bnorthup
12-22-2001, 08:10 PM
To the Mysterious Movie Voices of the Board (including Loaf Dealer, rebaker, Foxer and CtrlAltDelte):
Thanks to all of you who are reading and responding to the movie reviews. I read the responses and profit from them.
Your passion for movies is welcome. I understand the "spoiler" critique very well - it's no fun for a critic to preview the endings of movies...but I guess I regarded the Tolkien books as so well known that referring to plot is common knowledge - like saying Romeo and Juliet didn't live happily every after.
But I stand corrected and have removed the spoiler quotation that I believe started the dialogue.
A note about my background, since there are holiday readers out there.
I grew up in Port Angeles, Wash., a small town in Washington state. There was one theater and one drive in - and my dad was the projectionist in both theaters. I spent nights in the theater with him.
I've loved movies all my life, attending them in droves virtually forever.
In 1976, while teaching junior high and high school, I decided to become a film critic.
And how does one do that? Simple. I printed 50 business cards that said “Brent Northup, Film Critic” and started introducing myself to movie theater managers, studio reps and writing reviews for real estate magazines and shoppers.
The bluff worked! After a summer of struggling, I soon was publishing weekly in a variety of places in and around Houston – and the studios even started letting me interview stars. (Houston’s not a big media town – there was usually a spot left in a star’s schedule, even after the major media were done.)
As a next step, I started a public radio show on film. Soon, I was a regular film writer in Houston with a nice portfolio of pieces to take to "real" publications to try to get a film writing job.
After five years of both teaching school and reviewing movies, I dropped my teaching job to pursue a full-time film writing career - and was hired to review movies in 1980 by the Bellevue Journal-American, a Seattle suburb.
An open-minded editor named Frank Wetzel sat and read my portfolio of reviews, and concluded with an offer: If I wanted to review movies for about $50 per week, I could. Part time. I quickly said yes – and started acting like a full-time journalist. I reviewed five movies a week, interviewed stars and had a small desk in a corner of the newsroom – for $50 a week.
And how did we survive during that time? My wife Sue had a real job and we lived in a funeral home where Sue greeted visitors on weekends while I made middle-of-the night runs to pick up new business. And that is a true story that even Dave Barry would not believe.
After a year of poverty wages, the editor called me into his office and said, “Just keep on doing what you're doing. But from now on you are full time with full benefits.”
Wow! I was a real film critic. (I do not recommend this employment strategy for prospective journalists. It was crazy and should never have worked out. But where there’s a dream, there’s a yellow-brick road that will get you there.)
For the next 10 years, covering the entire 1980s, I pursued a full-time film writing career - at the Bellevue Journal-American, across the bridge in a Seattle suburb. There, I reviewed movies, interviewed visiting stars and directors (Lange, Alda, Duvall, Altman, Spacek, Fonda...) and soaked in the world of film.
What a joy!
As a critic I was treated to private screenings in the finest theaters. I saw "Chariots of Fire" alone, at midnight, in a beautiful big theater. I applauded at the end, even though there was no one there to hear me. (Sound of one hand clapping?)
But I missed teaching, so I decided to come back to the classroom. There are two reasons, really, why I left film writing: first, because not even the finest review/interview can match the satisfaction of working with students in the classroom and second, because there comes a point where reviewing Rocky CXVII seems redundant. Not to mention that some stars are not exactly fun to be with. Jessica Lange simply tossed her chin in the air and stomped out on three of us critics after we asked a "probing" question implying that we might not be going to give her film rave reviews. And Jane Fonda was among the most unpleasant people I've had the pleasure of spending seven minutes with.
Oh, yes, there's another reason I left reviewing: Carroll offered me a job and the opportunity to teach in a fine liberal arts school, not unlike Whitman where I went to college, seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up - and it still seems like a blessing, even today.
But, upon arriving at Carroll, I realized I couldn't leave films behind entirely - so in 1989 I applied to write reviews for the Independent Record. I've been doing that weekly for 12 years now. My daughter has been a co-critic for about 8 years, and began writing occasional reviews alone two years ago.
So my life as filmgoer is 50 years and counting, and, as a critic, 25 years and counting.
And I still love going to movies. It's a lot like mining for gold on a stream in Last Chance Gulch a century ago - most days all you get is sand and dirt, but then comes that wonderful day when a sparkle of gold appears before your eyes. Then you know it was worth all the days of coming home empty-handed.
This year I've loved three movies above the others: Mulholland Drive, Moulin Rouge and Hearts in Atlantis. I was pleased to see two critics groups honoring the first two as their pick for the finest picture the year. I'm a bit alone on Atlantis - other critics were less enthralled, but so goes the beat.
And nothing pleases me more than good dialogue about film. The readers of the board are a valued place for movie talk.
If you like to read reviews, try two web sites. Movie Review Query Engine (www.mrqe.com) and Metacritic (metacritic.com). They both seem to have every review of every movie, almost from the morning of the film's release. Quite amazing resource. In addition, Metacritic has a schedule for movie releases, all awards of interest, and a rating (0-100) showing the average opinion of critics of every film. Lord of the Rings is the highest Metacritic rating in a long time: 95.
I read them, too, and offer my own self critiques as I read others.
Someday I may teach a film course at Carroll. I have taught Intro to Film before, in Seattle. Perhaps I should resurrect that course and invite you all to join me for nights at the movies.
