| legeros.com > Movie Hell > Comments |
Mike Legeros, Internet movie reviewer extraordinaire or so he would like to think, was interviewed recently by a local newspaper writer, for a feature story on "online critics"-- film fans with a Web site, an opinion, and, often, little else. In the following (embellished) transcript, Mr. Legeros, who operates the non-commercial Web site www.moviehell.com, expounds upon himself, his reviewing, and the na- ture of criticism itself. And since everything below is from mem- ory, any quotes that are actually *used* probably won't look a thing like these... -- Q: How long have you been writing reviews online? A: Since 1993. -- Q: Why did you start writing reviews online? A: I was writing for the North Carolina State University "Tech- nician" at the time and started posting the reviews to news- groups. Later, maybe two or three years after, I created the Web site. Even later than that, I registered the domain name. -- Q: Is there anything different about reviewing online versus in print? A: Reader response is greater, 'cause of e-mail. And revising previously published content is pretty darn easy, too. If, say, I discover a factual error or experience a slight shift of opinion, I can re-post the review. -- Q: How much mail do you get? And about what?? A: Maybe one or two letters a week. Flames and praise, mostly. Plus information requests, asking where they can find this or who starred in that. And, ahem, corrections. I sorta shamelessly rely on readers to catch mistakes and copy-edit errors. -- Q: Do you answer reader questions? A: Yes, though usually only pointing them to some other, better Web site. Like the Internet Movie Database. -- Q: How much mail is hate mail? A: Maybe a third. It's the most fun to read, of course. As are letters from non-native English speakers, er, writers. -- Q: Do you any "favorite" letters come to mind? A: Not offhand. I archive the "better" ones, though, every few months on my site. Complete with snide comebacks. -- Q: What are your qualifications for "being a critic?" A: I took a film course in college. And I've seen lots of movies. -- Q: What is your goal as an online critic? A: To tell people what I thought of a movie. To communicate that reaction in the form of a movie review. To obsessive- ly organize those reactions in the form of a movie-review Web site. And if fame, fortune, and beautiful women follow, then all the better... -- Q: Do you aspire to be a "paid" or "professional" critic? A: No. Did once, but not now. -- Q: Why? A: I don't want to "have" to write reviews written in a cer- tain style, or of a certain length, or even about a movie that I'd rather walk out on. -- Q: Who is your audience? Do you even know? A: People who read me. Ha ha. I write for myself, mostly, and those core friends (and family members) who read the reviews and whose laughter I envision while writing. -- Q: How large is your audience? A: During the summer, my site was receiving, on average, 1000 hits per weekday. Don't know about newsgroup traffic, how- ever. That's probably in the tens or hundreds of thousands. -- Q: Which newsgroups do you use? A: triangle.movies and rec.arts.movies.current-films. -- Q: On the Internet, as the saying goes, "everyone's a critic." How you feel about the proliferation of online movie review- ers? A: Great. Well, 'cept for the potential confusion for critic- guided moviegoers. You know, for those folks trying to sift through dozens of voices, to find reliable (for them) review- ers. -- Q: What gives you the right to express your particular opinion? A: The fact that I have one. Like a butt hole. -- Q: What would you say to detractors who don't think you have that right? Or that you shouldn't exercise it? A: Don't read my reviews. -- Q: Is there a hierarchy among online critics, as there is among "print critics." A: I suppose. Some are better-regarded than others, based on, oh, longevity, prolific-ity, and consistency of opinion. -- Q: What makes a good critic? A: That they, as mentioned above, have a consistency to their opinion. And that they can resist "popular reaction" and "go with their gut" in certain circumstances. -- Q: You mean, if everyone else likes it, but they don't? A: Right. -- Q: Is it hard to be fair? To resist the urge to trash a movie that you absolutely hated?? A: Not really. In fact, my "grading system" is based more on an "objective opinion" than my personal reaction. Meaning, a "B", for example, means that the movie is pretty good in my opinion. The grade does not, however, necessarily note my personal reaction. That's what the text of the review is for. -- Q: That sounds awfully confusing for the reader! A: Comes with the territory. I'm a "guerilla reviewer," if you will; someone with a life and a job and other, non-re- view-related hobbies. With mere hours (or hour, singular) to both form an opinion and communicate that opinion, it's a "shorter hand" way to be both "fair" and "subjective." -- Q: Are critics useful? What role do they play?? A: Validation and articulation, I think. They can validate our feelings about something when they have a similar re- action. They can also articulate that reaction, when we don't have the words. Or even a firm feeling. -- Q: What critics do you read, respect, or reverie? A: I like Mike Clark (of "USA Today"), Terrance Rafferty (of "The New Yorker"), and Roger Ebert. To name a few. Don't really read reviews much, truth be told. Used to, but not now. -- Q: What is the current state of cinema? And what do you foresee in the near- or far-future? A: Digital projection! But seriously, we've certainly seen the fallout from last decade's explosion of theater construction. In Raleigh, we closed some seven cinemas this year. Totaling thirty or forty screens. Don't know if that's the national trend. The biggest change I'm expecting is a likely "death of expectation." As even greater numbers of movies continue to suck-- both mainstream and independent-- there just won't be anything left to look forward to. I mean, if Ron Howard, Imagine Entertainment, and Universal Studios can so badly botch THE GRINCH... -- Q: Do you watch a lot of videos as well? Or cable?? A: No and no. Maybe one movie-on-tape a month. If that. No HBO or Showtime. Just short spurts of channel surfing and an hour-and-a-half on Sunday for "60 Minutes" and "The Simp- sons." -- Q: Can you offer any advice for the aspiring online reviewers or site operators? A: Flames are always hard at first. Mistyping is human. So is mis-remembering. The most useful sites are comprehensive, current, or both. Proofread by reading at least once out loud. Or four times in a row silently. Always bring an ex- tra pen. Sneak previews suck, unless you're the only one in the theater. Eat before leaving, 'cause popcorn's expensive. -- Q: Finally, what's the deal with the walk outs? A: See all of the above. Copyright 2000 by Michael J. Legeros