The Film Thugs Movie Show

Film criticism is a complicated thing. Who is this person? Why does their opinion matter? Does there opinion matter? How do you approach a film as a viewer? How much context is necessary to truly understand a film? There are a lot of questions. But in the end, we are talking about one person giving an opinion on a film they have seen once, maybe twice. Yet for some reason we give this opinion weight. What happens when a critic gets it wrong? Not just from a difference of opinion standpoint, but from a not understanding the film/being on the wrong side of history standpoint? This week we have a look at some reviews that, we feel, got it wrong. Plus, we introduce a new game... so that's fun.

2011 was an interesting year, cinematic-ally speaking.So much so that it has taken us nearly four months to talk about it, but we finally did. So, here it is, the year in review.

Very few people have actually grasped the brass ring in this world. There are a lot of us who try, but most of us just don't reach it. But every once in a while there is that one person who, through work, luck, and timing, actually makes it. After being inspired by "Slacker" a young New Jersey man decided to have a go at telling a story he hadn't seen on film before. It was a huge gamble, one that he thought would lead to an interesting story and years of financial perils. The story was simple, a day in his life as a convenience store clerk... but something happened. This film was in the right place at the right time and became something so much more. We speak, of course, of Kevin Smith. Almost overnight Smith went from clerk to star and his career has been as unpredictable as that ever since. This week we take a look at a man who went from artist, to filmmaker, to director for hire, to comedian, to podcaster, to businessman and finally back to artist.

Occasionally a director gets a little bit of what they call "clout" and are able to do whatever they want with a movie. This is not always a good thing. This week we take a look at a few. Some good, some bad, some baffling. Enjoy.

We at The Film Thugs understand that there are times when fancy, high fa-looting,  artsy movies just aren't gonna do it for you. There is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you want something big and dumb, and if there is anything we do know it's big and dumb. So sit back and take it all in as Jim and Clarkson discuss the world of the "just because" movie. Also, you can now help support the show by going using the following link This will take you to our Amazon.com affiliate page. Using this link will not add a cent to your order, but it will get us a small amount of cash to help keep the show running.