Firstly, for the most part, my reviews will consist of older movies. Why not newer ones? Well that leads to my secondly of course. Secondly, my reviews will be based on a director or a series of movies. Case in point, the Halloween movies I have already reviewed, or the Kevin Smith movies that have been posted.
What I am attempting to do, and I believe I have no where near succeeded yet, is tell a story that encapsulates the entire series or director (from here on in I am going to refer to a series of films and a director's body of work as both a series), a sort of history of film or the person or the genre or whatever the series sees fit to do. While at the same time, I want to review the film.
There are a few ground rules I have set up for myself:
- I must own the whole series on DVD and/or blu-ray. This does not include the last feature of, say Tim Burton, for example. Dark Shadows hasn't been released on the home market yet and will be added to the collection when it is.
- The movie must be in widescreen. If it is in pan and scan then I will not watch or own it. If it is only available in pan and scan then I don't buy it and I don't review it and there will be a 'skip' in the reviews. (If I am reviewing Ridley Scott, I want to review the film in the way it was meant to be seen, not some hack cut up job that ruins special effects, cinematography and the overall feel for the film.)
- It must be available on DVD or blu-ray, and in widescreen, to be included in the reviews.
- I must watch the films in order that they were made and released and only move onto the next one once I have reviewed the one I have just watched.
- I will not refer to any future works in the series but can refer back to the ones that have come before.
- My rating system is out of 100 because it is nearly impossible to give an accurate review with thumbs, or five or ten stars.
I still haven't decided if I am going to include spoilers. It gets hard to talk about a film, especially a series, and especially a series that links together, without giving away important plot points. Right now I might spoil a scene in Halloween in a review for a latter film in the series, but in the review for the actual film I am trying not to. This might change later on as I find my voice. And this might change if my reviews become more of a critique than a review, but alas, only time will tell.
Well, I guess that's it for now. The next series to come will be Conan, which only includes the Schwarzenegger films, not the recent remake. Coming up in series we will have the Nightmare on Elm Street films, the Planet of the Apes series, and the Final Destination series, amongst others. For director's we have Steven Spielberg, the aforementioned Ridley Scott, Brian De Palma and a whole slew of other directors. As well, I might pop in with a few little rants and raves for other films that I've seen, various film related lists and a variety of film related writings.
Thanks and keep reading...
