Okay, here we go. This is a post that I have been planning on writing for a few months. I was just waiting for a time to be annoyed enough to write it. I have always promised that I would be positive with my blog posts, and I still hold that statement to be true. I know I said I had to be annoyed to write it, but it's something I wanted to talk about.
I am a working film critic, and I take my job seriously. My whole job as a film and media critic is to watch, read, or experience a work of art or something fun, sometimes they are both, but I do take it very seriously. Most of the time, critics in Los Angelas and New York City get to see movies earlier than us "small market cities" here in Salt Lake City, or other cities that are about the same size. I never read reviews before I actually watch, read, or experience them for myself. I don't want to have a tainted experience because of someone else's opinion. It's not me being conceited or that I think my opinion is more valid than someone else's, and you know what? It's not.
I also tend to be a little less harsh than other critics who think it's their job to be as negative as they possibly can, and some do. I go to screenings with people who think their opinions are so important while others aren't, and I think that's a crappy attitude to have. I like to go into something without expectations as I possibly can, and I form my opinions after I have experienced something, and then I write my opinions, post them, or publish them, and then sometimes I will go onto Rotten Tomatoes and see what other critics thought, but to go into something after reading someone's opinion can alter an opinion, and I try to avoid that as much as possible.
What annoyed me earlier enough for me to write this post is whenever I get online and open up my browser, there are "News Stories", I say that in quotes because I actually think they are click bait, (If you don't know what click bait is, it's where someone posts something with a title that sounds like something you would really want to read or watch, and then it ends up being something completely different, or an advertisement, most of the time, it's the same thing.) Anyway, I will click on one every once in a while, and the person who wrote the article sounds like an idiot who can't spell, and they treat these articles like their opinions are facts and assume everyone thinks the same way they do, and if not, they think the people who don't are dumb and don't know what they are talking about.
For example, We are about seven months away from Indiana Jones 5, we still don't know the full title at the time of this writing (November 27th, 2022), and the person only heard a fact or two about the new film, but they kept complaining about Indiana Jones: and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, like, half of the article was this person complaining about it, and I get it, I know not everyone is a big fan of that one, I actually like it more than "Temple of Doom". I even recorded a twenty minute long video on YouTube with my friends when we were doing our "Reviews vs. the World" podcasts, and every once in a while we made a video for YouTube, and I have one defending that movie. I will post it below...
(I hate that still picture for the video, lol) In the video, I explain the elements that make it a good Indy story, but I don't just love on it. I explain the idea behind the films and that all of the same elements in the plots that all of the films share. I say there are things that I really liked and things I didn't. I posted my opinion, and it's just my thoughts on it. I don't try to say that other people who don't like it are dumb, I just give my honest opinion and back it up with my experience with the film. I don't try to undermine anyone. I asked a friend of mine what she thought about the movie after she watched my video, and she said that she hated it less, lol, and I felt that was a fair answer. One of my favorite Punk Rock bands, The Mr. T Experience, has an album titled "Everyone's Entitled To Their Own Opinion", and it's true.
I also want to take this time to say something. I hate the term "Fan Boys, or Fan Girls, or Fan Whatever you identify yourself as" As far as I'm concerned, it's this group of people who tend to think their opinions are fact, and if you don't think the same way, then you are an idiot, which I talked about earlier. However, this is what I have to say. If you dislike something, you don't have to watch, read, or experience those things. If you wait to read what other people think and their opinions, then go see something, you will only see the negative, and won't enjoy it because you read something that you think does the thinking for you. If you are a Star Wars fan, and you hate the prequels, guess what? You probably aren't a true Star Wars fan, and you can watch and rewatch the things about it you like, and not watch or experience the things you don't. Nobody is forcing you to watch or experience something that you don't like, but don't ruin things for the people that do enjoy all of it.
I had a critic that I used to work with who started writing reviews without even seeing the movies. They just read other reviews after they were posted, and then not so creatively copied almost verbatim what other critics wrote, and they got fired, which is fair. If you have an opinion that you share that was thoughtful about your experience with something, then it's fair to have your own opinions, and that's great, but I can't stand when people write things as if their opinion is fact. Just because so and so hated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull doesn't mean that everyone did. Not everyone is going to like everything you like, and vice versa. We are creatures who are able to have complex thoughts on art or entertainment, or whatever, and I hate when people write an opinion as if it's fact, and that it's the only school of thought on the subject.
I don't what Indiana Jones 5 is going to offer us, and this post isn't about Indiana Jones, but I can tell you this, not everybody thinks and feels the same way about everything that you do. That's what makes people unique. We have good and bad experiences in this life, and what might be great for one person isn't for someone else. That's perfectly fine. There have been a few movies this year that I enjoyed quite a bit that others didn't care for, and that's fine. I know that opinions can be great to share with people, but it doesn't mean it's fact. Even my comments here are my personal thoughts and opinions on this particular subject. I appreciate those who like my stuff, and the way I see things, but I don't want people to just take my word for it. (I have to mention Reading Rainbow after saying "Don't just take my word for it!) There was a film that came out early in this year that I hated so much, and another one in the summer that I hated so much that have amazing reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (Which also shouldn't be your only source of film critic opinions). There was a movie I wish I could rub out of my brain with steel wool, that has a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. That's huge, but again, it's okay for me to have my personal opinion, and no matter how many good reviews and opinions I read after my thoughts are shared, doesn't mean that I am right or wrong, it's just my opinion, and that's fine. If people liked those films, that's great. I never have to watch it again, so I'll just shut up, lol.
Anyway, that's all I have to say about that. I am so thankful for all of you, and I appreciate you liking what I have to share. It means a lot to me for you to keep coming back and read what I think and share, and I hope you take away positive thoughts from my stuff. I hope you are all well and safe. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I didn't, but here's why. I had an insomnia set where I only slept about three hours in a 48 hour period, and I was like, I can take some strong sleeping medication I use for these really bad insomnia symptoms and feel better, or go to my sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and feel sick and miserable the whole time, and I chose to take the sleeping pills. I feel awful for not going, but I would have felt sick and awful had I gone, so it ended up sucking either way. I wish I would have gone, and probably would have if I had the opportunity to make the choice again, I would probably have gone instead. I love my family. I did take my nephew to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert on Tuesday afternoon, though. (Since I said Tuesday Afternoon, I have to mention that I love The Moody Blues, and their album Days of Future Past, that has their song Tuesday Afternoon on it). The concert was amazing. I try to go every year. I want to start a tradition where I take Elliot or one of my nieces or nephew to the concert every year.
Anyway, I am out of things to write, and so I will end this post now, but I might save it as a draft and publish it later because I just posted my podcast episodes on Facebook, and I don't want to annoy everyone with my posts in one day. I'll just annoy you all on different days, (Wink). Take Care!
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