Other than cash, what else travels under Roeper's table?

Richard Roeper gave Avatar an A-, but I swear, to hear him say it you'd think he was recommending a nice bland tuna sandwich or a comfortable pair of socks to wear.  If you're giving a movie an A- it's still an A and deserves a little enthusiasm.  He said a few accurate things about it like the fact that the movie is a message about the evils of big business.  If you're a conservative, you'll like the effects.  If you're a liberal, you'll like the story even though it's trite by now.  

More people will be disappointed by the movie than will like it based on the inappropriate grade Roeper gave it.  It really should get about a B- or even a C.  Just like Roeper's review of this movie should get.  Bad job on your part, misleading people.  It makes me wonder if you received a little something on the side for giving it that grade.  Go see "From Paris with Love" before you rent this hackneyed, albeit opulent, pair of socks. 

Richard Roepers review of "With Love From Paris"is at first confusing, then wrong.

Since the blog is new, and last night I just watched "From Paris with Love", I'm using this post as sort of a trial.  The movie came out last Feb, so I went back and watched Roeper talk about it on the Interweb from what looked to be a linen closet with some papers stacked up around him.  He gave the movie a D, which was completely in appropriate, and then went on to describe how entertaining the first half hour of the ninety minute movie was.  He "explained" that John Travolta's performance was a "performance" and "not much of an acting job" which confused me as someone who wants to be entertained, rather than someone who could give a crap about the difference between the two.  

Roeper's attempt at relating to people who like the shoot-em-up, high-body-count movies is transparent and disingenuous early on in his review, and then he has the cheek to slam the movie's effort at some serious tenor in the form of a romantic relationship.  Not much screen time is given to the romance, which I did appreciate, but that is why Roeper is wrong about how serious the movie tries to make itself with it.  Had the same relationship scene been in a chick flick, I'd bet my life Mr. R would have a different, more positive take on it.  But it's in an action thriller and he can't get his head around a semi-serious romance couched within it.  The two coexist just fine.  The relationship must be there at least a little bit because it plays a crucial part in the movie at one point.  And frankly, the director did a good job with it.  It was convincing without going over the top.

All in all, people need to know that this is a movie worth spending money on.  The only thing the popular former TV/current Internet linen closet movie critic got right about this flick is that both the action and the body count are high.  Give credit to the network that let him go.  Mr. Roeper, you just got bit by the Watchdog!

Bad movie critics beware.

This website was created because there is a host of movie critics on television, public radio, in print, and elsewhere who do a poor job of letting me know where to spend my dollar when it comes to viewing a motion picture.  I don't know how many times I've seen a bad movie based on a good review, but enough times to decide that one of two things need to happen: either I begin holding some of these "experts" accountable for their swindling (yes, swindling) ways, or blind myself so as not to see any other bad movie (or any thing) ever again, whatever the review.  I choose the former.

So as soon as I read another review of some movie that I feel would entertain me, I will go see the movie and report back to you.  Ideally, subsequent blogs will include the name of the critic who reviewed the movie, my own opinion as it relates to the review I read, and then finally some sort of lambasting.  Ideally.