Write Today, Review Tomorrow

I think everyone has a process they go through when evaluating a film and organizing their review. And I think it says a lot about the person - or at least about how the person perceives the medium of film - in how they structure such an event. While I won't speak as to the quality of any particular approach, I do find it fun understanding how different bloggers formulate their printed opinion.

After all that printed opinion is what we ultimately put out there for debate (or just straight up agreement) with our peers. For my own part, reviewing is a time consuming thing. Considering the high density of typos and grammatical mistakes laden throughout my posts, you might find that surprising. Granted, I'd contend much of that is a byproduct of my lurching writing style. That and I possess grammatical skills equivalent to that of a nine year old (a calculation I based on years of watching Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and determining that I was not).

Never the less, I do find my writing style has been molded over the years, beginning with my days of writing a journal at Rotten Tomatoes (back when users writing meaningful content meant something over there). It started out rather simple. See a movie, write a paragraph, and move along. No in depth analysis, no personal association, just the broad strokes of my viewpoint and a quick move. Of course back then I'd watch three to four movies a day. These days that style has lost much of its luster. All the zip and speed that accompanied it faded to frustration and a collection of half remembered plots and characters.

So, like many before me, my style of viewing began to evolve. I began reflecting on movies, allowing their different components to soak in and be internalized. Just watching a film wasn't enough for me anymore. I couldn't turn off the second the credits rolled. Films started to mean something more to me than mindless entertainment. As such my want for them to be experiences increased all the more. I wanted films to be something that would resonate. Something I could carry along like a puzzle, to pick apart and put back together on my whim. I started championing movies with resounding characters, long and encompassing plots, and the potential for longevity.

As such my review process also evolved. I started waiting longer intervals before the printed review and the initial viewing. What was once an immediate paragraph turned into a three day multi-paragraph editorial. Which of course would be deleted the moment it was finished and rewritten. You know, because I'm skilled like that.