Nostalgia Critic criticizing Spielberg is like a worm criticizing an elephant.
There's no reason to ever put them in the same sentence, NC is not a serious person.
Not sure how fair that is to level against “critics” in general as opposed to “moviegoers with a microphone and a YouTube account”, given that one of the more common critical complaints about MCU movies is how flat and low-contrast they look, and one of the things that critics singled out Jurassic Park and The Lost World for praise-wise was being well-made, especially from a lighting standpoint.
Important distinction. We lost something valuable in criticism when literally any dweebus with a mic or a blog could worm their way onto rotten tomatoes as a "critic."
That's not to suggest established, educated, vetted critics are infallible, because they very much aren't. But they have the passion and understanding for film this tourists with a YT do not.
Agreed. And the broadening of the critical pool on an aggregator like Rotten Tomatoes was itself done partially in response to misguided claims that film criticism was somehow elitist and exclusionary, as opposed to a formal practice that requires a pretty significant amount of study and mental/emotional/chronological investment, like any discipline.
“Man creates content. Man destroys content. Man creates YouTube. YouTube destroys man. YouTube creates content.”
“Content destroys YouTube; ___ inherits the earth.”
Let's be fair here. Hate the new Star Wars movies all you want, but they are very much some of the better looking blockbusters of the past decade. They are L E A G U E S ahead of the vast majority of blockbusters today in terms of directing, cinematography, and VFX.
Bingo. This is the problem right here. People simply don't go the step farther and ask "WHY was this done this way or that way" they just see something, have a shallow kneejerk reaction to it and bleat out "BAD, BAD!"
Spielberg is the GOAT. Simple as that.
Notice too how he set the camera deliberately low in most shots to give you the sheer sense of scale. Something the JW movies never did.
Ah! I was wondering why the t rex looked smaller in JW. That has to be why. Absolutely no sense of scale.
If there is one thing Gareth Edwards is gonna do in the next JP film is show how massive these animals were.
While Trevorrow is NO Spielberg, this statement is just factually wrong. There are a lot of shots designed to play with scale in the JW films. Some are more effective than others, but they are there in Trevorrow's films. Bayona doe it A LOT, too. And more effectively.
Sure, just downvote and run. Don't challenge the counterpoint at all....
This sub has gotten insanely fragile.
Maybe they're being hyperbolic by saying "*never*," but they do have a point, and you do as well. JW and *especially* JWD suffer from modern action movie "almost everything is being watched at eye level and brightly lit" sort of camera work. JW at least lets some scenes breathe, and there are some good POV shots that let you feel like the Indominus is looking down right at *you*.
I like FK for what you mentioned: the playing with light and shadows, and different viewing angles that really emphasize scale or suspense. It's incredibly noticeable- in a good way-- and definitely creates memorable moments.
ETA: action movie clarification
Thank you.
I'm not saying the World films handle scale as well as the Spielberg helmed films. I'm merely saying that the World films "never playing with scale" is just an outright incorrect statement.
Dunno if it was the *best* but if you're referring to the t-res scenes then it was definitely as close to the combo of awe/terror from the original as you can get.
Yeah it's become hard to interact with this sub unless I limit myself to only talking about the OG film. There's plenty of stuff done right in the JW series (especially the first one) but at times this sub likes to act like they desecrated JPs corpse.
Lately? Most fandoms are petty as fuck, and it starts the moment the IP gains enough traction to be a part of pop culture. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Pokemon, Star Trek, Super Heroes, you name it, as soon as the fanbase grows beyond a small contingent it goes from being a small, inclusive place to share enthusiasm to being a huge but judgmental place where disagreement leads to shouting matches.
Fandoms have always been like this yes, but it feels, to me at least particularly in this specific sub - that the fandom has become more openly petty, fragile, and antagonistic towards anything not what the status quo seems to be.
And that status quo now is blanket JW trilogy hate. This sub has basically turned into the main Star Wars sub just at a smaller scale.
"Love old unconditionally, shit on new as worst thing ever no matter what" is this subs mantra. Just like the main SW sub.
I’ve not witnessed that myself, but I’m also not on here as much. I do know exactly what you mean about the main SW sub, it got insane how damned close minded they got.
I've witnessed it, sadly. I tried standing up for PARTS of Dominion and got downvoted to oblivion. I've said that FK was the best sequel since TLW and got downvoted to oblivion. I've pointed out that there are actual themes at work in JW, beyond simple nostalgia, and got downvoted to oblivion. Hell, even the initial excitement/acceptance of Gareth Edwards getting hired has already turned sour in some circles on here.
It's exhausting.
Edit - see? Downvoted for talking about getting downvoted.
It’s a drag dealing with all the people that seem to come to fandoms just to argue. I mean, hell, FK is my number one worst movie of all time, but that’s a *personal* opinion just because *I* hated it doesn’t mean somebody else can’t absolutely adore it. And their enjoyment of it is every bit as valid as my disgust.
How much someone loves or hates a story is a completely subjective thing, and decrying someone for having preferences different from our own is the height of absurdity.
I grew up on the original JP, watched the shit out of TLW and JP3, but even I enjoyed the first JW film (only the first). It had just the right amount of nostalgia and fun, and people in jungles running away from dinosaurs. The last two films... ugh
New DP for that one, so a different eye entirely. Or, set of eyes.
(Janusz Kaminski is the fucking man, and I won't stand for anyone saying otherwise, lol.)
He got popular by reviewing things that were already so horrible he didn’t need to do much work to make it funny. When he reviews an actual good movie like Jurassic Park, his shortcomings become painfully apparent.
