Reviewing the Reviews.

Well, today for no reason I read/heard 5 different reviews of War of the Worlds. Yes, FIVE.
Three were on NPR, (David Edelstein on Fresh Air, Ken Turan on Morning Edition, and Bob Mondello on All Things Considered) then Mick LaSalle of the Chronicle and finally, of course Roger Ebert. What's interesting is how different they all were. Only two really liked it, and they did so for different reasons. Two really didn't like it, and one was mixed on the low end. They do all comment on a few of the same aspects of the film (Spielberg's history with aliens, terrorism/modern fear&anxiety, special effects, Tom Cruise's abilty/lack of to emote) but react to their handling differently. But anyway, I found the range in opinions unusual.

I have to say, I am starting to see Heidi's point about Mick LaSalle. (He's her Bobby Flay.) I've seen him admit that he likes action movies but make a distinction between well-made action movies and "2Fast2Furious," and his reviews of non-action/horror movies are usually nuanced, but to be honest I think he just likes seeing things get blown up. I also notice that he seems to pass some significant films over to Ruthe Stein, who's like the embarrassing woman reviewer, and to the more discerning Carla Meyer, so that he can review cheap thrillers. What's that all about?

Roger Ebert's was interesting because he really didn't like it, and he's kind of known for finding some redeeming value in almost any movie. He was also a little disappointed with Howl's Moving Castle, but Idon'tcareIwanttoseeitanyway! !!! Anyway, do you think he's just having a hard time in his personal life and taking it out on the movies, or that he's been told by his editors to be meaner, or that his own tastes/need-to-be nice are shifting, or that recent movies have been so bad he can't find anything nice to say about them? Inquiring minds want to know. (plus I have a soft spot for Roger Ebert because he's a big ol' geek and he looks like an aging lesbian librarian.)

But I didn't really need to see 5 reviews to know that I don't think I would enjoy WotW. It sounds too scary. Mick LaSalle says it's first-class escapism, which might be nice, but why would you want to escape into two hours of fear, anxiety and shocks? Nevermind that I consider myself a fan of science fiction; what I consider to be science fiction doesn't involve a lot of chases and blowing things up.
- posted by k @ 1:56 PM