wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

The link to the Pyshoc review:

http://movies2.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173DE273BC4F52DFB066838B679EDE

One PS, specifically regarding the final Harry Potter book installment vs. the movies:

How would knowing the ultimate fate of Harry—after all he is the main character—affect the box-office effect of the latest movie, and the next one? Are we watching for good acting and story telling, plot development and character interaction, or just the eye-candy and special effects? Would the films "hold up" if we know how it all turns out in the end? I haven't read any of the books, but have seen all the movies so the following is just a "what-if" speculation.

Suppose we know Harry will die in the final installment (no philosophic "we all die sometime" excuses here, please), would movie fans be as inclined to see the latest and the next Potter movies (shelling out the big bucks to see them in the theater as opposed to waiting for the DVDs)? On the other hand, would we be as "involved" in the adventure (meaning-eager to see the films right away) if we know he survives, no matter what?

Basically I find that not knowing the ending will get me to watch most movies at least twice: once to find out how it ends, the second time to watch the movie.

In answer to Brian's question about the original reviews of Psycho, the 1960 New York Times review (link at bottom) by Bosley Crother is careful to keep the twist at the ending a secret (although Crother says he was not satsified by the film's ending and overall did not enjoy the film).

Surely reviews can and should contribute to the analysis of the art form with a view toward contributing to the meaning and effect of the craft; good reviewers can do so without detracting from the consumers' goal of learning whether they would like to see the movie or not.

Let's leave the in-depth analysis of the recently released film or book to the cocktail hour.

Three-quarters of the reviewer's job is to summarize plot based on their experience with the book or movie and their rewording of the PR material they receive from movie studios and publishing houses; it's their bread and butter. Spoilers are the result. If you want to remove spoilers, you have to re-invent the review.

From Nathan Lees' Op-Ed: "I wouldn’t dare unmask the secrets in the movie “A History of Violence” out of respect for the artistry of David Cronenberg and the integrity of his booby-trapped plot, but there isn’t a single frame of “The Number 23”"

So Lee's snobbish ability to supernaturally recognize quality films from shlock is his justification as to whether us peons get to join his yacht-ride to the wondrous land of pedantry, or are merely banished to the kingdom of boobs as he flips us the bird with a spoiler.

Blech. I'm so tired of his schizophrenic film reviews. One minute, elite, the next, pretending he's down in the trenches with the common man and looking for pats on the back because of it. Either way it's condescending.

I hate the NY Times movie reviews because they tell me too much. I typically read the first and last paragraphs of a review, and even that is sometimes too much. All I want to know is "what kind of movie is it" and "should I go to the movie?" I especially like newspaper such as the Bergen Record that summarize opinions of multiple critics from multiple newspapers, in a single chart.

How can a newspaper movie review be anything other than a consumer report when the paper is filled with ads for the very movies they review?

In a review I want to know at least the basics of the plot in order to know whether to buy a book or see a movie.

Please give us at least a week to read the last Harry Potter book, I can only speak for myself but as I read The Deathky Hallows I find myself slowing down - I had every intention to just fly through the book and read it all at once but can't - as it is the very last book in the series I DREAD to say good bye...
I hate spoilers!! And although I'm not reading this great story to find out who lives or dies but to enjoy the jurney J.K.Rowling has taken us on, I'd like to do it on my terms.
Oh - and my two girls, going to second and fourth grade will need till the end of the summer..

I loved the wholesale silence that existed in NYC when "The Crying Game" came out in the 80s or 90s. I vividly recall being subjected to one spoiler on the job. I was appalled by his "treason".

I have been finding it fascinating that some people use spoilers aggressively as a way to hurt people they dislike. A friend of mine is a Harry Potter addict and had been actively avoiding reading any spoilers. She managed to piss off someone in an online forum and he retaliated by sending spoilers to her mailbox from different accounts so that she would start reading them before she realized what they were. Bizarre phenomenon.

Spoilers, Schmoilers!
Most stories have already been told.
Its the art of how its told that is the real substance of the thing. Nobody reads Harry Potter for the big bang revelation at the "end". Its the pleasure of reading the book that counts.

I personally don't care if the end of something I want to read or see is revealed to me, in fact, I insist that I be told the ending and then enjoy reading or seeing how the author develops the story line to that end. That said, I don't think it a good idea to give a way a story if not asked. As for critics/reviewers, I don't understand why they even receive a salary for what they do; I see their opinions as, well, their opinions and nothing more except dressed in some kind of established reviewers lingo. I never read them. They carry as much weight with me as anyone else's opinion.

Spoilers are just that. If the plot's denouement is absolutely essential to the review, I suppose that could be acceptable. However, I would consider a reviewer who cannot review without giving the plot to be rather lacking in creativity. To reveal in order to get readers/listeners/viewers, or simply because the reviewer doesn't like the movie is not ever acceptable.

I want the reviewer to tell me the quality of the work, not it's actual elements. Can a reviewer review a work without giving away the crucial point? If the reviewer is worth his/her paycheck, they sure can!

This is a general comment about spoilers. It refers to any experience I had with the film Million Dollar Baby. I read a review & knew the ending. My son did not. We went to see it together & I enjoyed the movie a lot more than him. I could see much better than he how the plot was developing to the end result, whereas he just sat there wondering what was going to happen. So let’s hear it for spoilers.

Roger Ebert has an interesting take on spoilers in movie reviews. He has little patience for people who complain about "giving away the ending" of thrillers, and what he says is this: "Here is the end of all thrillers: the villain dies."

Criticism requires a dialogue with readers. Sometimes this means writers need to discuss endings. The hostility towards spoilers has a lot to do with readers thinking that criticism should just be the kind of "buy it or don't, thumbs up, thumbs down" kind of stuff.

The ongoing skit in our neighborhood concerns how the Jewish Kids break the news concerning Santa Clause to the christian kids on the school bus.....
My buddy was gleeful a few years ago- as he is Jewish and his wife is Catholic, he was concerned about his own kids spoiling it for themselves........

fyi I stopped by the harry potter book premier at BN at 14th street. here's a link to a few pics of such

http://gaiawhispers.blogspot.com/

Please please please warn those of us who haven't finished it if we need to turn the radio off for a certain period of time! Some of us are slow readers/didn't have time to read it this weekend. I don't want to know!