Friday, August 8, 2008

Just thinking out loud...

This is Travis/Grabloid. I just had a thought/suggestion. I wonder if we ought to move to doing a film every other week as opposed to every week. I personally feel like it takes until Thursday/Friday to watch the film and to really be ready to react to it and analyze it very deeply. We then spend several days discussing it and digesting it after that, and by that time it is time to watch another film. For instance, I just barely got out of "Fargo-mode" and just started being able to react to, and think about "Dancer in the Dark", and it is already Friday. It might take me a day to feel ready to post about it confidently, and then the discussion of the film will be shortened by the necessity to watch/think about the next film. Maybe I just work/think too slowly??? 

Alternatively, I would propose that we work on a two-week cycle. We could make it a goal to have the film watched early in the first week, and have posted about it by the end of the first week. The second week could be the week to discuss the films in-depth... I would personally prefer the experience of depth in discussion to quantity of experiences watching. This change might strike a good balance between analyzing deeply, and experiencing a variety of films. We would need to be careful about this, though, because we may be tempted to just procrastinate and put-off watching and posting, which would just defeat the whole purpose of giving us more time to discuss. Just something I've been thinking about...what does everybody else think?

5 comments:

Grabloid said...

p.s.
(to Jason...)
I sincerely do not mean to step on the toes of your well-formulated group... :)

Grabloid said...

This idea was also born out of the desire of wanting to really react to other's posts in the comments section, in addition to posting 'our own take of the film'. The extra week we would potentially add could allow for this understanding of our own response, and then reading/responding to everybody else's responses (discussion).

Jason Pyles, Movie Critic said...

Fair enough. I can see your point, Travis, and I think it's a valid one. Having extra time for further discussion probably would be beneficial.

How about a compromise? Each film's discussion is freely open for two weeks, but we still have a new weekly film. That way, if you have more to say about a particular movie, or the discussion ensues beyond a week, this would allow for such instances.

My two selfish reasons for starting this blog were to continue a tradition of watching weekly films with my pals Karl and Andy, as I did when I lived in Utah. And the second reason was to write about film as often as possible, while engaging in thoughtful discussions and debates with other film lovers.

Right now, in a year's time, we're still only discussing 52 films. I'd be sad to see it drop to 26. Plus, I fear people might forget about the blog if we space out the new stuff.

So, how would you all feel about being able to have two-week discussions for each film, but still having a new film each week?

What I do, since I use Netflix to see these films, is look at what's on deck and strategically plan so they arrive the weekend before that film's seven days in the spotlight. I typically watch and write about that week's film that Saturday or Sunday night. (Though I still haven't found a solution for "Sunrise.")

Tell me what you guys think. I love the constructive feedback, even though I probably seem like Captain Rules all the time.

And Travis (as well as everyone else), feel free to write with candor; you don't have to worry about stepping on my toes. Your evidently serious participation on this blog is priceless.

Jason

Grabloid said...

yeah
i am cool with Jason's idea, but also find myself in Andrew's spot.
i end up watching several films a week, but i have a hard time finding the time to write a very deep analysis once a week. also, a lot of my own insight comes a few days after i've watched a film and i've had time to fully process it.
every other week would still be ideal for me, but either way...i'll try to keep up as best as i can!

Jason Pyles, Movie Critic said...

Thanks again for your input on this. I can appreciate having limited time. Most of us are probably in that same boat to varying degrees.

Please feel free (as opposed to obligated) to comment as much or as little as possible. Nobody is obligated to watch every film every week ... except me.

I'm so grateful that you guys take the time to comment as frequently as you have been. Indeed, if I were a rich man, I'd be paying you all per comment.

How about this? We'll still do weekly films, but you can keep commenting on any of the films any time you want. In other words, there's no expiration date on when you can write about a film. And, for that matter, feel free to comment about ANY film, not just the week's feature.

Forgive me if I've given the impression that this has to be some rigid platform. Consider the cinema with us at your leisure, my friends.

And if you need to take time off, or skip a film, that's fine, too.