Comments on: ‘Transformers’ fans: angry, hostile people in disguise

By: Jezebel

Jezebel — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 01:14:33 +0000

I love the line about what critics “always love”. Go indie lesbians! Still, it’s true what you say, just because it’s French doesn’t mean critics are prepared to propose to the director in a review that sounds very similar to a love letter.

By: mommy

mommy — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:09:50 +0000

Gee I can’t think of a reviewer I agree with all of the time…that sounds boring and a little creepy. I like Eric’s reviews because I find them consiistent. I can tell whether I would like the movie…

As for people criticizing a critic for having an opinion…is it wrong to enjoy that?

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 22:29:20 +0000

Sometimes I feel bad for poor Eric. It seems like he has such reasoned arguments but that those arguments will continue to fall on deaf ears. I absolutely agree with his sense of logic, but I see very little sense in trying to convince a vitriolic crowd that they should calm down. Maybe if we offered them candy and a hug.

Of course, if Eric’s purpose is to make fun of them because they are crazy loony tunes, by all means, go ahead…

By: Nixx

Nixx — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:48:43 +0000

I enjoyed the film more than any other ‘summer blockbuster’ I have seen in years. The issue I have with MOST of the reviews is the same I have with nearly every review ever penned, stating ones opinion as fact, and that IS pompous. In addition to this a large number of the negative reviews either attack or insult those that enjoyed the film.
From your friend Dawn’s review:
“There are people who believe that itâ€™s okay for summer movies to be stupid, as long as theyâ€™re big and loud and throw a lot of special effects on the screen. These people are either desperate to get into a theater to partake of air conditioning, or theyâ€™re idiots.”
I’m not saying we shouldn’t hope for well thought out, well filmed, well acted movie, but to lambaste me because I can still be entertained is downright offensive. The term â€œSummer Blockbusterâ€œ comes with certain expectations, as does â€œMichael Bayâ€? just like I have a mental bar that gets adjusted when I hear â€œHong Kong Action Flickâ€? or â€œJackie Chanâ€?.
I got exactly what I wanted out of the film, entertainment, it had its issues but I in no way got â€˜suckered inâ€™ nor did I find it mediocre, a crapfest, or confuse-o-vision. Many of the negative reviews and backing comments obviously dislike Bayâ€™s entire film catalog, thatâ€™s fine, youâ€™re allowed to, but how could you possibly have seen a ad for the film and not known what you were getting.

By: Laylabean

Laylabean — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:52:06 +0000

A-freaking-men, Eric! I don’t see a lot of movies because I think so many of them are a waste of time and money. It’s too bad that the movie studios can make such huge profits for mediocre work. As long as people will pay full price for schlock, that’s all they’ll give us.

The Amazon rating system for reviews is similar to the one on Rotten Tomatoes. You have to assume the first half-dozen negs are from people involved in the creation of the movie, or book, or whatever. Then the rest are usually from people who don’t agree with you and therefore you suck and should crawl under a rock like the worm that you are. Completely useless.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:01:48 +0000

I think the people defending Transformers are just sad that they got suckered into watching another Michael Bay crapfest and feel the need to lash out to distract people from observing that they are mindless idiots who will watch anything by a crack-addicted editor who pretends to be a director.

By: Jesse Harris

Jesse Harris — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:36:14 +0000

Your “review the reviews” bit reminds me of what a joke the ratings system is on the Salt Lake Tribune’s website. Instead of “this article or comment is worthwhile”, they use it just like you described: “this article or comment matches what I think and is therefore worthwhile.” It seems we have a tendency to misuse those kinds of ranking systems to penalize things we don’t like rather than actually determining if the content has merit or not.

By: RandyTayler

RandyTayler — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:55:45 +0000

I think bad reviews can help me to enjoy movies MORE just by lowering my expectations. When a decent movie is over-hyped, I’m always disappointed by the film. When it’s labeled “mediocre”, I at least stand a chance of being pleasantly surprised.

Though sometimes I just have to shrug and say, “Oh, well. The critics were right.”

By: GWGumby

GWGumby — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:13:09 +0000

Actually, whatâ€™s really funny about people saying, â€œStop taking the movie so seriously and enjoy itâ€? is that they are taking the time to be serious about telling people not to be serious. Like saying “stop being so mean or I’ll hit you” or shouting at someone to quit yelling all the time.

By: BeeDub

BeeDub — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:37:24 +0000

These people get angry about bad reviews of movies they like because for most of them, buddy, movies are all the life they’ve GOT, and they have to protect ‘em.