I recently finished reading Which Lie Did I Tell? by the now deceased (but still celebrated), screenwriter and author William Goldman and I am now an expert on the art and language of film. Actually, I wouldn’t claim to be after reading ten such books and really came away thinking even less of the film industry than I did before. The book was mostly not about the art and language of film but about screenwriting interspersed with showbiz gossip and either catty or complimentary comments about other figures in the industry. The writing was described on the cover as “funny” and “brilliant” but was generally “crass” and “shallow” and Goldman is the mind behind the generally wholesome The Princess Bride. While his work is not considered high-brow or avant-garde, he was behind very little of the muck Hollywood has wiped on our screens over the last fifty years. It was an interesting read if nothing else and despite all I’ve said, he knows the industry well and was a proven performer with a long career.
What it did remind me of was a video I watched some months ago critiquing reviews of the prequel Star Wars trilogy by RedLetterMedia and Chris Stuckmann in particular. This was by one Rick Worley (not sure if this is a pseudonym), and I have linked to below. He is considerably less popular than the channels he is critiquing which is not directly relevant to his critique but is not irrelevant either. Much like Goldman, he certainly seems to know filmmaking so none of what follows should be read as me doubting this and as with most topics on this blog — I claim no expertise myself!