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Entry tags:
Naming, film review meta, boobs, Holmes slash, and photo memes!
*Last night, Mr. Daroga accidentally called Mr. Darcy "Orson." No, I have no idea, either. But it reminded us how unlikely it is that we will ever have a pet worthy of the name. It seems to me that the creature would have to have a certain quality to earn it--if not a certain bulk, which given our stern feeding/exercise regimen seems unlikely.
*Those of you who read my movie reviews: I've been perusing some other movie blogs, which seem much better put together and well-researched and well-read than mine. (I don't refer specifically to this LJ, which is a messy catch-all I'm currently feeling some angst about, but also to the film-only blog I copy all the reviews to.) This is largely due to laziness on my part, and a lack of sense of direction for it. I suppose I'd like to take this to another level, if possible, and this is where you can help:
Aside from writing more reviews, which I am aware I need to do, how can I improve my film writing? My reviews are usually concise, usually not very in-depth, and try to avoid spoilers. Other reviews talk more, or get more analytical, or seem punchier and more in-your-face in their opinions. What do you like in a film review? What do you get from mine? What would you like to see, or see more of? Is there some sign of perosnality behind them, or do I need to inject more? I'd love some honest feedback. If you don't have anything to say off the top of your head, consider this an invitation to comment on the reviews themselves next time you have a thought. I would love to discuss these films, or my writing about them, in greater depth. And I'd love to improve my writing. What am I missing? Or do I need to sprinkle my review posts with more in-depth, analytical or thematic posts on filmmaking or films?
*On another note entirely, an amusing tutorial for cartoonists (and others) about drawing natural-looking boobs. Mr. Daroga found this when... oh, never mind. It's from 2007, and has some spelling errors, but I thought it was funny. And it reminded me that despite the fact Bruce Timm's women are all as unnaturally tiny as his men are built like refrigerators, at least the girls aren't all built like porn stars on steroids, and some of them are built like me.
Oh yeah. Warning: boobs.
*This is old too, but if you haven't seen it Dr. Watson's Inner Monologue is a really stylish (and shippy) comic I was only recently introduced to. I love the muted colors and the weird stiltedness of it, and I think it's pretty. Watson's expressions are priceless.
*And a meme:
Ask me to take a picture of any aspect of my life that you're interested in/curious about - it can be anything from my DVD collection to my favorite pair of shoes. Leave your choice(s) here as a comment, and I will reciprocate by taking the pictures and posting them as an entry. That way you get to know a little bit about my life.
I take lots of photos, but there may be something I've mentioned you want to see more of--but keep it clean, kids.
*Those of you who read my movie reviews: I've been perusing some other movie blogs, which seem much better put together and well-researched and well-read than mine. (I don't refer specifically to this LJ, which is a messy catch-all I'm currently feeling some angst about, but also to the film-only blog I copy all the reviews to.) This is largely due to laziness on my part, and a lack of sense of direction for it. I suppose I'd like to take this to another level, if possible, and this is where you can help:
Aside from writing more reviews, which I am aware I need to do, how can I improve my film writing? My reviews are usually concise, usually not very in-depth, and try to avoid spoilers. Other reviews talk more, or get more analytical, or seem punchier and more in-your-face in their opinions. What do you like in a film review? What do you get from mine? What would you like to see, or see more of? Is there some sign of perosnality behind them, or do I need to inject more? I'd love some honest feedback. If you don't have anything to say off the top of your head, consider this an invitation to comment on the reviews themselves next time you have a thought. I would love to discuss these films, or my writing about them, in greater depth. And I'd love to improve my writing. What am I missing? Or do I need to sprinkle my review posts with more in-depth, analytical or thematic posts on filmmaking or films?
*On another note entirely, an amusing tutorial for cartoonists (and others) about drawing natural-looking boobs. Mr. Daroga found this when... oh, never mind. It's from 2007, and has some spelling errors, but I thought it was funny. And it reminded me that despite the fact Bruce Timm's women are all as unnaturally tiny as his men are built like refrigerators, at least the girls aren't all built like porn stars on steroids, and some of them are built like me.
Oh yeah. Warning: boobs.
