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  • About

    About Troy

    Dad to Madelyn, husband of Tricia, friend to all (which you can all read about here, if you care).

    My day job is in the exciting world of ones and zeros as a computer applications engineer.

    About The Blog

    The blog has changed a lot throughout it's existence, beginning as a chance to crack wise with friends amd sometimes talk about bad movies.

    Then, at some point it morphed into an attempt at writing relevantly about movies, to whatever degree I've been sucessful with that.

    I still love bad movies as much as I love good, and from time to time I remember to write about those. I also will dip my toe into my other interests, including TV, comics, board games, and sports (my teams are Blazers/Seahwaks/Mariners/Ducks).

    About Robert Denby

    You can click here to see why is he so elusive...
  • Contact

    Contact Me

    Email me at: troyolson1 at gmail dot com
  • Ratings Key

    The general thought process behind my movie ratings key...

    Shocking, but true, these ratings are a mix of how much I personally enjoyed the film along with the film’s technical and narrative proficiency, thematic depth, and genre influence.  Revolutionary stuff, I know.

    Due to the subjectivity of these ratings and because my feelings on a film can and do change over time, I may change my ratings on a film at a moment's notice. After all, even the Top 10 All-Time Movies list from Sight and Sound magazine is in a constant state of flux every 10 years -- similarly, my viewpoints and feelings on a film can change as I go through different passages in my life, learn and read more about a specific film, and/or see a movie from different perspectives.

    ***** Masterpiece Essential and not to be missed. A perfect film that need not be added to or taken away from (any flaws are easily overlooked), it deserves its place as an all-time great. It is superior in multiple fields, be they narrative proficiency, thematic resonance, characterization, cinematography, direction, acting, production, or overall influence. It's a great artistic achievement and/or a top-notch piece of entertainment. Many of these have affected me in a special way -- films I find immensely rewarding to watch again and again.
    ****½ Near Classic Worthy of multiple viewings and high acclaim. The difference between a Masterpiece and a Near Classic is often akin to splitting hairs, often coming down to minor details I couldn't overlook, nebulous gut reactions, or perhaps even my viewing experience. This rating denotes that this is assuredly an upper echelon film, but it is lacking something from placing it among the all-time greats. In contention for the best film of its year and the highest example of its genre. Even if not the utmost essential, these films still shouldn't be missed.
    **** Excellent Entertaining throughout and among the best of its genre/type. A film that is worthy of multiple views and I would certainly recommend you see. It won't disappoint, but shows some obvious shortcomings or is missing the artistic resonance that would make it an essential viewing. In consideration for the 10 best films of its year and/or near the top of its genre, but for one reason or another doesn't match up to the top tier of films.
    ***½ Very Good It's never on it's way to being great, but it's entertaining enough and worth seeing if you have the chance. A film that interested me while still having too many obvious flaws or failed to impress enough to consider it for a higher rating. Still better than most films out there. The entry-level rating for what I consider rewatchable. I would recommend this film and it's likely among the best 20 films of a year or a good example of a specific genre.
    *** Above Average A good way to spend some time, but not something that is entirely necessary or that I'll be clamoring to see again. I enjoyed it enough, with the good things outweighing the bad, and it has enough quality or entertainment in a few areas to keep you at least interested throughout.
    **½ Average There's at least one redeeming facet that keeps it watchable -- a performance, a particular genre, a scene, great cinematography/score/effects. If that aspect of the film interests you, then you may enjoy it, but otherwise don't waste your time or money on it.
    ** Below Average A forgettable film with very noticeable issues in terms of acting, directing, and story. A no-man's land where the film doesn't qualify as something I could recommend taking the time to watch for any reason, yet isn't so objectionable as to be entirely worthless.
    *½ Bad By any objective critical standard, this is not a good movie, lacking in many areas. However, there may still be some value in watching it -- I do use this rating for the amusing films that can be labeled "so bad, it's good".
    * Terrible Whether it's boring, inept, badly made, or annoyingly stupid, this is of poor quality all around and a waste of time. Not even bad enough to be moderately funny.
    NO STARS An affront to humanity Insulting to your intelligence and offensive on a moral level. Saved only for those films that are truly, truly awful, with no redeeming values (i.e. bad romantic comedies, Michael Bay movies, Norbit).
  • Movie Reviews

    Click here to go to my database of all movies watched and rated.

    For a list of movies I've written reviews on in some form, click here.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

New Project -- Inexhaustible Documents: The Record Club

Ed Howard, the man behind the superb movie blog Only the Cinema, has shown his knowledge of music in the past, most notably in his series of posts on the best albums of the 2000’s. Now he’s starting up a new and exciting blogging endeavor, Inexhaustible Documents, a music “club” modeled on The Oldest Established Really Important Film Club, whereby one blogger selects an album for everyone to listen to, posts about it on their blog, and everyone discusses it in the comments. As Ed himself describes it, “The vibe should be relaxed and conversational, an online version of friends casually trading recommendations and commenting on them.”

I was asked to participate in the concept, along with some other much more prominent bloggers, and jumped at the idea, if for no other reason than to get a chance to listen to some new things and also to work at articulating in words what I enjoy about music, something I find terribly difficult to do in any kind of method beyond “ooh, this sounds really cool.” As for when it comes to picking an album, I’m not sure if I have anything in my music collection as esoteric as Ed or my brother will choose, but I have plenty of music I’d love to talk about with other people, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Now, this is by no means any kind of exclusive thing. If you are just now hearing about it, then contact Ed or anyone else involved and ask to “join in” (aka get access to the music) -- the more different viewpoints and people in the conversation, the better. Whether you decide to join in or not, spread the word and place the banner at the top of this post on your own blog.

The first selection is Ed’s pick and it’s reggae, The Congo’s Heart of the Congos. I don’t think I’ve given reggae a real shot since high school, and even then it was pretty much just some Bob Marley and maybe some Jimmy Cliff or Peter Tosh. So, this should be a fun, ear-opening experience.

The conversation begins on Ed’s blog on May 23rd.

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2 comments

Thanks for promoting the club, Troy! I'm really excited about this, it should be a fun discussion.

A great project for sure Troy, and I'm sure your participation will be more than noteworthy!

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