How NOT To Critique Movies 

the downvoters didn't understand the underlying themes and allegorical representations within this video

"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. that way, you are a mile away and have their shoes" - anon

I remember my English Literature teacher asking me about the aims of Shakespear when he wrote 'Henry V'. "Well, the rent for his rooms and bar bills were due. He knew he could crack out a real crowd-pleaser and, if he made the hero a British king, he'd be able to get interest from Queen Elisabeth!" "Well, that's a possibility ... but not exactly what the O Level exam board will want to hear. So, can you come up with something more pretentious?" I loved that teacher!

Francis Ford Coppola once said "The only thing needed for a good movie are good writing and good acting" Thanks for fighting the good fight.

This review explores themes of alcoholism and depression, with distinct subtexts of sarcasm and righteous indignation. Solid 9/10

Just hit em' with the Tarantino: "I reject your hypothesis."

I got an 85% on a book report without actually reading the book. I just talked about its "themes" while grabbing random lines from the books to make my paper look more legit.

The real issue is that no one these days seems to be able to say "Yeah it was trash, but I still liked it" anymore. You can even say that the other person doesn't get it but again, accepting the flaws seems to not be an option for a lot of people online these days. They've fallen for the bullshit that is the "art is subjective" mentality. You're not allowed to say something is bad if someone can string enough bullshit together to make it seem deep and impactful. The problem is that saying art is subjective misses the reality of the thing (and this is coming from an art major). You can like something and accept that it's not good. Most people don't like modern art, architecture, etc. So if most people don't like it, that means it's objectively bad right? Nope. Not in the minds of "artists" and "critics" who think that because their brains work different (whether that's from mental illness I'll never know) that means that they can see things in ways others can't and BECAUSE of that they can decide what's good and what's not and no one else can have an opinion. I guess the point I'm making is that you've got people that are so self absorbed and in love with their own opinions that they'll refuse to accept something as bad if they can find meaning in it. Even worse, they won't accept that maybe their tastes aren't as refined as they pretend they are. They scoff at those who enjoy the stupid fun action that come with giant monster movies or even a few superhero films because they treat themes as padding that just prolongs the run time until they get to what everyone wants to see. Rare you'll find someone who enjoys a B movie defend it on the merits of "Well it explores x". They accept the flaws in it, and hell sometimes it's the flaws that make them more enjoyable. But with a lot of "critics", particularly from the Twitterverse, flaws don't exist so long as the right politics or themes are discussed. They won't accept that it's bad because they don't wanna seem lame for liking something they know is bad. But honestly there's nothing inheritely wrong with liking bad movies so long as you admit it. There's nothing wrong with saying "Yeah it's not a good film but hey, I enjoyed it anyway".

"Aww shit man, he's been writing for BuzzFeed this whole time" I died

The Room is a slow-paced psychological thriller that deals with the following themes: a relationship breaking down. Betrayal by a significant other. The loss of mutual friends. Grief and sadness. Escape from a toxic relationship, and moving on. And it ends in a powerful twist ending that you rarely see in mainstream movies. Clearly The Room is a 10/10 masterpiece.

The notion that just because a work has themes it's immune to criticism is hilarious to me. Not only does Drinker correctly point out that a good, solid theme can be ruined by horrible execution, but there's also such a thing as a stupid, contrived or boring theme as well. That's almost like saying "You can't criticize this movie/story/whatever because it has characters!" Themes are just something that most stories generally have, the question is whether they are well thought out, well executed and compelling.

Years ago, I trolled a friend of mine about how I wouldn’t watch The Shawshank Redemption until he watched Howard the Duck. He agreed. Within less than a half hour, he stopped the Howard to express his disgust. He was right: the ridiculous premise, the duck-related puns, the duck-related tits… I knew this already, of course. However, I’m a monster, and began “explaining the deeper themes” of Howard being a Messiah figure and the like. We had this conversation over the course of two hours, where I did not break character and watched his brain melt. I still laugh about it.

Saying themes are more important than plot, structure, and character development is like saying the steak was shit but the sauce was good.

Themes can make a good film great. Themes CANNOT make a bad film good.

Dear Sir: You completely won me over with your insightful reviews. What I most respect about you, is your insistence on what I would call "composition". You look for well composed movies and media, those that have coherent scripts and solidly built structure. I find it interesting that people seem to be impatient with you for that. You make it very clear that you're just fine with any given actor playing any given role (as long as they're competent), provided the narrative remains solid, it all fits together, and there's no obvious pandering. In other words, provided the whole maintains its artistic integrity. I agree with you.

