How Not to Write a Review, Unless You Want to Sound Like an Insufferable Prig
I know it's been all Snowpiercer all the time here lately, but this time it's not so much about that particular film as about how one reviewer has chosen to write about it, since his choices are ones that I detest in reviews, despite (or perhaps because of) how common those choices are. I am, in other words, simply here to register a complaint . There is a good argument to be made that we should not expend any time or attention on bad writing. Life is short, and there's plenty of great writing out there to read. But I am ignoring that argument for the moment, despite all it has to recommend it. Because sometimes something is just such a perfect model of What Not To Do that I can't help but want to scream against it. The item in question is a review at The Los Angeles Review of Books by Len Gutkin . It is a negative review, but that's not the problem. I'm glad there are negative reviews of Snowpiercer , even though I loved the film, because I am suspic...
