A reader named Dan posted a comment on my review of “The Lookout” over the weekend that said, in part:
I watched this film last night, purely on Eric’s recommendation during a podcast. A wonderful film, beautifully acted and shot…. Thanks Eric for the tip.
Friends, that’s the kind of comment that does a movie critic’s heart good. The point of film reviewing (at least from my perspective) is to help people enjoy movies more. That means steering them away from the ones that aren’t worthwhile, and reminding them of the ones that are. Obviously a review can only reflect my personal opinion, but ideally you can use my comments to determine whether or not you would enjoy the movie yourself.
So when I hear that someone saw a movie solely on my recommendation, and that they loved it — well, it makes me go all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s nice to hear feedback of any kind (just so I know I’m not just talking to myself), but that kind is especially nice.
And now I hope it won’t be TOO self-indulgent (I know it is at least a little bit) to solicit more testimonials. Have you ever seen a film specifically because I recommended it — one that you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise — and wound up loving it? Post a comment and tell us about it!
(If the opposite has happened — you saw a film on my advice and HATED it — hang on to that. We’ll talk about those later.)