*This is old too, but if you haven't seen it Dr. Watson's Inner Monologue is a really stylish (and shippy) comic I was only recently introduced to. I love the muted colors and the weird stiltedness of it, and I think it's pretty. Watson's expressions are priceless.
*And a meme:
Ask me to take a picture of any aspect of my life that you're interested in/curious about - it can be anything from my DVD collection to my favorite pair of shoes. Leave your choice(s) here as a comment, and I will reciprocate by taking the pictures and posting them as an entry. That way you get to know a little bit about my life.
I take lots of photos, but there may be something I've mentioned you want to see more of--but keep it clean, kids.
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DWIM! I love that little comic so much!
And um. Oh, take a picture of your workstation, at work, which I never have seen.
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And that's a good idea! I will.
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I was glad to see that the actress who played in the Resident Evil movies (Milla Jovovich) has resisted so far the Hollywood tendency to get implants. He small, flat breasts go quite well with the rest of her body and how she moves. Big fake breasts would just weigh her down, and be disproportionate to the rest of her body.
Personally, I would rather read movie *analysis* than movie reviews. I don't mind "spoilers" if it's an older movie (i.e. over a year.) What some consider 'spoilers,' I consider incentives to watch it. (For instance, someone recommended I watch Paprika, and offered a critical piece of info about the ending of the film, at the same time apologizing for possibly "spoiling." But to me, it wasn't spoiling - I am not an anime watcher, normally, and without learning a few critical things about the film, I wouldn't have wanted to watch it at all.
Obviously there are some films where any kind of "reveal" really spoils the effect the filmmaker is after. But as long as there are spoiler warnings (so I can make my mind up as to whether or not to risk losing that effect), in general it's better for me to hear interesting ideas illustrated with specific examples drawn from the film (and screenshots are an added bonus.) That gives me more of a sense of being able to 'talk about the movie' with someone who has already seen it. A review, OTOH, is meant to express one's opinion while being deliberately vague.
It's like, if I pick up a book on film noir, or '80s fantasy, or whatever, I am going to read essays/opinion pieces where details of the films are discussed. I like details and high-colonic discussions, personally. Not that you have to write that way - just telling you what floats my boat ... :D
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Thank you for your feedback. I actually don't like movie reviews much, but there are a few reasons I write them: 1) I like writing about film, and reviews are what newspapers pay for--not that anyone's paying me and 2) I like writing about film, and reviews take very little work from me.
Which is not a good reason, of course, and indicates I need to get more into the heavy lifting of the kind of thing I actually prefer to read.
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Thanks for pointing at the breasts tutorial. Hee.
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As it regards your movie reviews. I like them. I'll have to go back and read some of them more closely to give any real feedback, but I do know that I like the way that you contextualize the films. Placing them within some frame of reference whether it's the source material, an era of film, a historical period or a particular actor's career, provides a certain depth that allows us to focus our understanding of the film. That said, sometimes its a little dry and I think that tends to happen with movies that you aren't especially interested in or inspired by. Sometimes it's a very technical review and I don't get a feeling for whether you liked the film or not or if you're just commenting on the actual filmmaking (see Great Expectations).
Some of my favorite reveiws were Dog Day Afternoon, All About Eve and The Dark Knight. The opposite to those reviews that are dry and the ones like these and like Juno where you write with an enthusiasm that makes it very personal. I really like them.
Overall though, I say keep doing what you're doing. I love reading your reviews. They're always thoughtful and enlightening.
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But unlike Stephanie Bean, I don't mind spoilers. If I don't want to be spoiled than I don't read reviews period until after I've seen the film. I think because of the analysis preference and I just assume that what I'm going to read will hopefully go into some kind of depth about the film.
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As I told Stef above, it's partially a matter of reviews being what people sell to newspapers (though no one's buying mine) and analysis taking more time. I can whip out a review in 45 minutes. But laziness is not a reason not to change! And maybe that means keeping up with the reviews, if people are reading them, but taking some time to do some longer-form essays on the more nitty-gritty things I see.
Your comments and examples are very useful. It's funny you say that about Great Expectations, because I loved it and spent the next several days thinking of nothing else, and reading the review now I feel like that's in there at least in my statement of fact. But it didn't come through, which is interesting and instructive.
You are going to LOL at my favorite shoes, by the way.
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