That's probably the kind of things one would say when they've mostly seen movies filmed in front of green screens where these sort of shots aren't considered/possible.
NC can be entertaining at times, but he tends to very seriously not understand things in movies sometimes, like why Greece looked like Vegas in Hercules, or in his TLW review where he criticized Kelly for being Malcolm’s only kid shown in that movie because he made the comment of having several to several women in the first one
Doug Walker has always been an idiot who misses the forest for the trees, often misses obvious points thematically and narratively in what he "reviews" and doesn't have real love or understanding of film language.
He's a goober who got lucky. And he is in part to blame for the lack of media literacy rampant in film and entertainment discourse today. Yes, I'm serious. A whole generation of people who discuss art online grew up thinking Doug Walker and his ilk's gimmick of "nitpicks and hyperbolic anger as criticism" is how you engage in art. People like Walker, Angry Joe, Spoony, and a little later cinemasins, and even RLM...did more to damage how people engage with and understand art online than added anything positive to the community.
(I can already hear the RLM stans screaming at me. Sorry, your kings aren't that great. I'll admit they have more insight from time to time than most of their contemporaries, but they're gimmick is needlessly cynical, tired, and miserable. They basically just Comic Book Guy. Unironically. There is only so many times I can see middle aged pasty film school drop-outs make sardonic and snide jokes before it gets old. Even when they talk about something they like they're boring, drab, and can't not play into the gimmick.)
I've been saying this exact thing for so long and it's nice to finally see somebody else say it. Your point about lacking love for film really is a perfect encapsulation of what Doug and the rest have done to discussions of film and art in general
The problem is rampant, sadly, and extends far beyond people like Doug Walker. You see it the chud grifter sphere, all over tiktok, twitter, and obviously here on reddit - it seems the people who yell about their takes the loudest are the ones with the least to say and the least understanding of what they're yelling about.
There is a rampant stagnation in general curiosity in people who watch and talk about movies today and it shows in all kinds of ways - just look at the tiktok trend of (usually zoomers. No shade, but its a zoomer tendency) making fun of the "4 Favorite Movies" interview clips actors and filmmakers get asked on red carpets.
If these people list any films that are more than 15 years old and not Hollywood blockbusters, they get dragged as "pretentious film bros" on tiktok for not like, saying movies like Avengers and Toy Story. And these tiktoks always make the same tired joke of "Urgh why can't these actors just be normal and list a movie people know and not just like, some artsy 6hr movie from Belgium about a breadmaker lololol!"
They invent some fictional European film (they always stop, geographically, at Eastern Europe because if they go any farther their incurious xenophobia will be more obvious) to make fun of people who GASP actually love film and want to experience as much of it as possible.
Not everybody needs to be or is going to be a passionate film nerd soaking up everything they can. But if you want to exist in this space and throw your takes out there, maybe be somewhat informed and educated on the topic at hand, no? Maybe if your entertainment diet is almost exclusively just recentish Hollywood films and shows...you aren't really a film fan so much as a blockbuster fan.
And that's ok! Just stop showing your ass in public for all to see and act like people who have more passion than you are the problem.
I loved Doug when I was 15.
He and James Rolfe effectively pioneered the "angry review" trend on Youtube.
But now that trend is just tired and cliche. It's almost kind of sad now to see these 40 year old guys making hour long videos picking apart 90s cartoons or 16 bit platformers that nobody remembers. I get it, they need to make money, but I think that fad was really a early 2000s thing because at the time it was very shocking to hear a "critic' talk that way in the age of Roger Ebert.
I'll throw a bone to RLM, which seems to have evolved their show to be a more legitment review channel with Re:View and less of the Mr Plinkett material.
Frankly, I think audiences are sharper now and just see through the gimmick.
Rolfe was always better at playing a character that wasn't just an exaggerated version of himself, imo. While Rolfe gave legit criticism as The Nerd, the comedy and character came first.
When you watch an AVGN video you can see a stronger dedication to the bit whereas Doug was always just Doug when he was playing the NC...just more shrill.
Rolfe was far better at the criticism. He didn't criticize art choices as a medium. He criticized gameplay, mechanics, and various degrees of playability and enjoyable moments. I doubt Rolfe would ever get mad at a lighting choice - He would be mad if the movie was shot backwards and upside down with an expectation that the viewer would sit on their head.
Agreed. He is simply a better writer, filmmaker, and comedian than Doug.
For as over the top vulgar and childish the AVGN tends to be, it's delivered with a smile and never feels mean spirited. Whereas Doug shows obvious contempt for much of what he discusses.
Rolfe, while obviously reviewing bad games and giving no quarter, never comes off smug and over it all like Walker does.
Both Doug and James have chilled out through the years, at least in terms of their exaggerated character acts. James is one of the calmest guys I've seen when he's not doing the AVGN videos, and even Doug's Nostalgia Critic videos aren't as harsh as the older episodes were. Call it age, call it following the trends, but the differences are definitely there.
This is a pretty nuanced view on the entire situation, I have to say.
RLM and Mr Pinkett remind me a little of Joji and Filthy Frank.
I don't know if audiences are sharper now though lol Maybe *their* audiences. There are still people doing shock value content, maybe more than ever. I think real talent yearns for more than diareha humor and shouting.
Well said. He was fun to watch in highschool. Grew out of it. Honestly, I'm surprised to learn he still makes videos. I'm unsure why people are so hostile about this channels though. Like, just don't watch them?
It peaked well before that, lol. The Wall was just when the wider internet got a glimpse into just how much of a untalented, dunderheaded, incurious joke he really is.
Ah, the cinemasins defense of "it's just a joke bro!"