If you have to explain what a movie symbolizes,it doesn't. -Roger Ebert

Praising a movie for its “themes” is akin to saying “he meant well.”

"Some people can read war and peace and come away thinking its a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe". ...Lex Luthor.

For the record, your Midsummer review was 200% spot-on.

I guess this is why your reviews are so spot on... because they have real content and actual substance. Even if that substance is alcohol.

"The Predator represents man's inherent fear of female sexuality..." I knew _exactly_ what the next line would be before it happened. And I still laughed out loud. 🤣

A few years back in history graduate school (yeah, yeah, I know, but I had just got out of the military and Uncle Sam paid for it, so it seemed like a good idea at the time), any time a book review was written, it was strongly suggested that we analyze said book through the "lens" of race, class or gender (people actually referred to this as the Holy Trinity, sarcastically of course). So, if someone ever, EVER, uses the word "lens" to talk about your critique of a film, book, whatever, you know that a bunch of pretentious bullshit is soon to follow....

This is a spot-on commentary. Having wasted a great deal of money with my literature degree, I can personally attest to the bs that are themes and symbolism. I took a lot of poetry classes, and I noticed there was a level of pretentiousness when analysing poetry, or even literature in general. The most important issue is that interpretation is subjective, and bias can completely reshape one person's perspective over another's. Another issue is that when a professor asks you to find meaning in a poem, humans will obey and find their own meaning - it does not mean that meaning is correct or valid. Sometimes a rose is just a rose. My professor would often find meaning in my work that wasn't necessarily my intent, but it could be seen as valid from her perspective, and I took it more as a critical thinking exercise than gospel, regardless of her teaching intent. If anything, this indicated to me that there doesn't *have* to be a deeper meaning, and if there is, there's no guarantee someone will get it right. Unless the author, songwriter, screenwriter, etc., explains the meaning of their work, any kind of interpretation can be valid. In fact, even if you are given the "answer", that does not take away from the ability to find different meanings if someone critiques it in a certain way. It certainly doesn't prevent one from being able to provide valid criticism and point out flaws and logical inconsistencies, regardless of what the creator intended. In other words, there is no correct interpretation of a work of art because it is all subjective, and, even if there is, it doesn't absolve said work of condemnation and even derision.

From a former script editor: I love you man, I could never have put this so eloquently.

"...nah- it'll be fine... This has become my favourite sentence...

Themes should not be developed at the expense of the story. Hitchcock said it best, "We try to tell a good story and develop a hefty plot. Themes emerge as we go along."

The segment about Paul Blart: Mall Cop is seriously one of the funniest things ever. Thank you.

Themes in stories are very important. However, the primary thing is a good story. From the story, ideas naturally emerge. The validity of what you think is a theme is measured by how much the story supports it.

I remember themes from my college days English Literature classes. I admit that i tended to write book reports at first. Then I discovered the way to get better grades. Write about the "themes". Didn't matter much if i pulled the themes out of my a** as long as I could ramble about imaginary symbology and deeper meanings. Given the state of moral relativism and ambiguity, i think the professors thought they couldn't tell me i was wrong in any of my analysis. Hence, decent grades. That was 30 years ago. I imagine it is far worse these days.

"Thematic undertones" = Clusterfuck writing "Allegorical representation" = Bankrupt Moneyshot

Some folks just don't understand drunk thinking. I guess they aren't familiar with the old Latin saying, "in vino veritas." Some people claim to drive better when they're drunk. The Critical Drinker critiques movies better when he's drunk. So far, admittedly just stumbling onto this channel, I find his reviews pretty spot on, refreshing, and fucking funny as shit, and I'm stone sober...(at this present moment).

Fight the hype, movies are supposed to be entertainment, not platforms. People are just looking to make statements where there was no statements being made. The "imaginary glass ceiling" is spot on. Love your stuff.

thanks to this channel: I've seen Luke drinking that milk more times than any other Star Wars Scene.

The problem is you can derive a theme from almost anything if you try hard enough. Take a word like "loss" for example and you can apply it to each of the Star Wars movies. 1. Obi-Wan loses Qui-Gon 2. Anakin loses his mother 3. The Jedi lose their order 4. Luke loses his aunt and uncle 5. The heroes lose Han 6. Luke loses his father 7. Kylo Ren loses his father 8. We all lose hope in Disney See? The entire Star Wars saga is about loss!

