About the Critic: Ben Waldorf
You’ve reached the web home of me, Ben Waldorf, film lover from Northern California. This page is the culmination of a couple years of posting informal film reviews on my various blogs on xanga and blogger. Now, thanks to the immense help of my friend Jeff Bowman, I have a spiffy website that looks far better than anything I could have dreamed of doing on my own. I’m greatly indebted to him for his efforts here (and if you have any web design needs of your own, check out his site – he does great work).
I’m truly open to anything in a film and try my best not to go into a theater with any preconceived notions, but any critic that tells you they’re truly objective is lying through their teeth. Contrary to popular belief, we critics are humans, too, and the only way to get a true sense of where my tastes lie is to check out the reviews I’ve already posted around here. I try to be as objective as possible in evaluating a film, answering the basic questions of what the film is trying to do and how successful it is at doing it. There’s a difference between a film that’s “good” and a film I would call a “favorite,” and I hope I make it clear which side I’m evaluating. Sometimes trashy films are just fun to watch even when you know that objectively they’re poorly-made, and sometimes you know a film that you’re watching is good even though you’re not enjoying yourself.
A few words about grading systems. There are those who love them and those who hate them and all they stand for. I guess I’m somewhere in the middle, leaning towards the love side. I agree that perhaps they diminish the value of a review and can trivialize the point, but for the review sites I read where they don’t offer grades, I find it frustrating. Basically, I think they’re a nice summation for a review. Trivial? Perhaps, but they have their purpose. (Plus, they make it really easy to organize a long list of reviews.)
It has been said that my site is a bit heavy on the higher grades and light on the lower grades, and while I agree, there are a few reasons for this. First, I am not a registered critic with any organization at this time (though I am working on it), so what I see is largely based on my interests, so I’m more likely to be drawn to films I will probably like. That’s just how it works. I also tend to be a nicer grader than a mean one. A lot of effort goes into a film, whether it is an elaborate production like Children of Men or a straightforward romantic comedy like You’ve Got Mail, so a lot can go wrong. Some people see Aeon Flux and think it should get an F for what it gets wrong; I see it and tend to think it should get a C based on what it gets right.
At this point in my life, I don’t have the kind of time to devote to writing a full-length review for every film I see. I do my best, but as of now, about half of the films merely have grades. I keep the site up-to-date with every film I’ve seen with a grade, but I only tend to write about the ones I think are deserving of a write-up (I really don’t think there’s a terrible amount I can say about Babel, for instance, that hasn’t already been hashed out).
I also suggest you look around at some other sites as well as this one. Sites like Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes are both excellent resources that compile a wide variety of critics and try to get a general sense of a film’s critical reception. While I gave Prime an A, it’s helpful to know how in the minority that position puts me. Conversely, while everyone seemed to love Michael Clayton, I didn’t understand what all the hubbub was about. Some critics I like include the whole gang over at Pajiba, whose tolerance for crappy cinema is low, The Movie Boy, who exudes a dedication and thoroughness that I envy, and the staff of Slant Magazine. I disagree with the Slant folks more than I agree with them, but they’re a brilliant bunch and their writing skills are enviable.
Please feel free to send me feedback using the link in the upper-right hand corner if you so desire. I love getting comments and am curious to know who is reading.
Happy reading!