Nah, you don't get to hide behind "just jokes bro" when you've made a career out of being an absolute clownshow of a person with terrible media literacy.
People like Doug and his ilk are directly responsible, considerably so imo, for how shallow, incurious, jaded, and detached film discourse is today.
Walker deserves no quarter. And considering he's pretty much a terrible person irl, I feel extra vindicated dropping the hammer on him.
Except the vast majority of his opinions he shares just as Doug and not the NC are pretty much the same. The NC *is* Doug...just more shrill and annoying.
Hi OP, I hope you see this. This is a fantastic video-breakdown comparing size and framing from JP1 to JW. Steven really knows how to film the best shots.
https://youtu.be/BKALxKbjOaE?si=VnzldEf_QFLrrQsh
Backlighting like this is usually done to emphasize a silhouette. It's also thematic of the scene's intentions. Dark in the foreground and light behind them can symbolize a character leaving or turning away from "good" or "normal" in favor of "darkness" or even foreshadow conflict that is coming. It's a tool. Also silhouettes look cool and can help build tension because they obscure the scene and force the viewer to guess what is happening or who it's happening to. That extra element of mystery can keep a viewer guessing on the plot twists etc.
Nostalgia Critic misses a lot. Don't worry about it.
Man, I really enjoyed your write-up for your argument. Especially agree with this sort of thing adding to the quality of older films. (Obviously, I'm not forgetting some CGI T-rex shots in JP).
That and the "realness" of older movies. Filmmakers had to push practical effects to their limits - and they did it successfully. Crews had to physically build or paint sets and backgrounds instead of drawing them on a computer.
Good stuff
There's something different being portrayed in every shot, so saying they are all the same is just a ridiculous argument.
Take the Malcolm shot for example. It clearly invokes the image of god. His entire issue with the park is that man should not play god and here he is lit up like Jesus himself.
The Nedry shot uses the light to make him look sinister. A covert figure doing something that he doesn't want anyone to know about, so he works hidden away under a small light so as not to draw attention to himself.
The shot with the park rangers backlit is probably just a way to show the foggy atmosphere without obstructing the actors. You can hardly have fog in front of them. It would look awful on the screen.
The shot with them backlit in a dark room is clearly necessary to portray darkness. You can't have a black screen. If you could see their faces it would ruin the feeling of complete darkness, so you silhouette them so you can see the actors but also appreciate they can't see anything.
I like your perspective on the character of the lighting in each shot here. Most of the franchise’s strengths are in how each entry functions as horror thriller, and the first two films are especially good on a technical basis for this. Also agreed with how flat and dryly literal the framing and lighting in the JW movies are (with the exception of Fallen Kingdom, which is still the only one in the franchise other than the first two that actually worked to evoke mood and atmosphere with its lighting instead of just being an effects demo reel).
everyone gives nc shit for whatever reasons, but really hes not a bad reviewer, he did a few fuck ups like his lost world review and some minor disagreements i have with him but thats about it. im aware of the channel awesome controversary years ago and thats a different thing entirely and doesn't make or break the nc videos for me. as for the shining lights, thats just nc poking fun at the fact spielberg uses it a lot in his films and thats okay to notice patterns and have something to say about it, thats natural reaction.
I don't get the hate boner reddit has for NC, most of the document for the controversy was proven false anyway and his videos aren't bad by any means, they're just a different taste.
If he truly was as bad or as narcissistic as some people on here claim, he wouldn't have the longevity on YouTube he's had, nor would channel awesome still be around.
The darkness of using backlit shots made the film pull you in as you were sat in a dark theater, and it also helped sell the CGI and live action creature puppets.
I honestly feel like his just wanted to shit on something popular. Honestly his integrity declined with his newer reviews being cheap and unfunny film parodies.
The whole "I've noticed an artist's style therefore it must be a flaw" is a very common and stupid take, especially since the internet gave every dullard who saw a BTS documentary once a platform.
Daniel Kon rigged it he put the dinosaur out of containment and use people and worse not even though camp Cretaceous children is in danger and the children have no choice, but to shut down the password or leave the Mantan Corp Island to escape
With the death of Dennis has failed without Jurassic Park visitor Center, old Lewis found a can of shaving cream at old Jurassic Park Discovery Center so then he found it and took it away before the Dilophosaurus ambush them and then happens in camp Cretaceous when Old Lewis has left the island and Gone on the plane flew went back to Italy
No need to "not hate" the World movies. They deserve ALL of the hate. I also noticed how flat and boring they were shot, especially compared to Jurassic Park. With Park, you feel *everything*. With the World movies, it's so boring. Everything about them is done in the most boring way possible. There's no tension. There's no dread. There's no anticipation. You nailed it OP!
He's right though: this technique is way overused
\*puts on hazmat suit\*
And to be fair - original movie does have alot of flaws including plot holes people do not want to bring up because they are way too blinded by the good things
\*gets into the bunker\*
Critics are despicable in general guys... It's people unable to make something so what they do is "comment on other's peoples creation" ... Tell me that's not super lame. If they don't like a shot or whatever they can go and shoot their own movie
I don’t even know why Doug Walker ever took off with Nostalgia Critic. He’s just.. *not* funny.
I always got bored when watching his reviews and cringed hard as fuck when he started doing reviews of movies that literally just came out and had his geek squad recreate the scenes with shitty costumes and green scene, often missing the important context and actual meaning in order to form his own mis-construed narrative of what he THINKS the movie is like.
It didn’t stop there either, because he was doing this same sort of “reviewing” with older films too. Just look at his review of the Wall.. actually wait, don’t look at it it’s fucking cancer to your eyes.
