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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Things People Should Know #15

It is apparently that kind of day. My mother was the one who pointed out to me way back in the day, that many of those reviewer-quote-movie trailers have either only one word (and who knows if the surrounding words lent the same positive air) or are fom some obscure paper you've never heard of. Not all of them clearly, but many. So when the scandal broke that some studios had paid reviewers, well, I was underwhelmed. And there has been discussion recently, particularly as anyone with internet access thes days can call themselves a reviewer, about reviews for books that seem to suggest that the reviewer has not in fact read or finished the book. Chalice Chick reviewed the Left Behind game on her blog and got a canned response that there was misinformation afoot, even though that's what her review said.
But of course it is one thing to review something and have a minority opinion, or to get things a bit wrong. It is quite another to review something that has not, in fact, been written. Particularly if one is a 'professional' reviewer. Certainly one often feels one knows what to expect from a filmmaker or author, but you can't be certain if it hasn't even been written.

Thanks to Smart Bitches for the link to the review story.