14th August
Last day of my holiday today. I've mostly been resting up since I got back from Edinburgh so I'm hoping I have the requisite energy levels to get me through the next week or so. But I suspect going back to a role after a fortnight's absence will serve to highlight my lack of enthusiasm for the task at hand. Perhaps the solution is simply to not go on holiday again and presumably my employers would be delighted to oblige.
I've started re-reading Mark Kermode's "Hatchet Job" in which he discusses the role of the film critic and the role of film criticism in the internet age. I always enjoy Kermode's reviews on his BBC Radio 5 show with Simon Mayo and unsurprisingly brings his enthusiasm for the medium onto the page. Although it still doesn't enlighten me on how film critics take notes at screenings. There's some entertaining stuff on directors slagging each other off and on the beliefs of film makers that whatever they do is of more merit than people writing, reviewing and analysing it*.
In a month where comedy criticism comes to the fore, it's a reminder that the work of critics is still valuable. Even if the opinion of the critical fraternity will not affect a film's fortunes at the box office, as Kermode freely admits. It has got me to thinking about my own relationship with film reviews, which has been altered slightly by my acquisition of a Cineworld Unlimited card. But in the past, I would be reluctant to see anything that The Guardian rated two stars or lower, suggesting I'm more susceptible than I thought.
*That speech from Ratatouille comes to mind here.
I've started re-reading Mark Kermode's "Hatchet Job" in which he discusses the role of the film critic and the role of film criticism in the internet age. I always enjoy Kermode's reviews on his BBC Radio 5 show with Simon Mayo and unsurprisingly brings his enthusiasm for the medium onto the page. Although it still doesn't enlighten me on how film critics take notes at screenings. There's some entertaining stuff on directors slagging each other off and on the beliefs of film makers that whatever they do is of more merit than people writing, reviewing and analysing it*.
In a month where comedy criticism comes to the fore, it's a reminder that the work of critics is still valuable. Even if the opinion of the critical fraternity will not affect a film's fortunes at the box office, as Kermode freely admits. It has got me to thinking about my own relationship with film reviews, which has been altered slightly by my acquisition of a Cineworld Unlimited card. But in the past, I would be reluctant to see anything that The Guardian rated two stars or lower, suggesting I'm more susceptible than I thought.
*That speech from Ratatouille comes to mind here.
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