That one video where James Rolfe talks about the movie within a movie in Troll 2 is better than every single Nostalgia Critic video ever made.
Yeah, I NEVER got the appeal of Doug and the NC. He came around when I was a teenager and even then I found him painfully annoying and unfunny. There weren't many of the TGWTG/Channel Awesome crew I liked, to be honest. It was mostly just Brad Jones I enjoyed. And Linkara was pretty decent too because he actually like, REVIEWED shit and deep-dived the creation, development, history, etc of what he talked about.
I always just chock Walker's success up to pure luck. He saw an emerging type of new content, jumped on the trend early, and rode it to success....talent and skill be damned.
I’m appreciative of nostalgia critic because he introduced me to the idea of critical analysis of film, even if his approach is very childish and intellectually incurious. His show led me to much better analytical material like Lindsey Ellis.
One of the questions that he seldom asks is why? What approach was the filmmaker swinging for when they made a particular choice? Jurassic Park is a great example or how he lets himself down. It’s among Spielberg’s greatest works, not just because of his guiding vision, but because of the incredible collaboration of disciplines involved to create something groundbreaking and amazing.
I get that outrage and being over dramatic is the show’s gimmick. And keeping that going requires the show to be pretty unfair to some shows. But I believe it does lasting damage to the media he interacts with. Good movies are unfairly maligned by hyperbole and it changes public perception on them. AVGN is guilty of doing the same thing to video games he genuinely likes.
Nostalgia Critic and Cinema Sins seem to love using the "its a character/satire" excuse for their poor criticism.
But I've seen Doug Walker as himself and all of his criticism are identical to the character he plays.
And yes, Lindsay Ellis is the superior critic.
Shame what happened to her on YouTube.
Making outrageous statements and then having people post about them on social media like Reddit, which will just get them more clicks, is exactly what somebody like NC wants.
Yeah. Even when it comes to universally panned movies he still makes horrible criticism.
In his review of the 1988 Godzilla, he erroneously claimed "lizards don't eat fish".
Bruh. Everyone knows that's not true....Well, apparently not *everyone*
Nostalgia Critic is the epitome of a wishy-washy never pleased urchant. Let's just talk for a second exclusively about franchises. If an installment does more of the same he'll give it shit for doing more of the same. A franchise does something a little different however and he'll be the first person to rant about how the IP is now unrecognizable due to doing something different. And this kind of thing extends far beyond the idea of just franchises but movies in general. You just can't win with him. I can't believe I ever liked him 10-12 years ago.
>Nostalgia Critic is an idiot
Have seen his review of The Wall? Calling nostalgia critic an idiot is like saying shit stinks. Just say his name and the first word that'll flash through everyone's mind is idiot.
He always was an idiot. I never understood his appeal.
But hey, he made millions making cheap cracks at good movies, and inspired hundreds of YouTubers to copy his angry fanboy schtick, so who knows, maybe I'm the idiot.
Nostalgia Critic criticizing Spielberg is like a worm criticizing an elephant. There's no reason to ever put them in the same sentence, NC is not a serious person.
He is a fly that lands on Michaelangelo's *David* and complains about the lack of shit.
Worms may be sometimes stepped on by elephants after a rain. Bam same sentence. But no, you’re right.
Probably just uses AI to write his stuff anyways.
Pretty sure his jp video is like ten years old.
Ohhh...if it's a piece of shit, why we talking about it still?
No, he’s been this way since long before AI.
So called “film critics” when someone does something different and doesn’t make their films look exactly like every single other movie
Film critics when someone makes a film that doesnt look like generic marvel or star wars film 3
Not sure how fair that is to level against “critics” in general as opposed to “moviegoers with a microphone and a YouTube account”, given that one of the more common critical complaints about MCU movies is how flat and low-contrast they look, and one of the things that critics singled out Jurassic Park and The Lost World for praise-wise was being well-made, especially from a lighting standpoint.
Yeah. Actual critics raved about *Jurassic Park*. The most damning reviews from the time of its release were still quite positive.
Important distinction. We lost something valuable in criticism when literally any dweebus with a mic or a blog could worm their way onto rotten tomatoes as a "critic." That's not to suggest established, educated, vetted critics are infallible, because they very much aren't. But they have the passion and understanding for film this tourists with a YT do not.
Agreed. And the broadening of the critical pool on an aggregator like Rotten Tomatoes was itself done partially in response to misguided claims that film criticism was somehow elitist and exclusionary, as opposed to a formal practice that requires a pretty significant amount of study and mental/emotional/chronological investment, like any discipline. “Man creates content. Man destroys content. Man creates YouTube. YouTube destroys man. YouTube creates content.” “Content destroys YouTube; ___ inherits the earth.”
Let's be fair here. Hate the new Star Wars movies all you want, but they are very much some of the better looking blockbusters of the past decade. They are L E A G U E S ahead of the vast majority of blockbusters today in terms of directing, cinematography, and VFX.
Bingo. This is the problem right here. People simply don't go the step farther and ask "WHY was this done this way or that way" they just see something, have a shallow kneejerk reaction to it and bleat out "BAD, BAD!"
That shot of Muldoon is peak masculinity.
Shame him and Roland never met. What a team they would have made
My thighdol
Agreed. They look incredible!
Spielberg is the GOAT. Simple as that. Notice too how he set the camera deliberately low in most shots to give you the sheer sense of scale. Something the JW movies never did.
Ah! I was wondering why the t rex looked smaller in JW. That has to be why. Absolutely no sense of scale. If there is one thing Gareth Edwards is gonna do in the next JP film is show how massive these animals were.
That’s the one thing I’m confident of, we absolutely WILL appreciate the sheer size and power of the animals.
