“If you think I’ve overstepped my bounds on expressing my frustration here….”

I actually think you didn’t go far enough!

As much as I love movies, I have a deep dislike for film critics and the general film community. It seems that everyone is trying to justify their opinions as fact to the point of absurdity. Ive actually tried to disconnect myself from the film community as much as possible over the past while, even to the point where I avoid trailers for new movies.

On the other hand though, if I completely avoided the film community then I wouldn’t understand the jokes in your reviews. And your reviews are funny as hell, so…

@’NuffSaid! Nathan gatten
Like I said, you ain’t seen nothing yet. In a month or two, unless something drastic happens (like getting a full-time job that I can actually enjoy and stick with that has decent pay; or just getting killed either by myself because I did something stupid or I just couldn’t take it anymore, or by some asshole I pissed off; or get in an accident and get put into a coma; or get locked in jail for whatever reason, as if a good reason was needed; I can’t help but think of the possibilities), I intend to revisit a film and make a massive raving review that will be so offensive, so blunt, so toxic, so salty, people will want to start drinking cheap soda and eat salted donuts and act like one of those fatass fucktards everyone says we should respect because they’re overweight and nothings wrong with that until they accidentally suffocate their lover or child (assuming they’re even capable of having one, assuming they’re capable of achieving penetration) who will wish for my death and destruction in all of the above ways plus more. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it. Until then, I’m taking steps to ensure that, should my account get deleted over it, the reviews I made I consider significant enough (which probably only amounts to 10% of it at best) will be preserved on my blog site. Yeah, that’s how extreme it’s likely going to be. Already lost some people I considered friends on this site over less; but then again, I’ve made friends who can appreciate me just being me, and for being honest, and for being logical and sensible (in spite of my offensive nature). And I’d rather be friends with tough-skinned mo-foes (who hopefully aren’t neo-nazis or some extremist group; I’m not interested in any fringe group that extreme, and I fucking hate them for causing some dumbfucks to think I would be associated with them, nevermind the harm they cause to others!) who can also encourage me to take the verbal beatings like a man and move on with things rather than spend weeks fuming about some sentence some other individual said that’s just a wee bit insulting (let alone spending an entire life dedicated to bitching about it).

So as you can see, the past couple years have finally gotten to me.

But anyway, I can’t bring myself to fully disconnect from the community. They’ve done a lot of good for me in the past to entirely give up on them yet (besides, if I give up, that’s one less person around giving an alternative opinion that matters). They’ve given me plenty of movie recommendations that I’ve enjoyed, plenty of good memories, and have improved my being of a cinema aficionado. The only thing I’ve learned is that there are now too many who’s opinions strive to do the opposite, and I’m learning not to take them at their once-trusted word. I can adapt. I’m hoping others do to.

@Ryan Spaghettio
Now that I’m no longer tired and had time to collect my thoughts, let me leave you with some ponderous words. You’re right that this is just a little website for movies. You’re wrong to think that something said on it won’t amount to anything more than an opinion. Because opinions sway people to do one thing or another (that’s why opinionated news outlets can be dangerous, as we’ve seen in just the last 3 years alone, nevermind the years previous). Did Siskel & Ebert’s amount to nothing? Do reviews of others you read amount to nothing? Do the opinions of others not influence which films to watch or skip out on? Do the movie trailers?

Even if those opinions don’t influence you in any way shape or form, that’s hardly the case for everyone else. Many don’t just take a stab at the dark and walk into a film knowing nothing about it (not even the general view of it being good or bad). Many watch a film because they’ve been told to, or convinced to by someone else’s opinion. And if those opinions cause one to miss out on a film that they would’ve found very entertaining, then I consider that a tragedy. Because entertainment, despite what some may say, is one of the most important things in life. Hell, I’d say it’s 1 out of 3 of the most important things in life, the other two being knowledge and wisdom (they’re not the same, despite what some may think). And when movies can provide all of the above (entertainment, wisdom, knowledge), then it must be admitted that film is more than just an art form. It is something that isn’t and shouldn’t be considered petty. Just because there are some petty films and petty opinions on films doesn’t mean that all films and reviews are petty and insignificant. Especially when films can inspire the creation of rabid fan-bases (ex: Star Wars and Star Trek).

It isn’t petty if it can influence your life. And everyone considers their own life important and significant. And if films are a large part of that life, then they are significant.

