Kevin Smith talks games in Yahoo interview

[Babar]

You seem to have this idea that we should be nice to everything and everyone, and that criticisms are inherently a questioning of the worth of something. There is a tendency in today's world -- and perhaps there always has been, but I haven't been in any other world so I wouldn't really know -- to preach conflict-avoidance and appeasement and "everyone is special" and "all opinions are equal".

I'm actually with Jaws here. There seems (to me) to be a trend in the exact opposite direction, that if something is crap, don't spare it's feelings. Crap. Bullshit. In your face.

There is always SOMETHING, something that redeems the...artpiece(?) somewhat. If it was so bad it shouldn't exist, it wouldn't exist. Someone obviously saw something in it, otherwise it wouldn't be there. I had a roommate who was very insistant in playing Heavy Metal. Previously I had thought that there was little to metal from people with leather tights and chains who went on long guitar solos interspaced with fake creepy voices. Most of that has still proven true , but I've also learnt to appreciate some of it (or some parts of it, at least).

It's not a evilness to be below standard. It's just a mistake. People don't wish to be crap on purpose. While it should be everyones goal to get better, there is a certain type of "criticism" that just puts you down, and doesn't help at all. Sure, it may be "cool" to dismiss everything out of hand and say it's sucks except for that small, narrow, singular field that you happen to be interested in, but that's just wishful thinking. I don't see how:

Important Cool Person: XYZ sucks!
Not so important person: But it doesn't, really
Important Cool Person being clever: It does, because d/dx( x^e23/17^(blah))
Not so important person who is unfortunately does not get it: Well, I like it!
*Everyone points and laughs at not so important person*

helps opening dialogs.

[TheYak]

Nah.  There is a tendency to default to criticism, but it's primarily from people in a comfort zone (relative anonymity of the internet, being with a group of friends, or in a particularly critical crowd).  It's easy when it's safe - find a greasy spoon mom & pop restaurant filled with old-timers and complain about teenagers driving too fast and it'll be hard to find a dissenter. 

I've only walked out of a movie once, primarily because I tend to enjoy most movies at least to some extent.  It seems to be a rare occurrence though.  People will gripe about how awful a movie is, but avoid making a fuss because they seem to feel they'd have to have a legally-sound reason for requesting their money back (technical difficulties, etc.).  If a movie was poorly advertised or the previews showed it as a comedy but it turns out a dull drama with some comic relief, people don't feel they've got a leg to stand on.  I'd highly encourage them to do so, provided they don't turn themselves into the type that feels they're owed payback in every situation and complain about everything attempting to get compensation for perceived wrongs.

[Blackthorne]

Kevin is a very amiable guy.

I went to Vulgarthon, his film festival, in Red Bank NJ this summer, where he debuted Clerks II before it was publicly released.  He hung out with the fans all day (As well as Jason Mewes, Jen Schwalbach and Brian O'Halloran from Clerks 2) and was very accesible.  I had a great time, and his films make me laugh, and occasionally, think.

Bt

[EagerMind]

evenwolf: Yeah, now that you mention it, I seem to remember that this is what I read. From my experience, it seems like I could make an argument for a refund for almost every movie I see.

I haven't walked out of any movies yet. But I have become a lot more selective in what movies I'll go see. If it's doesn't have at least an 80% or even 90% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, I'll seriously start to consider whether I want to pay to see it in a theater or just wait to rent it.

Movies I wish I had walked out of: Lawnmower Man, Alien Resurrection (speaking of Jean-Pierre Jeunet), Highlander II. I seriously challenge anybody to find anything constructive to say about any of these!

As for Kevin Smith: I don't think anyone's trying to make the argument that he's some sort of ground-breaking director or that his movies will be forever remembered as classics in the annals of film history. But I do think he makes films that are true to himself (haven't seen his "sell-out" flick) and that he invests a lot of himself into. If you start picking at his films to see what's underneath the surface, you're probably not gonna find much. But that doesn't mean they're not entertaining to watch, and I think that's a reasonable expectation for a couple hours of entertainment.

[MrColossal]

"I seriously challenge anybody to find anything constructive to say about any of these!"

Alien Resurrection helped fund Amelie.

That's all I got!

[evenwolf]

Highlander II

Whatever happened to "there can be only one?"