Webtales

I haven’t seen “Alice in Wonderland” yet, but I read a review in the paper yesterday that really annoyed me. The idea of film reviewing is pompous enough; this reviewer compounded it by panning the film because it is not what she wanted to see. I hear that kind of criticism a lot. It is the “if *I* were making this” school of crit. It is bullshit.

In my experience, the people who make these kind of pronouncements are the least likely to create anything individual. But they are great experts on other peoples’ work.

I’ve fallen into that one myself from time to time, and Tim Burton was a great example for me. The first time I saw “Sleepy Hollow” it did not meet my expectations and was a terrible film. I had occasion to see it again years later and marveled at how good it actually was. What kept me from enjoying it the first time was *ME*.

It can be difficult to just be open to someone else’s creative process. Tim Burton taught me a lesson I’ve kept close to me ever since.