen Kane.

[Irene Manor]

Usually when critics use such lines, I read it as, "That movie isn't as good as I expected it to be based on audience response."

It doesn't bother me too much.

I have a friend who "whigs" out about me saying, "Oh, that's the best movie!"

He quips, "If that's the best, what about this other movie you said is the best?"

It gets ridiculous. I usually say, "Oh. Haha! How clever of you. That was a +5 remark! I guess now I cannot roll my 10-sided die!"

Anyway, it's all semantics. It can go too far, sort of like with a color blind person who could argue forever about the sky not being blue, but actually more like a lighter grey. We always say things that we don't really mean. I look at everything in context. Maybe someone telling me that a movie is "the best" really doesn't concern me, if I know they aren't meaning it's "the best".

On the other hand, if a doctor told me that my wife was dying of AIDS, he better damn well mean that she is dying of AIDS, and not just saying that to make a point.

People often make definitive statements about nonfactual events. It's a dialect, I guess. Another way to make a point. Perhaps it's the dialect of a culture too lazy to actually make a point.

[Buck Turgidson]

Beloved of TV promotional ads for the movie: "It's like Mary Poppins meets Rashoman!"

This kind of explaination by reference to another film really bugs the piss out of me.

Just thought I'd share...

[Toby]

Originally posted by Buck Turgidson
"It's like Mary Poppins meets Rashoman!"

Is that the tag line for Tarantino's "Kill Bill"? :D

[free]

Originally posted by The Heart Collector
"it's not the masterpiece / brilliant work that everyone is claiming it is".



I agree, it should be written "though many people consider this film a masterpiece, it just didnt float my boat." or something like that. Acknowledge that it IS a well liked film in a constructive manner.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by Toby
Is that the tag line for Tarantino's "Kill Bill"? :D

I wouldn't put it past him to pull that off.

[Adam J. Hakari]

I confess to using this line once in a while in my reviews, although I take in mind the collective praise the film has received instead of just saying stupid like, "You know, 2002's THE TIME MACHINE isn't the masterpiece you may have heard." Plus, I rarely use it, so when I do, it's for a film I seriously mean it for. Besides, I use a variation of it more, when I say that a flick most have given too much crap to isn't that bad at all.

[Razorblade Smile]

The bit that always kills me is the tagline,


"From the producers of Forrest Gump (Or any other applicable movie title)"

That says to me that the makers of the film don't feel that their flick can stand alone based on its own merits, so they have to whore off their past achievements. I've put several rentals back on the shelf after seeing that little preamble.

[NotKeyserSoze]

i'll admit, i use it sometimes - but only with really, REALLY shit movies, ones with "this isn't good, please throw it to a nearby pack of ravenous wolves, who will likely hate it so much they won't eat it, rather give it to the deaf, dumb and blind maggots down the drain" written all over it... like the Fast and the Furious. I mean movies that have huge popularity, but are so obviously thick-skinned eye-candy lightly written idiot fodder garbage that are only popular because the people watching are likely drunk, or their friends say it's good so they do too. *rocks* I think I have a complex coming on because of that movie... Vin sucks... Vin sucks...

[electriclite]

Originally posted by Razorblade Smile
The bit that always kills me is the tagline,


"From the producers of Forrest Gump (Or any other applicable movie title)"

That says to me that the makers of the film don't feel that their flick can stand alone based on its own merits, so they have to whore off their past achievements. I've put several rentals back on the shelf after seeing that little preamble.


Or what about it's close cousin "Academy Award Winner (Insert Name here).

I had made it a point to stay away from Insomnia because of the triple threat usage of that advertisement, but then a friend dragged me to see it.

[Buck Turgidson]

Originally posted by Buck Turgidson
Beloved of TV promotional ads for the movie: "It's like Mary Poppins meets Rashoman!"

This kind of explaination by reference to another film really bugs the piss out of me.



This has reared it's ugly head again in the TV ads for Dark Blue. Trumpeting it's status as a mishmash of L.A. Confidential and (I believe) Training Day.

Moronic.

[Razorblade Smile]

I also love how every new Sci-Fi movie is referred to as the NEW Star Wars. I think this started with Stargate.

Stargate
Lost in Space
Starship Troopers
Independence Day
Lord of the Rings

All of these at one point or another has been referred to as the NEW Star Wars