Now Everyone's A Critic
I got a call from Ailsa Macintosh this morning, confirming plans for a which will see our Movie Cafe programme team up with The newspaper and the .
Essentially listeners will get the chance to write their own review of a film - either good or bad.
"So what's the worst film you've ever seen?" I asked Ailsa, who, as one of our bright and cheery Senior Producers, clearly doesn't entertain such negative thoughts and had trouble coming up with an instant answer. I, on the other hand, have a brain ful of bile and was able to list my worst choice movies with ease.
"Bram Stoker's Dracula, " I told her, "closely followed by Titanic and then Pearl Harbour."
I explained my theory that a bad film is one where the story ends but the movie continues for another hour.
That could be said of the recent Pirates of the Caribbean flick, but at least that looked as if everyone involved was having a damn good time. It was difficult not to get caught up in the collective enthusiasm on display. It was like watching kids play an elaborate dressing-up game.
Of course, not everyone agrees. If you want a masterclass in film reviewing you could do worse than look at this video of Mark Kermode....who doesn't cut Johnny Depp and chums a lot of slack.
P.S. The link to the entry form is