I have an issue with the use of the term “film community”. Do you mean the Letterboxd community? Again, Letterboxd is just a small subset of people who love film, and unfortunately it has a very young user base that tends to love toxicity.

In regards to Siskel and Ebert: they were not political, and they were highly regarded film critics of major news publications. And yes, I find myself disagreeing with them a lot on occasion. That doesn’t mean they’re terrible, but I don’t take their word as gospel. No one should, and I don’t think anyone does.

I tend to read reviews of films I’ve never even heard of before, and if I take a look and enough of the people I follow say enough good things about it, yeah, it’ll be at a higher priority to watch. But that doesn’t mean *I’ll* like it.

I don’t mean to say movies are petty, quite the opposite, but a lot of the things I see on this site are. I find I’m much more at ease when I don’t think about everybody else. It’s everybody else who’s responsible for five (?) Transformers movies. But I don’t have to watch those.

The sad fact of reality is, there is just too much entertainment to shift through these days. We have over a century worth of film, and a little over half a century of television, and a lot of it is great! I would love to be able to watch everything, but I just don’t have that kind of time. No one does. That’s the whole point of reviews. I don’t want my time wasted.

Now, there are enough examples where the critical reaction didn’t stop anyone from enjoying a film. These are the cult hits we hear a lot about. I figure, if the film hasn’t even managed to get one person to say anything good about it, I’ll pass. But, if someone out there explains how much they love a piece of shit movie, first I’ll check if they like the same things I do. I mean, if they don’t like anything I like, why would that be any different? And if we do, then it goes on my watchlist. But it doesn’t mean I’ll like it.

Do you mean the Letterboxd community? Again, Letterboxd is just a small subset of people who love film, and unfortunately it has a very young user base that tends to love toxicity.

Heheh, you may think that, but I tend to see the general opinions of this “we love this toxicity but hate that toxicity” community reflected outside this community. Pretty easy to see too, just look at the general reviews for The Last Jedi on other websites. See how they praise the film, and see how others on this site praise the film. So at first I also used to think it was just letterboxd, but it isn’t. It may have the most concentrated amount of toxicity (however one defines that) compared to other movie review sites, but it’s far from being the only site that expresses this.
In regards to Siskel and Ebert: they were not political, and they were highly regarded film critics of major news publications. And yes, I find myself disagreeing with them a lot on occasion. That doesn’t mean they’re terrible, but I don’t take their word as gospel. No one should, and I don’t think anyone does.

They hated on the film Aliens, one of my favorite movies of all time. That, and the reasons they gave for hating on it (“It was too dark,” and they actually say that with the utmost sincerity, and not referring to the lighting in the scenery), certainly made me think they were terrible. That being said, I bring them up because they made reviewing films a popular pastime, proving that many have a taste for opinions on a film, even if they end up disagreeing with the opinion. Plus they also went beyond just normal films and at times commented on how films are displayed, talking about VHS, letterbox technology, the pros and cons, among other thing. I respect what they did for the art of film criticism more than I enjoy their actual critiques.
The sad fact of reality is, there is just too much entertainment to shift through these days. We have over a century worth of film, and a little over half a century of television, and a lot of it is great! I would love to be able to watch everything, but I just don’t have that kind of time. No one does. That’s the whole point of reviews. I don’t want my time wasted.

That’s kind of why I’m a bit pissed off. I see so many praising films (in unison, by majority) that absolutely suck. It’s not just that they enjoyed the movie, it’s that they enjoyed it and think that’s reason enough to state it’s a good film that everyone should watch. They ignore anything and everything that is wrong with it, act like flaws don’t exist, and openly and ignorantly embrace the whole thing. Then again, maybe they are aware, but don’t mind, because they know it supports their views and politics. Either way, their reviews/opinions come off as blind praise at best, deceptive at worst. And I expected better, considering how intelligent many of them all seemed in the past, at least prior to 2016.

As for so much entertainment to sift through nowadays, that is a con in the sense that there’s too much to track, let alone watch. It’s also a con because, and this could be because I’m a picky person (I don’t even have 10 movies with a 5 star rating, compared to, well, everyone else who gives such ratings out too frequently IMO) and see the faults in films/shows quite easily. Faults that may seem insignificant to others, but why settle for less when there are others in the past that don’t have these faults? Why be so accepting of them when that encourages future films/shows to be just as lazy (let alone politically biased)? Why be accepting when a portion of the film community and an even larger portion of the film-making community only wants stuff released that is politically biased in one way but not the other, thus leaving things unbalanced and without the other political side to have stuff to enjoy? I put up with it for far too long. If that means I have to stop watching the shit released today so that I can focused on the shit released in the past, then so be it. If enough people decide to do the same, the entertainment industry will begin to starve until they wise-up and start accepting the alternatives to be welcomed into what is upcoming.