I liked midsommar, mostly because it was sunshine and flowers in a “horror”. That’s unique enough for me these days. 😅

The Shining is one of my all time favourite psychological horror films. Nicholson nails the slow decent into madness and I like how the horror is subtle and slow not fast jump scares, it pulls you into the horror slowly at times and you have no choice but to witness it at Jack’s pace. The scene with the lady in the tub for example, the film takes you with Jack into the room and switches between POV shots and his uneasy expression and like him you don’t want to be in there but the pull is too strong so you have no choice. Then once Kubrick has you in there he then makes you witness the most grotesque scene in the whole film and it makes you massively squirm because he not only makes it sensual he makes you watch it slowly. Then again Jack doesn’t just run for it once he’s realised what’s happening, he’s so uneasy and shocked at the situation he moves out slowly. Kubrick does that because he wants you to be part of that horrible experience for as long as possible

Used to be the theme was the cherry on top. Not the ice cream like some people try to convince you nowadays.

From a master storyteller: “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history - true or feigned- with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.” J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm really tired and fed up with people using themes as an excuse to defend a terrible movie from harsh, justified criticism. Themes are not what make a good movie. Good writing is what makes a good movie. Themes should enrich the story, not act as a crutch for it, because at the end of the day, the script is the heart of the project; and if your script doesn't have an engaging story, interesting concepts and well written characters, it doesn't matter what the themes are, your movie is still gonna suck. I've had so many people jumping down my throat for hating movies like the Sequel Trilogy, Godzilla KOTM and Cruella (2021) and telling me that I JuST DoN'T GeT tHeSe MoViEs, and it really infuriates me. When did plot and characters get pushed aside in favor of muh themes?

Love the "Moving on" with the shot of Jack in the snow, I think you got your point across nicely and I agree about Midsommer.

i watched the movie just to see if it was actually that bad. not sure if it was though cause i slept through 70% of the movie.

How to critique movies in today’s world: Lesson 1: Put together a theme that makes a film look more masterful than it really is. Lesson 2: Hate anyone who disagrees with you. Lesson 3: { footage not found }

Millions and millions of thanks for your acerbic, bulls-eye reviews! And for the innumerable times you made me laugh till I cried. Splendid work!

I don't have a good ability to talk about what I think and what I feel. Your videos put in words exactly why I do or don't like movies. You've got a new subscriber, who's about to learn how to use arguments in conversations about movies. Thank you.

"He's been writing for Buzzfeed the whole time" lmao. not for long.

I actually like films to have a deeper meaning or some core theme, but they have to be competent both cinematographically and narativelly otherwise it is just like trying to send a mesage by telegraph without knowing the morse code...

Critical Drinker you’ve put virtually all of my opinions perfectly well in your videos, only I’ve never been able to explain them because of my lack of film construction understanding. I’ve had so many arguments about why movies or tv shows are bad and all I ever got back were stupid explanations of how the plot worked to counter my views. It’s so satisfying to hear you break down the qualities of movies and expose the carefully hidden mistakes that directors try to take away from your view. I’m seriously binging all of your videos rn. Cheers mate

I've always been fascinated how people can come up with so many interpretations for the same movie/series. However, just because they say that the movie/series it's about what THEY see, doesn't mean the movie/series it's ACTUALLY about what THEY see, unless explicitly stated by the people behind that movie/series. Too many times i've seen people discussing over a movie or a series about its "message" due to how people see things differently from one to another, even when said "message" seemed obvious at first, but at the end, it really wasn't. We all see things differently, sometimes also from what they really are. Some may argue it's to just look smart in the eyes of others, like: "ha! I get it and you don't, you baby! Me smart and you dumb", some may think it's as a result of some people being delusional and to compensate, they only see what they want and they treat their own opinions/take on the movie/series as an absolute fact, only to feel better about themselves, but who really knows, right?

About "The shining": after a first screening, Stephen King looks at Kubrick and says: "This movie was terrible." Kubrick replies: "Yes, not that your book was much better."

Airplane! also dealt with complex themes like crisis management, buried/repressed memories and love lost.

Woohoo! This is your best video essay yet, Drinker! I always learn something from your keen observations.

I regularly disagree with the Drinker’s opinions, however I ALWAYS thoroughly enjoy hearing them. That’s because his critiques are based on well thought out ideas and intelligent questions. Not to mention his brilliant sense of humour. So even when I disagree I can still appreciate the reasons behind his conclusions and the hilarious way in which he articulates them. Much love for the drinker

"Mein Kompf wasn't a bad book. You just didn't understand the underlying themes and allegorical representations within the writing."