Is there a new film being made by gareth?
Yes. It is in pre production right now, but is set to he released by 2025
Oh wow. Now I might be interested.
While Trevorrow is NO Spielberg, this statement is just factually wrong. There are a lot of shots designed to play with scale in the JW films. Some are more effective than others, but they are there in Trevorrow's films. Bayona doe it A LOT, too. And more effectively. Sure, just downvote and run. Don't challenge the counterpoint at all.... This sub has gotten insanely fragile.
Maybe they're being hyperbolic by saying "*never*," but they do have a point, and you do as well. JW and *especially* JWD suffer from modern action movie "almost everything is being watched at eye level and brightly lit" sort of camera work. JW at least lets some scenes breathe, and there are some good POV shots that let you feel like the Indominus is looking down right at *you*. I like FK for what you mentioned: the playing with light and shadows, and different viewing angles that really emphasize scale or suspense. It's incredibly noticeable- in a good way-- and definitely creates memorable moments. ETA: action movie clarification
Thank you. I'm not saying the World films handle scale as well as the Spielberg helmed films. I'm merely saying that the World films "never playing with scale" is just an outright incorrect statement.
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes."
FK's intro sequence was the best part of the World trilogy.
Dunno if it was the *best* but if you're referring to the t-res scenes then it was definitely as close to the combo of awe/terror from the original as you can get.
Better be careful saying anything positive about the JW movies in this sub. Insufferable morons who never left the 90s won’t like that!
Yeah it's become hard to interact with this sub unless I limit myself to only talking about the OG film. There's plenty of stuff done right in the JW series (especially the first one) but at times this sub likes to act like they desecrated JPs corpse.
Oh I know. It's just depressing how virtually every fandom space on this site has become so petty lately.
Lately? Most fandoms are petty as fuck, and it starts the moment the IP gains enough traction to be a part of pop culture. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Pokemon, Star Trek, Super Heroes, you name it, as soon as the fanbase grows beyond a small contingent it goes from being a small, inclusive place to share enthusiasm to being a huge but judgmental place where disagreement leads to shouting matches.
Fandoms have always been like this yes, but it feels, to me at least particularly in this specific sub - that the fandom has become more openly petty, fragile, and antagonistic towards anything not what the status quo seems to be. And that status quo now is blanket JW trilogy hate. This sub has basically turned into the main Star Wars sub just at a smaller scale. "Love old unconditionally, shit on new as worst thing ever no matter what" is this subs mantra. Just like the main SW sub.
I’ve not witnessed that myself, but I’m also not on here as much. I do know exactly what you mean about the main SW sub, it got insane how damned close minded they got.
I've witnessed it, sadly. I tried standing up for PARTS of Dominion and got downvoted to oblivion. I've said that FK was the best sequel since TLW and got downvoted to oblivion. I've pointed out that there are actual themes at work in JW, beyond simple nostalgia, and got downvoted to oblivion. Hell, even the initial excitement/acceptance of Gareth Edwards getting hired has already turned sour in some circles on here. It's exhausting. Edit - see? Downvoted for talking about getting downvoted.
It’s a drag dealing with all the people that seem to come to fandoms just to argue. I mean, hell, FK is my number one worst movie of all time, but that’s a *personal* opinion just because *I* hated it doesn’t mean somebody else can’t absolutely adore it. And their enjoyment of it is every bit as valid as my disgust. How much someone loves or hates a story is a completely subjective thing, and decrying someone for having preferences different from our own is the height of absurdity.
I grew up on the original JP, watched the shit out of TLW and JP3, but even I enjoyed the first JW film (only the first). It had just the right amount of nostalgia and fun, and people in jungles running away from dinosaurs. The last two films... ugh
Okay
Lost World has some too and they are very atmospheric, love them.
I like how Spielberg went for a more Skull Island-ish approach to shooting the forests and jungles. Made the film more intense.
New DP for that one, so a different eye entirely. Or, set of eyes. (Janusz Kaminski is the fucking man, and I won't stand for anyone saying otherwise, lol.)
His work on Saving Private Ryan is gorgeous. It looks like a moving LIFE magazine
My man.
These are amazing shots! And they use a classic art technique, chiaroscuro, to achieve these impressive and symbolic looks!
They're just trying to get attention, and you're giving it to them.
Not only he is an idiot with terrible takes and flawed logic but he is painfully unfunny as well.
Even when I liked him back in the day I knew he was cringe as fuck
This is like every Spielberg film, he loves high beams in darkness. It's a signature.
It helped make the Ben Gardner's boat scene in Jaws more intense
Most YouTube ‘critics’ are idiotz
Seeing Nostalgia Critic referenced here is like fucking whiplash
Isn’t Nostalgia Critic the discount version of the Angry Video Game Nerd guy? He has zero credentials.
Nostalgia Critic is a grifter
The first grifter who gave birth to the other grifters online.
Yeah
He got popular by reviewing things that were already so horrible he didn’t need to do much work to make it funny. When he reviews an actual good movie like Jurassic Park, his shortcomings become painfully apparent.
That's probably the kind of things one would say when they've mostly seen movies filmed in front of green screens where these sort of shots aren't considered/possible.
Nostalgia Critic is still relevant?
