Everyone's a Critic
Have you ever rewatched a movie you loved on a streaming service then noticed the one-star reviews? I saw Narc last night with Jason Patric and Ray Liotta. It’s a favorite of mine from the early aughts. If you disagree and hate it, that’s cool. There are plenty of movies that others like that I don’t.
However, a reviewer gave it a one-star rating because she wrongly selected it. Another gave it a one-star because he couldn’t hear it while riding his exercise bike – although he even admitted the movie had a nice twist at the end! Another gave it a poor review because of jerky camera work—which was done primarily during a foot chase and house entry. Several reviewers gave it a one-star because there was swearing in it—supposedly, people in a gritty crime movie are supposed to talk like they’re in a Hallmark movie?
As a public service, let me provide the following retorts:
1. It’s not the movie’s fault it was wrongly selected.
2. The sound quality was perfectly fine if the movie was viewed the way it’s supposed to be viewed—like a grown-up (not on a telephone nor while riding a stationary bike). If you can’t hear a movie because you’re huffing and puffing on your bike to nowhere, that doesn’t make it the movie’s fault.
3. Life isn’t static. Therefore, the director used various camera techniques to highlight what was occurring at any given moment. It’s not the movie’s fault you can’t comprehend the change in methods—stop watching so many YouTube videos.
4. Lastly, people swear. Cops and soldiers have potty mouths. So do real estate brokers. As do writers. All people eat, drink, poop, and die. Most of them swear during their lives—either a little or a lot. No matter how much you want life to be like a Hallmark movie, it’s not. There’s no happily ever after because everyone dies. And that fucking sucks.