Midsommar is "The War on Afghanistan" Paul blart is "anti consumerism" Drinker you are hilarious 🤣😂😍😂🤣😅

When I was studying literature 30 years ago, we talked about different theories of criticism. I always hated what I called the -Ism Theories. These critics hold a particular socio-political belief system close to heart and view every literary (or cinematic) work through the prism of that belief. Works are then judged on whether or not they support or oppose that belief, regardless of whether or not that belief is remotely relevant to the work at hand. Artistic merit is irrelevant to them. Works that support their belief (in the reviewer's opinion) are good, while those that don't are bad. I personally believe this critical theory is intellectually void. It is evidence of a person who is unwilling to believe that there is anything to learn from the expressions and experiences of another person.

I am really glad u brought this up It seems that their are certain people who do not like movie reviewers on youtube bcoz they do not talk about form of film or filmmaking and if they dont talk abt it then they are not good reviewers

I remember hearing about this thing called "The Blue Curtain effect" and I was like Hmm. What's this? Basically, it goes: 'The curtains in the living room were a pale shade of blue.' Your English teacher: "The blue curtains represent the author's sadness and struggles through life." Author of book: "The curtains were just fucking blue." Moral of story: Don't read too deep into every little thing.

just for those that want to conduct scientific research, the cavewoman/cavegirl in a bikini is Raquel Welch from the 1966 movie "One Million Years BC"

This was immensely entertaining and spot on. You're a hero Sir👍🏼😁

Good Art is when you can see the years of hard work by craftsman making it enjoyable. Great art transcends the medium, creating layers expression and enjoyment both in terms of the art itself and the intended effect on the beholder. In simplified terms, it's like pizza. Without dough, it's a salad. Without toppings it's just bread sticks. Without sauce, it's just flatbread. All elements must be present to have pizza. Then you must make each element great and proportioned to have great pizza.

Drinker Annihilation is a movie that asks Nay begs for your reviewing skills Truly, it begs

After watching several, more positive reviews of ‘Midsommer’ and reading the attached comments I was disturbed by the seemingly unanimous attitude that the main characters’ boyfriend died a well deserved death. Like people just casually mention in passing that it just goes without saying burning him to death was the right thing to do and not a single person to object. Gives some insight into where the current political mindset is..... f!$&@king creepy.

Now I have to go and watch your review of Midsommar.

This video maybe two years old, but I have to say I love it. Thank you, Drinker.

"Midsummer is an alegory for Afghanistan" There's no way he could... *explains in a sensible fashion *NO! It can't be true!*

An idea is only as good as its execution - that is a real gem. I have been repeating this consistently and it always manages to fall on deaf ears or worse - pompous ones. Intentions/ideas alone are not enough, they can't make up for a bad execution.

Themes can be guide posts, a source of inspiration of what to explore in a story, it can lift up a truly good movie to excellence but it can't make a bad movie good no matter how "deep" and "clever" the thematic elements are it won't make inherent flaw's of a movie go away...

Best piece of work ever. So many underlying themes in this review!

The idea that has eroded the arts in my life time is that the intended message, the ideology or politics of a work of art is the key to it rather than the execution or the nature of how you really experience it. This is how you get praise for an ugly or silly contemporary work of art or a schlock pop cinema film that represents something "important", with the weight of that intended message making up most of it. Then, if you criticize it, you are necessarily knocking down that idea and are a terrible person. If often feels like artists use this to cheaply boost their prestige versus earn it with well thought effort, and/or insulate themselves from criticism. These are adults though, and not your school age child showing you their art project. We don't have to pat them on the head and tell them it's good because they meant well and we can't hurt their feelings. These are paid adult, professional artists who need to have standards when it comes to the execution of their craft. I go to see a movie to experience it as it plays out and tells an engaging story, and not sit through garbage to rationalize it later via theme or political message. This carries into life: I am a physician. I have good intentions and mean well when I set out to do my work, but if I execute it sloppily then it is important to criticize that.

I do think a movie can be both thematically satisfying AND a well-structured masterpiece. However for every "Fight Club" there's gonna be a "Mother" to fuck that up. At the end of the day, I think the Drinker's sums it up best: **"idea's only as good as the execution,"** god damn, well said.

I highly agree with the examples given (and similar examples) that you cannot use theme to justify a bad movie. Plot, story structure, and characters (including their consistency) is highly important. However, I do believe that there are rare films where theme does add and contribute significant amounts to the film. The main movie I think of is V for Vendetta which, in addition to having an amazing plot and characters, also explores revolution and the differences between ideas and the men (and women) who strive for them.