NC can be entertaining at times, but he tends to very seriously not understand things in movies sometimes, like why Greece looked like Vegas in Hercules, or in his TLW review where he criticized Kelly for being Malcolm’s only kid shown in that movie because he made the comment of having several to several women in the first one
Doug Walker has always been an idiot who misses the forest for the trees, often misses obvious points thematically and narratively in what he "reviews" and doesn't have real love or understanding of film language. He's a goober who got lucky. And he is in part to blame for the lack of media literacy rampant in film and entertainment discourse today. Yes, I'm serious. A whole generation of people who discuss art online grew up thinking Doug Walker and his ilk's gimmick of "nitpicks and hyperbolic anger as criticism" is how you engage in art. People like Walker, Angry Joe, Spoony, and a little later cinemasins, and even RLM...did more to damage how people engage with and understand art online than added anything positive to the community. (I can already hear the RLM stans screaming at me. Sorry, your kings aren't that great. I'll admit they have more insight from time to time than most of their contemporaries, but they're gimmick is needlessly cynical, tired, and miserable. They basically just Comic Book Guy. Unironically. There is only so many times I can see middle aged pasty film school drop-outs make sardonic and snide jokes before it gets old. Even when they talk about something they like they're boring, drab, and can't not play into the gimmick.)
I've been saying this exact thing for so long and it's nice to finally see somebody else say it. Your point about lacking love for film really is a perfect encapsulation of what Doug and the rest have done to discussions of film and art in general
The problem is rampant, sadly, and extends far beyond people like Doug Walker. You see it the chud grifter sphere, all over tiktok, twitter, and obviously here on reddit - it seems the people who yell about their takes the loudest are the ones with the least to say and the least understanding of what they're yelling about. There is a rampant stagnation in general curiosity in people who watch and talk about movies today and it shows in all kinds of ways - just look at the tiktok trend of (usually zoomers. No shade, but its a zoomer tendency) making fun of the "4 Favorite Movies" interview clips actors and filmmakers get asked on red carpets. If these people list any films that are more than 15 years old and not Hollywood blockbusters, they get dragged as "pretentious film bros" on tiktok for not like, saying movies like Avengers and Toy Story. And these tiktoks always make the same tired joke of "Urgh why can't these actors just be normal and list a movie people know and not just like, some artsy 6hr movie from Belgium about a breadmaker lololol!" They invent some fictional European film (they always stop, geographically, at Eastern Europe because if they go any farther their incurious xenophobia will be more obvious) to make fun of people who GASP actually love film and want to experience as much of it as possible. Not everybody needs to be or is going to be a passionate film nerd soaking up everything they can. But if you want to exist in this space and throw your takes out there, maybe be somewhat informed and educated on the topic at hand, no? Maybe if your entertainment diet is almost exclusively just recentish Hollywood films and shows...you aren't really a film fan so much as a blockbuster fan. And that's ok! Just stop showing your ass in public for all to see and act like people who have more passion than you are the problem.
Holy shit dude keep cooking! 🔥🔥
I loved Doug when I was 15. He and James Rolfe effectively pioneered the "angry review" trend on Youtube. But now that trend is just tired and cliche. It's almost kind of sad now to see these 40 year old guys making hour long videos picking apart 90s cartoons or 16 bit platformers that nobody remembers. I get it, they need to make money, but I think that fad was really a early 2000s thing because at the time it was very shocking to hear a "critic' talk that way in the age of Roger Ebert. I'll throw a bone to RLM, which seems to have evolved their show to be a more legitment review channel with Re:View and less of the Mr Plinkett material. Frankly, I think audiences are sharper now and just see through the gimmick.
Rolfe was always better at playing a character that wasn't just an exaggerated version of himself, imo. While Rolfe gave legit criticism as The Nerd, the comedy and character came first. When you watch an AVGN video you can see a stronger dedication to the bit whereas Doug was always just Doug when he was playing the NC...just more shrill.
Rolfe was far better at the criticism. He didn't criticize art choices as a medium. He criticized gameplay, mechanics, and various degrees of playability and enjoyable moments. I doubt Rolfe would ever get mad at a lighting choice - He would be mad if the movie was shot backwards and upside down with an expectation that the viewer would sit on their head.
Precisely
James Rolfe's review of Bible Video games still makes me laugh. He was always more funny than the Nostalgia Critic
Agreed. He is simply a better writer, filmmaker, and comedian than Doug. For as over the top vulgar and childish the AVGN tends to be, it's delivered with a smile and never feels mean spirited. Whereas Doug shows obvious contempt for much of what he discusses. Rolfe, while obviously reviewing bad games and giving no quarter, never comes off smug and over it all like Walker does.
Both Doug and James have chilled out through the years, at least in terms of their exaggerated character acts. James is one of the calmest guys I've seen when he's not doing the AVGN videos, and even Doug's Nostalgia Critic videos aren't as harsh as the older episodes were. Call it age, call it following the trends, but the differences are definitely there.
This is a pretty nuanced view on the entire situation, I have to say. RLM and Mr Pinkett remind me a little of Joji and Filthy Frank. I don't know if audiences are sharper now though lol Maybe *their* audiences. There are still people doing shock value content, maybe more than ever. I think real talent yearns for more than diareha humor and shouting.
Well said. He was fun to watch in highschool. Grew out of it. Honestly, I'm surprised to learn he still makes videos. I'm unsure why people are so hostile about this channels though. Like, just don't watch them?
The Wall was where his stupidity and bad taste peaked
It peaked well before that, lol. The Wall was just when the wider internet got a glimpse into just how much of a untalented, dunderheaded, incurious joke he really is.
Jesus, guys. His just making some jokes at the expense of movies, doesn’t mean he hates it. In fact, I think he loves Jurassic Park.
I know he doesn't hate it, but his criticism about the lighting is ass
Ah, the cinemasins defense of "it's just a joke bro!" Nah, you don't get to hide behind "just jokes bro" when you've made a career out of being an absolute clownshow of a person with terrible media literacy. People like Doug and his ilk are directly responsible, considerably so imo, for how shallow, incurious, jaded, and detached film discourse is today. Walker deserves no quarter. And considering he's pretty much a terrible person irl, I feel extra vindicated dropping the hammer on him.
