I’ve decided to indulge in a post on what to me constitutes the best and worst of film blogging. I’ve been brooding on the subject for some time as I alternately learn, bask, and cringe at what I see in the film blogosphere.
WHAT I LOVE IN A FILM BLOG
I love to learn new things. The best posts for me are new angles on films I know, creative introductions to films I don’t know, and contemplations of style, genre, direction, cinematography, historical context, etc. Pairing films and comparing them or showing how they might be enjoyed together is fabulous. Blogathons can make for fascinating approaches to films, individually or in groups. Personal experiences with films can also be compelling, especially when the blogger keeps audience in mind — what we might want to know vs. what they wore to the screening or what their accompanying friends’ names are. And I love writers with flair, those who enjoy writing and use words creatively, making the read a lively, enjoyable little adventure.
WHAT I DON’T LOVE IN A FILM BLOG
I don’t enjoy introductions to films that could have come straight from IMDb or Wikipedia, and I see a lot of this about. If a blogger is only summarizing to keep a personal screening journal, why post it publicly? Also, I don’t like film reviews that are inarticulate. Have criteria: I want to know why someone enjoyed or didn’t enjoy the film; and if they’re not sure, why am I reading? Most of all, I can’t stand unedited, poorly written blather. I get that blogs are not formal publications, but let’s edit and proofread a little. We all make mistakes, but frankly I’ve been stunned by posts that receive tons of praise when I can barely get through the misused words, repetitiveness, grammatical errors, and typos.
That’s all for now. Please feel free to vent your own spleen in comments.
B Noir Detour 
May 27, 2016 at 7:16 PM
You are spot-on and amusing, esp. in your use of DETOUR stills. To your bitchery, I would add the bloggers who write never-ending paragraphs (no, that’s not a dig at you — I mean REALLY long paragraphs). You wouldn’t read a long newspaper column that was broken into only two chunky paragraphs — why write a blog that way and expect people to come back for more?
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May 27, 2016 at 7:24 PM
Good point. I hate one- and two-sentence choppy paragraphs bc I prefer magazine to newspaper style, but longass paragraphs that leave me gasping for air or sense are definitely bad.
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May 27, 2016 at 8:11 PM
The “Detour” photos are just awesome! And I couldn’t agree more!
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May 27, 2016 at 8:33 PM
Interesting. I pretty much feel the same way as you. On both accounts.
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May 27, 2016 at 10:01 PM
Well, now you’ve got everyone paranoid . . .
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May 27, 2016 at 10:27 PM
Haha, glad to know my opinion is valued so highly! 😉 And of course I’ve praised your blog highly enough that you can’t suspect I include you in the “don’t like” category, right?
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May 27, 2016 at 11:22 PM
I was teasing but, that said, I think everyone with a movie blog can read your description and think, hm, oops, sometimes I’m guilty of that . . . 🙂
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May 28, 2016 at 3:35 PM
Of course, and perhaps I should have added that I’m guilty of this, too.
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May 27, 2016 at 11:32 PM
PS: This is the point of yours with which I agree the most, whether I’m reading book or movie blogs (or, come to that, even Goodreads reviews):
Most of all, I can’t stand unedited, poorly written blather. I get that blogs are not formal publications, but let’s edit and proofread a little. We all make mistakes, but frankly I’ve been stunned by posts that receive tons of praise when I can barely get through the misused words, repetitiveness, grammatical errors, and typos.
As you imply, because this isn’t paid work we can’t afford to give the stuff we put online the most stringent copyediting and proofreading of which we’re capable, but, if we have any professional standards, we should make at least a bit of effort.
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May 28, 2016 at 3:37 PM
Absolutely. I don’t need or provide perfection. And even my published work has the occasional typo or other error.
But now I fear some folks are doing their best and just aren’t very good writers and I’m being overly judgmental! I can always use the unfollow button, eh?
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May 27, 2016 at 11:37 PM
Oh, and PPS: I’d exempt from that criticism the various movie bloggers I follow for whom English is a second language. I’m perfectly prepared to fight my way through all sorts of word and grammatical errors to gain their often uniquely interesting perspectives on movies (often, too, an introduction to movies I’ve never heard of). Besides, their English is a hell of a lot better than my French/German/Norwegian/Spanish/whatever, and I hugely respect them for that.
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May 28, 2016 at 3:38 PM
Oh absolutely. I hope that went without saying in my post. I’m griping about laziness and immaturity not lack of perfect facility in English.
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May 27, 2016 at 10:51 PM
You are too generous, I can think of a million reasons to bitch
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May 27, 2016 at 10:52 PM
What did I miss?
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May 27, 2016 at 10:57 PM
Well this doesn’t apply to film blogs I suppose but there are the bloggers who blood screenshots of their latest stats, the level of framer on some is truly appalling (you did mention that), the blogs that are just a collection of inspirational quotes, the self indulgent blogs that just scream look at me, the blogs that follow you in the hope of reciprocation even though they is absolutely no common ground. I could go on
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May 27, 2016 at 11:09 PM
Yes! Comments where ppl link you to their posts and site definitely annoy me, as do inspirational quotes substituting for original content. Not crazy about random recipes or favorite photos either. Blogs are not FB or Instagram, peeps!
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May 27, 2016 at 11:12 PM
Agreed, I am not perfect but I want to say something on the subject not just about myself. I don’t mind confessional but please have something worth while to confess?
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May 28, 2016 at 1:20 AM
I understand everything you are saying- I think what we all have in common is a desire to share, learn, and connect with others- believe me when I “type” that blogging is a form of sanity for me. It’s quite irritating when people just blab to you about certain facts you can look up- isn’t the point of blogging to share your opinion? Its a hard balance share crucial info about the film without giving a lecture- but sometimes you need facts to back up an opinion.
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May 28, 2016 at 3:34 PM
I agree about having a perspective and point. You explain well why it’s a delicate balance. Thanks for commenting 🙂
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May 28, 2016 at 4:04 PM
I love it myself. It is my personal way to come out say how i feel about movies. Its such a joy to me. very nice article
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June 8, 2016 at 5:43 PM
I do take your point about editing and proofreading but I think it is also important not to over edit, sometimes an initial draft has a spontaneity and a flow to it that can be lost if every word is pored over and debated before posting. Perhaps I am just a charitable guy because I think the majority are excellent, I do though on occasion feel that some give a little too much plot detail and even give away endings which for films we all know and love is one thing but for lesser known films seems a little sour. I have watched a lot of films in the last 3-4 years after reading about them on the various blogs I read on a regular basis.
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June 8, 2016 at 8:18 PM
I agree entirely that spontaneity can bring a personal voice you don’t want to edit down to dullness. Mostly, I like a maturity of response, some interesting thoughts and not just summaries. So I think we mostly agree 🙂
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May 7, 2017 at 1:29 PM
Thanks – I’ve started doing film reviews and wanted to know what the blogosphere wants…
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May 7, 2017 at 3:01 PM
So glad to be of help!
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