Hatchet Job
Love Movies, Hate Critics
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3.8 • 5 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
The finest film critic in Britain at the absolute top of his form' Stephen Fry
'Entertainingly incendiary stuff' Empire
A hatchet job isn't just a bad review, it's a total trashing. Mark Kermode is famous for them - Pirates of the Caribbean, Sex and the City 2, the complete works of Michael Bay.
Beginning with his favourite hatchet job ever, Mark tells us about the best bad reviews in history, why you have to be willing to tell a director face-to-face their movie sucks, and about the time he apologized to Steven Spielberg for badmouthing his work.
But why do we love really bad reviews? Is it so much harder to be positive? And is the Internet ruining how we talk about cinema? The UK's most trusted film critic answers all these questions and more in this hilarious, fascinating and argumentative new book.
'A wry, robust and developed defence of accountable critical voices' Total Film
'Very accessible, entertaining and relevant . . . warmly recommended' Den of Geek
Customer Reviews
Good but...
I can't help but feel that Dr Kermode's third major literary effort is a tad rambling/rambly. His first two books were so enjoyable and this has at its heart one of the most important and interesting issues in film spectatorship today - the role and importance of the film critic (specifically, in a world where anyone can provide an instantly accessible opinion). However, the key points Kermode wants to make seem a little drawn out through example.
Also, dare I say it, I get the impression that there is a gravitation towards reinforcing his 'Kermodean' way of expounding an opinion things. I really do not want him to become a caricature of the critic we love listening to every week on the radio.
I am a huge Kermode fan and still think this is a good addition to his growing catalogue of work…but I really hope his next work is a little more succinct. This is a smart guy with a lot of fascinating stuff to say and is, as Fry's quote says, the best critic in the country.