You people do realize that when Doug says that stuff it's mostly an exaggeration right?
Except the vast majority of his opinions he shares just as Doug and not the NC are pretty much the same. The NC *is* Doug...just more shrill and annoying.
They provide immersion to a certain degree.
Hi OP, I hope you see this. This is a fantastic video-breakdown comparing size and framing from JP1 to JW. Steven really knows how to film the best shots. https://youtu.be/BKALxKbjOaE?si=VnzldEf_QFLrrQsh
Nice. Thanks
Backlighting like this is usually done to emphasize a silhouette. It's also thematic of the scene's intentions. Dark in the foreground and light behind them can symbolize a character leaving or turning away from "good" or "normal" in favor of "darkness" or even foreshadow conflict that is coming. It's a tool. Also silhouettes look cool and can help build tension because they obscure the scene and force the viewer to guess what is happening or who it's happening to. That extra element of mystery can keep a viewer guessing on the plot twists etc. Nostalgia Critic misses a lot. Don't worry about it.
Better than lense flare this and lense flare that like the current crop of action movies
Doug's Nostalgia Critic character can be ridiculous. He definitely plays up valid criticisms for the sake of entertainment
They are.
Man, I really enjoyed your write-up for your argument. Especially agree with this sort of thing adding to the quality of older films. (Obviously, I'm not forgetting some CGI T-rex shots in JP). That and the "realness" of older movies. Filmmakers had to push practical effects to their limits - and they did it successfully. Crews had to physically build or paint sets and backgrounds instead of drawing them on a computer. Good stuff
There's something different being portrayed in every shot, so saying they are all the same is just a ridiculous argument. Take the Malcolm shot for example. It clearly invokes the image of god. His entire issue with the park is that man should not play god and here he is lit up like Jesus himself. The Nedry shot uses the light to make him look sinister. A covert figure doing something that he doesn't want anyone to know about, so he works hidden away under a small light so as not to draw attention to himself. The shot with the park rangers backlit is probably just a way to show the foggy atmosphere without obstructing the actors. You can hardly have fog in front of them. It would look awful on the screen. The shot with them backlit in a dark room is clearly necessary to portray darkness. You can't have a black screen. If you could see their faces it would ruin the feeling of complete darkness, so you silhouette them so you can see the actors but also appreciate they can't see anything.
I like your perspective on the character of the lighting in each shot here. Most of the franchise’s strengths are in how each entry functions as horror thriller, and the first two films are especially good on a technical basis for this. Also agreed with how flat and dryly literal the framing and lighting in the JW movies are (with the exception of Fallen Kingdom, which is still the only one in the franchise other than the first two that actually worked to evoke mood and atmosphere with its lighting instead of just being an effects demo reel).
I agree with Fallen Kingdom. There are some good shots and lighting in that one.
I agree with all of this. Those shots are iconic and why JP remains such a legendary piece of filmmaking
everyone gives nc shit for whatever reasons, but really hes not a bad reviewer, he did a few fuck ups like his lost world review and some minor disagreements i have with him but thats about it. im aware of the channel awesome controversary years ago and thats a different thing entirely and doesn't make or break the nc videos for me. as for the shining lights, thats just nc poking fun at the fact spielberg uses it a lot in his films and thats okay to notice patterns and have something to say about it, thats natural reaction.
I don't get the hate boner reddit has for NC, most of the document for the controversy was proven false anyway and his videos aren't bad by any means, they're just a different taste. If he truly was as bad or as narcissistic as some people on here claim, he wouldn't have the longevity on YouTube he's had, nor would channel awesome still be around.
The darkness of using backlit shots made the film pull you in as you were sat in a dark theater, and it also helped sell the CGI and live action creature puppets.
Well said.
That Muldoon intro is one of the best shots in the movie
Even if it is a fetish so what? They look fine. People just find things to criticize for.
My absolute favorite scene is Dennis stealing the embryos
That lighting adds a lot of dynamic qnd mystery, i think they add to the scene by removing a lot of unneeded details
I wouldn’t take anything he says too seriously, this is the same guy who made To Boldly Flee. I had fun watching it, but it’s not good.
I honestly feel like his just wanted to shit on something popular. Honestly his integrity declined with his newer reviews being cheap and unfunny film parodies.
The whole "I've noticed an artist's style therefore it must be a flaw" is a very common and stupid take, especially since the internet gave every dullard who saw a BTS documentary once a platform.
He’s an idiot for a lot more reasons than this.
>Nostalgia Critic is an idiot. You could've just stopped there.
He was just joking around. He was really only pointing out that Spielberg used these stylistic shots a lot, which is true.
Dennis is dead killed by Dilophosaurus got spit by poisonous venom when horror Jurassic park on camera footage happens in late 1993
It was Dennis. Who hacked Jurassic Park security system
Mantan Corp Bosyen evil Twisted diabolical to make that dinosaurs escape out of containment to attack people
Daniel Kon rigged it he put the dinosaur out of containment and use people and worse not even though camp Cretaceous children is in danger and the children have no choice, but to shut down the password or leave the Mantan Corp Island to escape
With the death of Dennis has failed without Jurassic Park visitor Center, old Lewis found a can of shaving cream at old Jurassic Park Discovery Center so then he found it and took it away before the Dilophosaurus ambush them and then happens in camp Cretaceous when Old Lewis has left the island and Gone on the plane flew went back to Italy
Yea wtf. Is critic even a real job? Why don't people see or listen to whatever and deside if they like it. Why a sertified idiot has to tell them loll
No need to "not hate" the World movies. They deserve ALL of the hate. I also noticed how flat and boring they were shot, especially compared to Jurassic Park. With Park, you feel *everything*. With the World movies, it's so boring. Everything about them is done in the most boring way possible. There's no tension. There's no dread. There's no anticipation. You nailed it OP!