So yeah, I see much of what is released today as stuff that’s not only just a big waste of time, but also as disrespecting the past undeservedly, and those who cherish the past and have good taste. And they openly admit to doing the latter, sometimes even the pre-latter. Makes me more than happy to cut them off, no longer wasting my time and money at a movie theater, not even bother wasting my time pirating them (not that I even do that), and not even bother paying a fee for services like Netflix and Hulu (there’s Tubi and Vudu anyway).

The worst part though is that they call anyone who has legitimate beefs with the product as, well, take your pick: racist/sexist/white/white-supremacist/pedophile/neo-nazi/right-wing/homophobe/anything falling under SJB’s CW [Content Warning] list. And let’s just assume for a moment that this description is accurate, that people like me fall under all those categories. That doesn’t exactly discredit the critique/argument. Hell, that might just wind up convincing some people of thinking, “Hey, maybe I should be with the smart racists/sexists/whites/white-supremacists/pedophiles/neo-nazis/right-wingers/homophobes/capitalists/hentai-lovers who are out there, because they seem smarter than those pretending to have the moral high ground!” It’s more efficient to try and destroy the argument/idea than it is to destroy the individual, otherwise you start to create martyrs, and only re-inforce their arguments/ideas. It’s just not the wise thing to do.

While anyone can be a film critic, it takes a decent amount of intelligence to be a good film critic, just like it takes a decent amount of knowledge and skill to be a good film-maker. And film reviews can be entertaining in their own way, like film. If they aren’t entertaining/informative, then both are a waste of time.

But anyway, I prefer constructive criticism. I believe that is something that should be applied to films just as much as it should to the reviews. It’s intended to encourage the creator to do better. When constructive criticism is criticized just for its existence (ignoring the reason), we have a problem. That’s indication that people don’t want better, and may be under the delusion that perfection has already been reached; not realizing that perfection is something to strive for because achieving it is impossible.

If there’s one thing I don’t tolerate, it’s intolerance. If they won’t respect my opinion, my beefs, my critiques, then I won’t respect theirs. I did have a list of people who blocked me to prove my point, but that got deleted (without warning).

I don’t think what you’re seeing is the prevailing mindset, and that’s a trap a lot of people fall under. Trump was supposed to be a joke, but he went and won the presidency (you just ask him). Everyone was dumbstruck. That is, anyone who did what you describe, and only listen to the loudest voice.

I see the same thing in regards to The Last Jedi, for some reason. I’m not sure why this film is as divisive as it is, certainly more than you say it is, and I’m not sure why its critics are treated the way they are, but I see them everywhere. But shutting out the opposition doesn’t do anyone any favors, and they’re going to be surprised when they find out that doesn’t work. And it demonstrably has not worked in the past. Remember when the Ghostbusters reboot was supposed to have its own cinematic universe?

In regards to Hollywood, and big media in general, people vote with their wallets, and I think we saw some of that with Solo bombing at the box office. Had The Last Jedi not been as divisive, among a myriad of other factors, I don’t think we would have seen it perform so poorly.

I’m optimistic that this divisiveness we’re seeing everywhere is going to get better. But it’ll only get better when people are sick of what they’re being handed. If that means a lot of box office bombs, a political upset, what have you, it’ll happen sometime.

I see the same thing in regards to The Last Jedi, for some reason. I’m not sure why this film is as divisive as it is, certainly more than you say it is, and I’m not sure why its critics are treated the way they are, but I see them everywhere. But shutting out the opposition doesn’t do anyone any favors, and they’re going to be surprised when they find out that doesn’t work. And it demonstrably has not worked in the past.

Hmph, well damnit, now you’re going to make me ruin the surprise. That’s the film I intend to revisit in a month or so. And I intend to show why the film is so divisive, and why the film is such a pile of shit. In regards to critics being treated the way they are, have you seen how the critics treat viewers who are critical of the film? If you haven’t, here’s your chance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgyUZmv0DFU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhOKcDfYraI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iUaYQiSRbg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rQCmOFOiHE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQGG4DHscdg
I’m optimistic that this divisiveness we’re seeing everywhere is going to get better. But it’ll only get better when people are sick of what they’re being handed. If that means a lot of box office bombs, a political upset, what have you, it’ll happen sometime.