So Merry Christmas to all of you - and thanks for the comments.
Sincerely,
Brent the gray-haired movie buff
Thanks to all of you who are reading and responding to the movie reviews. I read the responses and profit from them.
Your passion for movies is welcome. I understand the "spoiler" critique very well - it's no fun for a critic to preview the endings of movies...but I guess I regarded the Tolkien books as so well known that referring to plot is common knowledge - like saying Romeo and Juliet didn't live happily every after.
But I stand corrected and have removed the spoiler quotation that I believe started the dialogue.
A note about my background, since there are holiday readers out there.
I grew up in Port Angeles, Wash., a small town in Washington state. There was one theater and one drive in - and my dad was the projectionist in both theaters. I spent nights in the theater with him.
I've loved movies all my life, attending them in droves virtually forever.
In 1976, while teaching junior high and high school, I decided to become a film critic.
And how does one do that? Simple. I printed 50 business cards that said “Brent Northup, Film Critic” and started introducing myself to movie theater managers, studio reps and writing reviews for real estate magazines and shoppers.
The bluff worked! After a summer of struggling, I soon was publishing weekly in a variety of places in and around Houston – and the studios even started letting me interview stars. (Houston’s not a big media town – there was usually a spot left in a star’s schedule, even after the major media were done.)
As a next step, I started a public radio show on film. Soon, I was a regular film writer in Houston with a nice portfolio of pieces to take to "real" publications to try to get a film writing job.
After five years of both teaching school and reviewing movies, I dropped my teaching job to pursue a full-time film writing career - and was hired to review movies in 1980 by the Bellevue Journal-American, a Seattle suburb.
An open-minded editor named Frank Wetzel sat and read my portfolio of reviews, and concluded with an offer: If I wanted to review movies for about $50 per week, I could. Part time. I quickly said yes – and started acting like a full-time journalist. I reviewed five movies a week, interviewed stars and had a small desk in a corner of the newsroom – for $50 a week.
And how did we survive during that time? My wife Sue had a real job and we lived in a funeral home where Sue greeted visitors on weekends while I made middle-of-the night runs to pick up new business. And that is a true story that even Dave Barry would not believe.
After a year of poverty wages, the editor called me into his office and said, “Just keep on doing what you're doing. But from now on you are full time with full benefits.”
Wow! I was a real film critic. (I do not recommend this employment strategy for prospective journalists. It was crazy and should never have worked out. But where there’s a dream, there’s a yellow-brick road that will get you there.)
For the next 10 years, covering the entire 1980s, I pursued a full-time film writing career - at the Bellevue Journal-American, across the bridge in a Seattle suburb. There, I reviewed movies, interviewed visiting stars and directors (Lange, Alda, Duvall, Altman, Spacek, Fonda...) and soaked in the world of film.
What a joy!
As a critic I was treated to private screenings in the finest theaters. I saw "Chariots of Fire" alone, at midnight, in a beautiful big theater. I applauded at the end, even though there was no one there to hear me. (Sound of one hand clapping?)
But I missed teaching, so I decided to come back to the classroom. There are two reasons, really, why I left film writing: first, because not even the finest review/interview can match the satisfaction of working with students in the classroom and second, because there comes a point where reviewing Rocky CXVII seems redundant. Not to mention that some stars are not exactly fun to be with. Jessica Lange simply tossed her chin in the air and stomped out on three of us critics after we asked a "probing" question implying that we might not be going to give her film rave reviews. And Jane Fonda was among the most unpleasant people I've had the pleasure of spending seven minutes with.
Oh, yes, there's another reason I left reviewing: Carroll offered me a job and the opportunity to teach in a fine liberal arts school, not unlike Whitman where I went to college, seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up - and it still seems like a blessing, even today.
But, upon arriving at Carroll, I realized I couldn't leave films behind entirely - so in 1989 I applied to write reviews for the Independent Record. I've been doing that weekly for 12 years now. My daughter has been a co-critic for about 8 years, and began writing occasional reviews alone two years ago.
So my life as filmgoer is 50 years and counting, and, as a critic, 25 years and counting.
And I still love going to movies. It's a lot like mining for gold on a stream in Last Chance Gulch a century ago - most days all you get is sand and dirt, but then comes that wonderful day when a sparkle of gold appears before your eyes. Then you know it was worth all the days of coming home empty-handed.
This year I've loved three movies above the others: Mulholland Drive, Moulin Rouge and Hearts in Atlantis. I was pleased to see two critics groups honoring the first two as their pick for the finest picture the year. I'm a bit alone on Atlantis - other critics were less enthralled, but so goes the beat.
And nothing pleases me more than good dialogue about film. The readers of the board are a valued place for movie talk.
If you like to read reviews, try two web sites. Movie Review Query Engine (www.mrqe.com) and Metacritic (metacritic.com). They both seem to have every review of every movie, almost from the morning of the film's release. Quite amazing resource. In addition, Metacritic has a schedule for movie releases, all awards of interest, and a rating (0-100) showing the average opinion of critics of every film. Lord of the Rings is the highest Metacritic rating in a long time: 95.
I read them, too, and offer my own self critiques as I read others.
Someday I may teach a film course at Carroll. I have taught Intro to Film before, in Seattle. Perhaps I should resurrect that course and invite you all to join me for nights at the movies.
So Merry Christmas to all of you - and thanks for the comments.
Sincerely,
Brent the gray-haired movie buff