Posted on August 26, 2010 at 8:00 am
My friend and fellow critic Christian Toto has some good advice for anyone thinking of being a movie blogger. He knows what he’s talking about — he’s one of the best. I love his emphasis on focus and finding a unique take, especially his example. Who else has a list of actor comb-overs?
Posted on May 19, 2010 at 3:09 pm
My friend and fellow critic Christian Toto has a blog post about three movie cliches he’d like to ban from all future movies.
# The ambivalent hit man: Yes, “The Matador” gave Pierce Brosnan one of his meatiest film roles. But the conflicted killer routine is getting old, even if it didn’t stop George Clooney from tackling it anew.
# Young, hungry journalists: How many times do we meet a young, fetching female character who we quickly learn is a magazine writer/aspiring journalist/novelist in training? Wake up, Hollywood. Journalism as we know it has been read its Last Rites. Now, go find a new profession to exploit.
# Rom-coms set in New York: The U.S. teems with beautiful, photogenic cities. Heck, has any film producer seen Pittsburgh at night? It’s beautiful. Go find some new ones …. and leave the Big Apple to Woody Allen.
His commenters have added some of my favorites, including the chick flick routine of young women singing or dancing together and the country character or person of faith who just has to be an idiot or a crook. Fun to read!
Posted on November 8, 2009 at 9:19 am
My friend Christian Toto makes an important point in his post about the “reality” of the record-breaking thriller, “Paranormal Activity.” The movie feels real not just because the actors use their real names and the footage all appears to be from their home-made video. It’s co-star Katie Featherston’s body. She has a lovely figure, but it is not the hyper-toned Size 0 we are used to seeing on screen.
Featherston’s conventional figure gives her movie an added sense that what we’re watching isn’t some artificial construct – even though it is just that.
It’s likely the next time you see her on screen she’ll be thinner, leaner and more like her Hollywood peers. But for “Paranormal Activity” her figure proves a very normal part of the film’s gimmick.
Toto says he likes the way Featherston looks now and wishes more actresses would appear on screen that way. But with the tabloid fat police shrieking about “mom jeans” for any actress who wears as much as a Size 4, I suspect that Featherston is already working with a personal trainer for some upcoming “how I lost 10 pounds” magazine story.
Posted on December 8, 2008 at 8:00 am
One of my very favorite movie critics is writer/speaker Desson Thomson, whose wonderful new website has an archive of reviews, blog posts, clips from his NPR commentaries, and contact information for groups who’d like to have him do a presentation or workshop. Be sure to read his thoughtful post on the way the faces tell the story in “Refusenik,” a documentary about dissident Jews in the Soviet Union.
Film blog He Shot Cyrus has a “best of” compilation from other movie blogs that is a terrific introduction to some lively and insightful writing about movies just for the pure love of it. It includes a link to the marvelous series on “triple crowners” (performers who have won an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy) from pseudonymous blogger J.J. (NOTE: Some strong language and mature content)
LAMB stands for the Large Association of Movie Blogs and is a great place to go to get acquainted with the range of voices and resources.
Two movie blogs I read regularly are Christian Toto’s What Would Toto Watch? and Keith Demko’s Reel Fanatic. And I never miss the witty and illuminating reviews from my friends Willie Waffle, Dustin Putman, and Brandon Fibbs.
Enjoy!