I’m more hopeful than optimistic. We’ve already had a political upset, and look at what that’s done. It shocked many, then pissed off more, mainly because the “system” doesn’t like anomalies, so they do everything in their power to make everyone hate what’s different. That’s why so many media outlets preach anti-Trump rhetoric, even if they have to lie to do it. He and his message go against the message Hollywood has been building ever so slowly since 2006, accelerated in 2012, then began to reach maximum peak in 2015 and onward. The building of (forced) diversity, of (radical) feminism (this isn’t a healthy feminism, as the documentary The Red Pill has shown), and (misguided) black power. This is a propaganda machine that has been built well enough to successfully brainwash a lot of people to the point where they’re convinced it’s the only right way, that it shouldn’t be debated or discussed, and it has infected news outlets, late night talk shows, sports channels, online blogs and social media websites, and films and shows (because Hollywood is in on it too, obviously). And even assuming this stuff was on the moral right (which it isn’t), since when the fuck did anyone ever enjoy movies because they promoted politics? When did that become a thing? When did it become taboo to discuss the plot holes and logical fallacies?

The point here is that I believe people have been brainwashed to the point where they won’t stop going to the box office, they will continue to shell out money, not just for the sake of entertainment, but because it’s necessary for some sense of empowerment and for the greater good. As the videos linked above should show, that’s definitely what the shills and the Hollywood elites are promoting. And from what I’ve seen with reviews both in and outside of letterboxd, it’s working. I mean, Christ, some of the conversations I’ve gotten involved in, and how some real-life events derailed conversations about movies I’ve been trying to have, forcing me to mix real-life events and politics in with my discussions. Because at this point, they’ve made it a necessary thing to do for the sake of injecting some common sense into this madness.

Deny it all you want, the facts speak for themselves. Though believe me, I hope I’m wrong, I hope I’m just being an overly paranoid person who has been getting my information from other overly paranoid individuals. But even as I typed that last sentence, the irony doesn’t escape me, since that also seems to apply to the opposition who don’t appear as self-aware. Either way, I’m open to discussions that aim to dissuade me from this view. That’s more than I can say for those other ignorant thin-skinned fools who have blocked me.

“I seem to be far outnumbered in this view.”

I know what that’s like. Remember that conversation we had a long while back before my account got deleted recently?
theanomaloushost.org/2019/11/10/a-conversation-about-how-far-gone-social-media-and-films-are/

Sweet sweet irony. Deleting my account for fear of the influence a review of mine would have.

Gex, I used to think you had great insight, but it appears you’ve changed in the years since I first began reading your reviews, or I didn’t really know you to begin with.

I read this comment you left on your website:
“thanks for making the point that racism as good ack-shully by implying it’s ok to hate nazis. Just as nazis thought it was ok to hate jews. It goes both ways.”

Are you really defending literal Nazis and comparing hating Nazis to hating Jews?? If that is the case, I don’t want you leaving comments here anymore.

Fair enough. This will be my last comment, then you won’t hear from me again (I would have to hear from you if I’m to interact again).

Thought you would see the logic in my reasoning, considering you have a Spock image. The logic relating to the lines, “If you stare into the Abyss, the Abyss stares into you,” or, “Lest ye become a monster,” form of logic. Meaning that how good or bad Nazis and Jews are in this context is irrelevant. The poster stated that racism is bad, yet contradicts himself when he states that racism again a particular group (regardless of what they stand for, regardless of how the individuals within the group closely or loosely adhere to what the group stands for, and not knowing any better about their history) is justified. You can’t have it both ways. Either racism is acceptable under certain circumstances; or it isn’t, under any circumstance.

If he was to admit this contradiction and fall upon the former point, I’ve come upon a respectable amount of research to argue that point. Part of that research came from a documentary I reviewed on this site. The same review that eventually cost me my account. I invite arguments against my points, sometimes hoping I’ll be proven in the wrong. But no one on here seems capable of doing that without resorting to ad hocs and outrage triggers. Emotion rules over logic (like in the J.J. Abrahms Star Trek).

If that’s to be the case with you as well (not that I expected much), all the more reason to burn that bridge. The insight isn’t gone, it’s just become too bright for some.