I was thinking that some of the metaphysical imagery which was once in reality specifically effective, and the way in which it counterpoint's the surrealism of the underlying metaphor is truly abstract. Many thanks drinker

I found your precis on Paul Blart: Maul Cop to be very insightful. I will watch it again with renewed vigour.

This should be required viewing for all youtube/entertainment journal online reviewers. I saw this video when it came out and I agreed in the abstract, but after listening to a few positive reviews (apologetics really) for shite movies, it really hit home - it pithily explained the frustration I felt with those reviews.

Every one of your videos i watch make me value and enjoy the good movies out there even more, bravo mate!

You just delivered a Master Class in critique... Well done Sir... Well Done!

8:27 “There is nothing except their own stupidity preventing the characters from escaping their isolated location, when it would clearly make sense to do so.” This sums up a good portion of flawed plots.

“It doesn’t matter how smart you are, f you don’t use common sense.” Dr. Thomas Sowell.

your points about Paul Blart Mall Cop was amazing!

This was absolutely needed. Thank you Drinker, your blurred, drunken views bring the clarity the world needs right now to see through the bullshit that is using themes as excuses/reasons to explain away horribly constructed and executed films.

"Nah, it'll be fine." I think that's my favorite catch-phrase

You see, you’re just not seeing the deeper themes of these criticisms.

This is my 2nd time watching this video (RU-vid algorithm pushing The Drinker - not mad about that). It was well worth another watch. Keep dropping those pearls of wisdom, you loquacious hypothesizer.

Amen, brother. No order i keep watch The Usual Suspects and Maltese Falcon over and over. Give me compelling characters spewing lines from a top notch script, and I'm a fan for life.

I love the occasional Jon Snow "It'll be fine"

I've always argued that theme is just the icing on the cake. Imagine making a cake without flour and sugar then add green beans and dirty underwear in order to "subvert expectations" then expect audiences to be okay with it just because you put a nice homemade cream cheese icing on it.

Okay, the cloud, added with the Drinker's pondering face, into Luke Skywalker's "certain point of view" statement - dude. Whoa. This has been unexpectedly mulling around based on the extremely dense montage of images but - the Drinker has seen - a lot - of movies (if these carefully structured compilations are any indication. ) Just damn incredible. Paying homage to you, sir.

When I tried to build my own Gin Still, genius writing and delivery as always! The Drinker, bringing the entertainment value to 11 out of 10 as usual!!!

My favorite is "you have to be intelligent to enjoy this (Insert subject)"

I thought "themes" were the music played at either end of a film...

Thanks for the video, I agree, this really got me thinking about theme. I'd say stories with strong themes have a plot which explores what happens when you have given facts (characters, setting ect.). Same way that a solid argument builds up to an actual point by using facts to support that argument and refute the opposite one. Assertions without facts to back them/false information presented as facts would be like unasked for moralising/contrived writing. And yeah movies don't need a theme to be good - a good brainless action movie would be enjoyable like a random list of fun (but at least true) animal facts (to people who like action/animals).

The amount of insightful commentary you weave throughout your videos that transcends your subject matter is incredible. I just found this channel last week and I cannot get enough. My favourite line in this one: 'You shouldn't allow your preoccupation about a movie's themes to cloud your judgment about its objective quality.' Crushed it, dude!

The story of my life is a slow-paced psychological thriller that deals with the following themes: a relationship breaking down. Betrayal by a significant other. The loss of mutual friends. Grief and sadness. Escape from a toxic relationship, and moving on.

Freud: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Critics: BUT MUH THEMES!

Exactly! Setting, characterization, plot, and theme -- they all have to work together. Even if a movie gets one or two "right," or does an interesting thing with that aspect of the story-telling, it doesn't excuse screwing up any of the other elements. All the thematic complexity subtlety in the world will not, cannot, redeem a plot whose structure is mostly holes and whose characters are paper-thin cut-outs.

I think that your reviews are on point!

A social justice type of person would love themes because themes are just things that the film is about; and in a social justice mind, a movie can be good or bad simply by being about a certain subject.

tl;dr "It's not what a movie is about, but how it's about it." - Roger Ebert

I'm learning more about the nuts and bolts that go together to make a good movie by hanging with the drinker. But more importantly, presentations like this are brilliant and entertaining. Thanks for another package of good laughs and revealing commentary.

Drinker, you are just amazing! Thank you for this elaboration. Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰👍.