If you asked a movie critic — Big screen vs. small

The late-great film critic Roger Ebert had a longstanding column called Movie Answer Man. Readers asked him all sorts of questions about movies, and Roger delivered entertaining medium-to-hot takes.

The movie column in the Coeur d’Alene Press isn’t as popular (obviously), so we don’t get enough questions for a similar feature. But I feel like doing it anyway, so I made up some questions from fake people!

We’ve run this column before, and, oddly, the questions are always a little aggressive. Anyway, maybe that will change with this installment…

Question: I’ve noticed how every winter, you come up with a top 10 list that contains a bunch of movies you didn’t review in the paper. It sounds like you’re a faker and a fraud, and you just pick movies at the end that are on other lists by real critics. Am I wrong? — Randy Taylor, Rathdrum.

OK, so the aggressive questions continue. Thanks, Randy. I assure you I’ve seen every movie I put on a best-of list, and because I’m a nerd who takes top 10 lists seriously, I only ever praise the movies I actually like.

There are many reasons why I won’t write extensively about certain movies. Sometimes I see them late, a few months after a theatrical run, and it feels like a full review won’t be timely enough for a newspaper column. Other times I see movies early, and I personally think it’s annoying when critics write about movies other people can’t see yet.

And then there are cases when I’m confident my opinion on a specific movie won’t align with the general readership of the Coeur d’Alene Press. For example, one of my favorite movies so far this year is “Titane,” a body horror/thriller from French director Julia Ducournau. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this past summer, and it’s utterly original and brilliantly made. I love every uncomfortable second of it.

“Titane” is also full of graphic violence, graphic sexual content and some of the most disturbing imagery I’ve ever seen committed to film. It certainly isn’t a movie for a general audience, and even some of the most adventurous viewers won’t connect with it.

It’ll probably land somewhere on my top 10 list for 2021. That said, after writing about movies for The Press since 2006, I sorta know when I’m not going to convince many regular readers to try something so far out there. I’m sparing myself from hate mail, so not only am I a fraud, I’m a coward as well!

Hey Tyler, did you do your American duty and watch “Dune” on the big screen? If you watched it on HBO Max, then you aren’t a real cinephile and you don’t care about preserving the theatrical experience. — Carol Seaver, Post Falls.

I guess I’m not a true American, because I watched “Dune” on HBO Max. This big screen vs. small screen argument has been heated for years, but the pandemic certainly made the issue even more divisive (like everything these days).

I love seeing movies on the big screen, but for whatever reason, I rarely consider the experience to be essential. Obviously, home viewing comes with many potential distractions, but I’ve always been pretty good about setting aside my phone and giving movies my full attention regardless of where and how I’m watching them. With “Dune,” I sat real close to my big screen TV, and I feel like I had a pretty good experience with it. Is it better on the big screen? For some, I’m sure that’s the case.

Personally, I’m more in favor of access and providing content to people in multiple ways, especially given how we’re still dealing with high COVID rates.

I understand piracy is an issue, and obviously the day-and-date model deployed by Warner Bros. was a mixed bag at best for the financial bottom line. On the other hand, I was happy to drop $30 on “Black Widow” and $20 on “The Green Knight” this past summer to watch them at home instead of in a theater.

Point being, if more movies were available on premium video on demand (PVOD) at the same time or after a short theatrical window, I think there’s plenty of money to be made. I’d be a more frequent customer, and I’m guessing others would too, but I would still opt for a theatrical experience for many movies in a post-COVID world.

Why are they remaking “West Side Story?” I feel like this is your fault somehow. Please stop ruining classic cinema! — Eddie Winslow, Coeur d’Alene.

Come on, Eddie, I had nothing to do with Steven Spielberg’s upcoming redo of “West Side Story.” Spielberg is obviously one of our best living filmmakers, but to me this one seems like a gamble with very little margin for error.

I’m actually a recent convert to the original “West Side Story.” When I first saw the film back in college, I struggled to connect with it. I rewatched it for the first time a couple years ago and fell in love with it. Did something in me change? Or maybe I didn’t sit close enough to the TV screen when I watched it the first time.

Anyway, if the new one sucks, please don’t blame me. I have no say in such matters. After all, even these questions are completely fake.

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Tyler Wilson has been writing about movies for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.