I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie
Roger Ebert
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Nonfiction, Essays/Media Reference
****+
Description
We all love seeing good movies, and hate wasting our time and money on bad ones. Unfortunately, movie critics get paid for seeing them all - the good, the bad and the ugly - and offering their praises or warnings to the rest of us. This can make for some very interesting remarks when the time comes to write those reviews. In this book, the famous film critic Roger Ebert compiles some of his most memorable bad reviews, from the dull to the offensive to the just plain incomprehensible wastes of film.
Review
First off, I must confess that I don't always agree with Ebert. One of the worst movies I ever saw in the theater I saw on his recommendation (Flirting With
Disaster), and would've walked out on had I not wanted to draw attention to myself. Others, it's like he missed the first fifteen minutes or didn't get the point at
all. One thing I can count on from him is that his bad reviews will be at least as entertaining to read as his good ones, often moreso. Anyone who has read my reviews can
guess that I understand the cleansing value of ripping apart a thing that has squandered my time and money, and this book is evidence that movie critics understand this
concept as well. Some of these I remembered from when they appeared in the paper, others were new to me. All were great fun to read, without having to experience the
brain-melting horror of these stinkers for myself.* I see he has a second bad-review collection out, entitled Your Movie Sucked, which I ought to read
someday.
(* - Oh, all right - I admit to having watched a few of these on late-night cable TV or video, primarily for the amusement factor that their bad FX and scripts provide.
When I tuned in, I knew I'd be watching a B-grade turkey. It's not the same as walking into a movie theater and being attacked unawares.)