Types of Movie Critics

Posted in Friendster March 2006

For the past months, I've been hooked to watching films- especially art films. I spend my weekends watching a lot of DVD's.
Whenever I watch a film at home, I watch it with my family and/or with my friends. And after the show, I can't help but notice how each of them react on the film we watched... so basing on their reactions, I came up with a little list of the types of movie critics (just for fun ;-)).
The "Real Critics" - these people know art concepts and can see how these are followed or violated in the film; for "other" people, these are the boring critics... boring because most people won't understand what they're saying. They see every aspect of the film from acting to angles, from lightings to musical score. They use literature and Art jargons and would usually refer to some unknown artist just to clarify their ideas... or confuse more the "other" people... :-)
The "I'm-better-than-the-director guy" - You will often see this guy frowning after the film. He always has something against the writer or the director. You'll hear him saying - "They should have made Kingkong a little bit larger" or "It is better if the leading man died too". I'm not against this guy though... sometimes he does have a point.
The "Oh-my-gosh!-They're-so-cute! Girl" - Many of my girl cousins and friends fall under this category. After the film, the first thing you'll hear is "Brad Pitt is sooooo cute!". They are the ones who'll watch a movie only if there is a cute guy or girl in the film. Usually between ages 13 - 19, they are the ones who would die watching a teen movie.
The "Wake-me-up-when-they're-already-fighting Guy" - This is the guy who watches a film for only one purpose - to see bloodshed, guns, car chases, and a rambo-like character fighting his way in a labyrinth of villains with bazookas, ingrams, and a laser cannon pointed at Manhattan. He does not care what the story line is... all he wants to see is the climactic action part. He'll tell you a film is good if it is by Steven Seagal, Van Damme, or Arnie. Let him watch Meet Joe Black and he'll just snore in the couch.
The "Guy who read the book" - You'll only hear one thing when this guy speaks up- "The book is better! Much better". He'll criticize Lord of the Rings for not putting every scene from the book to the film and for mixing everything up. This guy is fun to be with assuming that you've also read the book. Actually, sometimes, I am like this guy. :-)
The "Ain't-happy-with-the-series Guy" - This guy, for some reason always likes Part 1. He thinks that the producers and the directors failed big time in making the second film better than the first. But he keeps on waiting for Part 3, hoping that this time, it will be better.
The "Silent-for-some-reason Guy" - Now, this guy is interesting... after the film, you'll see him in one corner, smiling... why? Who knows!? Maybe he's just happy because the film is over... or maybe he's internalizing and contemplating on the true meaning of the film.
The "Universal-Studios-Regal-Films-Difference Guy" - This guy always compare foreign films with our home-made ones. You'll hear him saying "If only FIlipinos know how to do that... Mulawin the Movie will be better" or "Filipinos can't do Fast and the Furious... they don't have enough 1980 model Toyota box types to crash..."; can't actually blame him though, he has a point...
Next time, I'll write about the types of people watching the film...