Ask JKM a Question #12: 250-word reviews?

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous writes:

“It took me almost half an hour to read your review of Prometheus.  Ever consider writing 250 word  or under reviews?”

Thank you, Anonymous, for writing and for asking me a question.

I suppose I should answer in the first case that there are plenty of venues on the Internet where you can find and read movie reviews that are 250 words or less, if that fits your desire. 

And certainly, if you go "by the book," experts do often advise bloggers to write “short” pieces because apparently modern attention spans are short.  I read a book last year that insisted the modern attention span is nine seconds and rapidly diminishing.

Yet I don’t work for a daily newspaper, where space is in short supply. 

And I don’t generally review new movies right after they premiere, so I’m not on a tight deadline either. 

Therefore, I boast a few luxuries that some other reviewers aren’t afforded. 

I can thus write as lengthy or as short a review as I desire. I generally write until I’m satisfied that I have adequately described the nature of the film or program under my microscope. I try not to impose artificial limits on myself if I believe I have something valuable to say, or some valid argument to write.  I'm very big on backing up my assertions about films with examples, photographic and textual, if at all possible.  But making a coherent and provable case, with appropriate examples, takes up space...and words.   I find that I can't say much that is valuable or in-depth in nine seconds, or under 250 words.  Sorry!

Plus, I firmly believe at this point that a good-sized readership seeks out this blog because it offers more detailed movie reviews.

Either that, or people just really like my toy collection…

In other words, this is just what I do, and it seems to resonate, at least a little, with a smart, curious readership that I enjoy interacting with. Without getting defensive about it, I suppose I would ask you, in response to your question: “what do you consider the purpose of film criticism?”  Is it only to describe general, emotional impressions of a film? Or is it to point out, perhaps, something in a film that perhaps you sensed and saw, but were not quite able to enunciate and put a finger on?  If it's the latter, I would like to be your guide in the process of crystallizing those ideas.  I would hope that we can take a journey together in which our individual knowledge informs one another and new interpretations get forged.

In my opinion, life and art are sometimes too complex to reduce to the binary decisions of “yes”/”no,” "see"/"don't see" or "thumbs up"/"thumbs down."  Accordingly, this is the kind of blog I write, and this is also the kind of film criticism I enjoy reading  I understand it took you thirty minutes to read the Prometheus review, but perhaps you might consider the experience good practice for life.  Eventually, you're going to run across a piece of work longer than 250 words (er, like this response...) and have to follow it, understand it, debate it, and reckon with it on its own terms.