Elsbeth L.S.E. as a Reviewer - Part I
I intend to write reviews of
movies, books, poems, art works, and other such things here and I felt a need
to explain myself first in this separate post before I write any review. As I
have mentioned in a previous article about the cinematographer Carlo Mendoza, I
am Mass Communication graduate but it doesn’t say much because I didn’t really
put it into practice. I am no expert in the field of filmmaking, writing, or
the arts in general. There may be a bit
of the learning and exercises from College but I am not counting on it.
Maybe it is safe to say that I
appreciate art. I love beauty and I love
finding the meaning and purpose in beauty, which is, I believe, the essence of
the art itself. And this is my only
guide, or my basis, in judging a movie, or a literary piece. So, whatever review you will read here, it
would be coming from my heart.
So as early as now, I would like
to warn you that my reviews would only be coming from a commoner’s view, who
may not even have enough adjectives and idiomatic expressions in her vocabulary
to describe what, or how she exactly feels about something. Let this also serve as an advance apology to
great works that I wouldn’t be able to give justice in my reviews because of
this inadequacy. But I will try my best to communicate my views well and give
you a picture as clear as I possibly can.
And I will call every review, “[Title/Subject]:
From a Commoner’s View”.
I am hoping that you would enjoy
the pictures that I will try to paint in words and find it useful somehow :)
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Elsbeth L.S.E. as a Reviewer - Part II
Time and again I’m feeling a need to explain myself as a
reviewer. Please pardon me if you’re
getting annoyed already with my ever-changing review format. But as I believe
that most everything is a work in progress (most especially this blog), there
will always be a need to change or improve something. As the saying goes, “there’s always room for
improvement”.
Anyhow…right now, I’m feeling the need to split my review in
two parts. 1st half would rate the technical aspect of the piece
while the other half would rate its appeal or effect on me. I’m doing this because I believe that those
two are entirely different and separate things. And one may not have anything
to do with the other (at least for me) to make a reviewer “like”, “love” or
“hate” the work being reviewed. One that
is done perfectly in terms of technical aspect, i.e. perfect grammar, great
writing/filming, presentation, visual/graphic effects, etc…, may not necessarily
make me like it. The piece may have communicated its theme or message clearly
but not effectively to my heart as the reviewer. Or simply as the reader or
audience. And that is, I believe, the most important of all. But still, the technicalities remain an
important ingredient to make the work likeable and must not be dismissed
altogether. It is still imperative that I give it some attention, may it be for
praise or comments for improvement.
So to solve this dilemma, I’m going to give two separate
ratings in every review. A 5-point scale of gemstones for appeal to reason.
And the other, a 5-point scale of hearts
for appeal to the emotion ;)
Under the Appeal to Reason are the following criteria:
Story and Originality
Character Performance
Special FX
Cinematography (for films)
Narration/Storytelling (for books)
Criteria under the Appeal to the Emotion are:
Shock and Scare (for Horror themes)
Laughter and Tears (for comedy & drama themes)
Hhmmm… I’m still not sure if that everything’s all here
already. Might think of something later,
or much later on, but for now, this is it! :)
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Elsbeth L.S.E. as a Reviewer of the Macabre
As I have mentioned in my blog entry some time ago, I intend
to write reviews of art and literature here.
And that includes my favorite genre of all – HORROR. So again, I felt a need to explain myself
first before I write any review of the macabre, may it be artwork, movie,
novel, short story or even a poem.
Here are a few things you need to know about me when it
comes to shock fest stories:
1.
I love, love, love horror stories and images – A Lot!
2.
I love the thrill and chill.
3.
I grew up watching Friday the 13th TV
Series – Alone. In complete darkness, except from the glow of the tube (it was still called the boob tube back
then). I would sit very close to the
TV screen because I couldn’t turn the volume up lest it would wake my parents
who forbid me to stay up late.
4.
There is not a single horror movie or story in
my entire adult life that really scared me. No. Nada. Zilch. My sister would always tease me that I don’t
really have a heart, so there’s nothing inside me that could be made to beat
fast in fright.
5.
The last time I remember I got scared by a movie
was when I was four years old. It was also then that I came to realize that
there is really nothing to be scared of. I went to bed and slept alone despite
being frightened because my “yaya”
(nursemaid) had something else to do. I
woke up in the wee hours of the morning, around 3am I think, and found myself
still alone in the room. I looked around
and there was nothing. That’s when I
realized that the things from the movies can’t harm me in real life. That it is
all a show and none of it is real.
6.
Since then, I have not been afraid to be alone
in the dark even after watching a horror movie.
The scary scenes do pop in my head and vivid images of the monsters and
ghosts do play in my imagination but they don’t scare me at all.
7.
I can, and I have watched a horror movie alone
in a movie theater. The only thing that
kept me from laughing out loud at the squeals and loud gasps of the audience is
the thought that they might think I’m crazy.
Watching a horror movie alone and then laughing? What would you make of that? :D
8.
I am always in the lookout for new horror
movies, especially those that claim they are really terrifying. Those with
taglines like “scariest movie of all time”, “don’t watch alone”, “not for the
weak heart”, etc… I try my best to watch and see if it is, finally, the movie
that would scare me. I’m not sure whether it’s myself, or it’s the movie, that
I’m challenging.
Anyway, those are the things to
consider when reading a review from me. I guess what I’m trying to say is,
don’t take my word when I say it is not scary.
This is a caution that what is not scary for me may stop you dead or
make you faint.
Oh, a couple more things… I grew
up scaring my cousins (even older ones) and other little children, as I play a
deranged knife-wielding killer and I love donning scary costumes and makeups at
2am just for the heck of it. Here’s a sample picture :D