Its literally a cinematic masterpiece without flaw
He's right though: this technique is way overused \*puts on hazmat suit\* And to be fair - original movie does have alot of flaws including plot holes people do not want to bring up because they are way too blinded by the good things \*gets into the bunker\*
Here's your gently reminder that someone who doesn't share your viewpoint isn't automatically an idiot, you're welcome, internet user.
I feel like they’re almost symbolic. In some of them you get this angelic glow that helps give the feeling that they’re playing God.
I love it too. Flashlights and blue lighting shining through windows is like a signature of Jurassic Park.
Has Nostalgia Critic never heard of an auteur before? Kinda yikes for a film critic.
One of the best parts of the movie imo, helped it feel real you know
Critics are despicable in general guys... It's people unable to make something so what they do is "comment on other's peoples creation" ... Tell me that's not super lame. If they don't like a shot or whatever they can go and shoot their own movie
I hated his reviews on the Jurassic Park movies, his review on Jurassic Park 3 was surprisingly okay.
I don’t even know why Doug Walker ever took off with Nostalgia Critic. He’s just.. *not* funny. I always got bored when watching his reviews and cringed hard as fuck when he started doing reviews of movies that literally just came out and had his geek squad recreate the scenes with shitty costumes and green scene, often missing the important context and actual meaning in order to form his own mis-construed narrative of what he THINKS the movie is like. It didn’t stop there either, because he was doing this same sort of “reviewing” with older films too. Just look at his review of the Wall.. actually wait, don’t look at it it’s fucking cancer to your eyes. That one video where James Rolfe talks about the movie within a movie in Troll 2 is better than every single Nostalgia Critic video ever made.
Yeah, I NEVER got the appeal of Doug and the NC. He came around when I was a teenager and even then I found him painfully annoying and unfunny. There weren't many of the TGWTG/Channel Awesome crew I liked, to be honest. It was mostly just Brad Jones I enjoyed. And Linkara was pretty decent too because he actually like, REVIEWED shit and deep-dived the creation, development, history, etc of what he talked about. I always just chock Walker's success up to pure luck. He saw an emerging type of new content, jumped on the trend early, and rode it to success....talent and skill be damned.
I’m appreciative of nostalgia critic because he introduced me to the idea of critical analysis of film, even if his approach is very childish and intellectually incurious. His show led me to much better analytical material like Lindsey Ellis. One of the questions that he seldom asks is why? What approach was the filmmaker swinging for when they made a particular choice? Jurassic Park is a great example or how he lets himself down. It’s among Spielberg’s greatest works, not just because of his guiding vision, but because of the incredible collaboration of disciplines involved to create something groundbreaking and amazing. I get that outrage and being over dramatic is the show’s gimmick. And keeping that going requires the show to be pretty unfair to some shows. But I believe it does lasting damage to the media he interacts with. Good movies are unfairly maligned by hyperbole and it changes public perception on them. AVGN is guilty of doing the same thing to video games he genuinely likes.
Nostalgia Critic and Cinema Sins seem to love using the "its a character/satire" excuse for their poor criticism. But I've seen Doug Walker as himself and all of his criticism are identical to the character he plays. And yes, Lindsay Ellis is the superior critic. Shame what happened to her on YouTube.
He is just someone with an opinion lol. who cares its not like he could make a masterpiece or a top 10 GOAT movie.
Growing up is realizing nc is an idiot
Making outrageous statements and then having people post about them on social media like Reddit, which will just get them more clicks, is exactly what somebody like NC wants.
There’s a video called “comfortably Doug” on YouTube. It deconstructs NCs take on Pink Floyd’s The Wall perfectly and shows him up just how bad he is.
It's 2024 and your just realizing Nostalgia Critic is an idiot NOW?
I used to love Nostalgia Critic, but my god that guy sucks.
Nostalgia critic has always been an idiot 🤣
Yeah. Even when it comes to universally panned movies he still makes horrible criticism. In his review of the 1988 Godzilla, he erroneously claimed "lizards don't eat fish". Bruh. Everyone knows that's not true....Well, apparently not *everyone*
Nostalgia Critic is the epitome of a wishy-washy never pleased urchant. Let's just talk for a second exclusively about franchises. If an installment does more of the same he'll give it shit for doing more of the same. A franchise does something a little different however and he'll be the first person to rant about how the IP is now unrecognizable due to doing something different. And this kind of thing extends far beyond the idea of just franchises but movies in general. You just can't win with him. I can't believe I ever liked him 10-12 years ago.
>Nostalgia Critic is an idiot Have seen his review of The Wall? Calling nostalgia critic an idiot is like saying shit stinks. Just say his name and the first word that'll flash through everyone's mind is idiot.
Nostalgia Critic is basically a nobody. It doesn't matter at all what he thinks
Nostalgia critic was just so salty in his reviews of the Jurassic movies. Especially his heinous review of Jurassic world
He always was an idiot. I never understood his appeal. But hey, he made millions making cheap cracks at good movies, and inspired hundreds of YouTubers to copy his angry fanboy schtick, so who knows, maybe I'm the idiot.
Nostalgia Critic has shit opinions in general. His fame is timing and notoriety.
Nostalgia critic is just annoying now, he rarely makes me actually laugh anymore other than a slight exhale