Wednesday, May 15, 2013

10 Travers-esque Quotes from My Reviews


Peter Travers, or the critic you often see quoted in advertisements or on DVD cases. Sometimes a quote of my own pops out at me, but I try to avoid writing that way. Some of these quotes are more akin to Travers than others, but I thought this would be a fun post.

Anna Karenina - "a lavish production with heartwrenching drama"

Argo - "a crowd-pleaser and a bold dramatic work"

Holy Motors - "a bizarre, moving, and mysterious film"

Jackie Brown - "Tarantino's wicked sense of humor, gift for pacing, and strong casting choices are on full display"

Lawless - "Beautifully shot and wonderfully crafted"

Margaret - "Paquin gives a career-best performance"

Pitch Perfect - "a glorious fusion of hit songs and pop culture references"

A Separation - "packed with great drama and top-notch performances"

Tape - "a powerhouse independent vehicle with strong performances across the board"

Thief - "pulp entertainment at its best"

9 comments:

  1. That is awesome. So far, I've gotten a quote on the documentary Memphis Heat.

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    1. Thanks. Woah. Congrats! Now that is awesome.

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  2. Awesome idea for a post! I love the one from Tape.

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  3. LOL, I write like that all too often :-P

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    1. Haha. Well, you're more quotable that way. ;)

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  4. Love this! Dude, I used to be obsessed with Travers' reviews. When I was first getting into film criticism, Travers was the sort of antithesis of Roger Ebert. Travers ALWAYS went for those short, punchy sentences that studios love to put on posters, whereas Ebert was always more verbose.

    Anyway, loved you spotting out these Travers-esque quotes.

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    1. Thanks man! The thing is: I'd read Ebert's reviews, but I'd only recognize Travers from his quotes. Still, it's always interesting to see where his words pop up.

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  5. I don't always agree w/ Travers (plus he often comes across so pompous) but I could see how those short, punchy quotes are what the studios love.

    I like your take on this Josh, very creative!!

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    1. I like to see where his quotes end up, but I agree they don't always favor him as a critic.

      Thanks Ruth!

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