US film critic Roger Ebert talks about how he arrives at a particular rating, that is X number of stars out of five, for the movies he reviews. This paragraph in particular stands out for me:

I like movies too much. I walk into the theater not in an adversarial attitude, but with hope and optimism (except for some movies, of course). I know that to get a movie made is a small miracle, that the reputations, careers and finances of the participants are on the line, and that hardly anybody sets out to make a bad movie. I do not feel comfortable posing as impossible to please. Film lovers attend different movies for different reasons, all of them valid; did I enjoy “Joe vs. the Volcano” more than some Oscar winners? Certainly.

I’m into being generally favourable when I write about the films I see as well. This possibly works against me though. I was asked several months ago if I would like to write reviews for an entertainment site, but I knocked the offer back as I felt I couldn’t be critical (read: nasty) enough.

Like Ebert, I want to try and see the good side of any movie I watch, and write about it accordingly. I studied film production one summer so have a small understanding of the difficulty in making a movie. Trust me, there’s more to it that than pointing a camera somewhere and shouting “action”.

Ask anyone who has made a Tropfest movie, for instance, which are only seven minutes in length, if you want an appreciation of what is involved, and then see if you keep up the pace for 120 (give or take) minutes.