Films in different views....

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A recent post in a socialization tool instigates me to write something about on how people view certain films. Quite ironic is that the movie they called and I qoute in our local dialect "di mapuslan" means "worthless" is the film which just won the 2011 Golden Globe Awards Best Picture. This is somehow just fired me up, do these people at least have an idea that the film was inspired from the story of Mark Zuckerberg the brainchild of social network champion Facebook? That the social tool that they so love about was turned into a film concept and adapted to screen and yet they can't even appreciate the film. And by the way, the film has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards this coming February 27, 2011, and again including the “Best Picture”.

But I do understand if some people sees the film in such a way. Not all of us appreciates or recognize films in an artistic form. Most of us are just engrossed either by effects, actor's performance, action choreography and star glitters, that we don’t notice the other layers or the core beneath the film itself.

This is what separate movie-buffs from movie-goers to Movie Critics. Now how about we cite their differences.

Movie-goers only watches’ films from a particular genre and they go only for films that's the best of the genre. They are very unlikely to see(unless forced by circumstance)a film off from their favorite genre. Let's say for example, guys who loved action-packed films, they’ll most likely could stand watching lovey-dovey chick flick films without getting bored.

While Movie-buffs(like me) loves anything about movies. They are the type that sees and can or will appreciate anything good or bad about the film. Let it be their favorite or non-favorite genre and surely they'll find something great in the film to consume. We always desire story telling adapted on-screen.

The other thing that sets movie-goers apart from movie-buffs is the film cast. It's quite obvious at times that movie-goer go for A-list Hollywood stars from the likes Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt to Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts. 

While Buffs knows A-list cast to supporting casts and even interesting is they know the directors and producers(like in my case, I'd even research the producers/directors filmography and direction style just to know what to expect.) Information just almost everything about the film.

Like moviegoers and movie-buffs it is always arguable or debatable for both parties what is the best of the best. Now here comes the bias part let's take the Golden Globe Awards a few months back, some think that "The King Speech" should have won, or should it have been "True Grit".(I haven't watch these films yet except for “The Social Network”, the sad part is it might not even be shown in the Cinemas here so I can't say yet what's my take on those films) but it was "The Social Network” who bagged the award for Best Picture.(You see, the one that was tagged boring and what's worst being tagged as worthless won the award.) Movie-goers don't really care about this much. At the end of the day it is still the movie buff that can appreciates a film, the one who can both agree and disagree to both sides. There is no “best of both worlds” for movie-goers.

But this is when Movie-critics do comes to the equation.

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Movie Critics are basically movie-buffs but not all movie-buffs can be a Movie critic. Critics generally have an education, an academic background of past and present films. They simply know a lot if not everything about movies. At some point a Movie-buff can debate, hey "everyone is a critic" and even further argue that they can review a film and write about it as well but how come some are getting paid just by reviewing it. True, but then again if technically you don't know the film in its artistic form, or they way it was created, and the parallels of the film from classic to present, then don’t think highly of yourself as movie-critic, because you're NOT. I'm neither too but I am hoping to prosper as one someday.

But not all love’s move critics; at time they are bias (well anyone about anything can be bias). Opinions are one thing which is why some people view critics sometimes as being irrelevant and arrogant. They can dispatch a non-intelligent discourse or non-scholarly criticism and sometimes get away with. Somehow it’s just meant to catch the eye with ignorant hyperbole, just like some tabloid journalism. For me, true critic’s judges the movie on behalf to other movies he has seen and keep the idealism of why movies were created in the first place and it's always in creative criticism's not just destroying the goodness of the film. There are no right no wrong in any review they give, they will analyze both the greatness and the flaws of a film. Surely they have favorites as well just like anyone else but (since they are movie buffs underneath despite of cold criticism) it boils down to one common thing, their love for reels which will affect and apply to every film they watch and every review they inscribe.

So which are you? A movie-critic that analyze too much? that in such a depth they are unable to think that the movie is just simply a movie, just to entertain us.

Or a Movie-buff that loves movies with a little know how and still can appreciate films at face value 

Or a Movie-goer that can sit through their favorites and be entertained without giving much thought but cannot appreciate the art form of a movie. But hey they don’t analyze – they just enjoy.

My parting words - if you want to be a movie-critic then become an educated film-lover. For Movie-buffs stop trying to be a movie-critic just share your honest opinion and what you feel about the movie. And for Movie-goers, movie isn’t just entertainment try to expand your horizons to the outer limits. There are interesting stories and different worlds behind the film waiting to be discovered.