META: The Problem of Subjectivity

[Tom Russell]

On Mar 12, 1:54 pm, EDMLite <robroger... at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm a fan of the Roger Ebert school of writing reviews,
> where the goal is not to say whether you liked or
> disliked the subject, but rather to let readers
> know enough about the subject that they can decide
> whether it's worth their time to see/read/eat/make
> passionate love to it.

I'm a big Ebert fan myself, though he often does just what you say he
doesn't; if he likes a movie, he'll tell you, and if he disliked it--
or, "hated, hated, hated, hated" it-- then he'll do the same.

I don't always agree with what the Movie Answer Man has to say, but
nine times out of ten I can still see where he's coming from.  That
other one time out of ten is when he leaves me scratching my head: for
example, the review of Napoleon Dynamite where he accuses the film of
making fun of its characters.  When I read that, about what might be
one of the most loving and optimistic films in recent memory, I
wondered if he and I had seen two completely different films.

==Tom