Talking Movies: 10 Year Anniversary on Fine Music Radio

Spling celebrates 10 years of Talking Movies on Fine Music Radio by fielding questions from listeners. Listen to podcast.

Good morning, welcome to Talking Movies… I’m Spling.

It’s been 10 years since I started reviewing film for Fine Music Radio on Talking Movies in May 2013 and in that time I haven’t missed a week. So to commemorate the 10-year milestone, I thought I’d answer a few questions from you, my listeners.

Question #1… What were your three favourite films before the age of 10?

I can’t remember the sequence necessarily, but I have vague recollections of going to the Goodwood drive-in with the family in a Combi. One of my first cinema experiences was watching An American Tail, probably at Vincent Park in East London over the Christmas holidays.

Then, I also remember watching The Land Before Time when Maynard Mall still had cinemas and then The NeverEnding Story, which was almost as indelible and iconic as watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner and the late Alan Rickman.

I was recently in touch with the Childlike Empress on Twitter and to my surprise, she grew up! We had a tape of Dumbo as well as Dot and the Kangaroo, which must have been watched at least 20 times – the psychedelic elephant dance and mythological Bunyip still haunt me today.

Question #2… Have you ever reviewed a film and then subsequently realized your first assessment was wrong?

I’ve been reviewing film since 2007, so I’ve covered thousands of movies over this time. Nowadays there’s a greater pressure for revision but I’ve always tried to bypass the political sway of the age to focus more on the merits of films rather than trying to campaign for or against ideologies.

I build a case for each review so that I’m able to defend my rating or position, so each review is carefully considered from this perspective. The thing with film is that being a multi-disciplinary art form, every person will have a different encounter according to their frame of reference. So it’s not a case of being right or wrong but just having a different opinion based on your experience.

So I haven’t re-reviewed anything specifically but if I did, it may be motivated by the rapid evolution of film technology. For instance, James Cameron’s films have represented a major breakthrough in visual effects but the bold artistry and cutting edge visuals may be dwarfed and ridiculed with time – forcing a fresh or retrospective re-evaluation.

Question #3… How do you manage to be so consistent with your reviews?

I’m a firm believer in the cumulative effect of consistent hard work over time. I started writing a review a day for a year on my blog spling.co.za, so you could say I’ve cut down! The review-a-day exercise was a test to see just how much I wanted to review film for a living and helped instill some good habits around film-watching and reviewing in the process.

It’s become easier and easier to build on the routine and ensure a level of consistency with weekly deadlines. I also use speech recognition software to help craft reviews and articles, which is a big help in formulating a review and getting the first draft together.

Question #4… Can you think of a movie you gave a great review to but other critics panned? If so, why was that and vice-versa?

Trying to build strong arguments for my film reviews means I’m not usually too far off what’s generally deemed reasonable and fair. This means it’s pretty rare for my reviews to be much more than 2 rating points off general consensus.

I remember giving Gravity high praise as a technical masterpiece, which resulted in a top score dependent on whether you experienced the film in 2D, or the more immersive 3D. Naturally, people will be disappointed if they’re expecting the best film they’ve seen in the last decade and it comes up even a little short in their estimation. It’s a tricky balance because film evaluation means something different to each audience member. Most viewers tend to watch and connect with a movie from an emotional place and Gravity wasn’t only beautifully controlled and spellbinding for its brilliant audio-visuals but emotionally-resonant too.

On the flip side, I reviewed The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg, and gave it an unfavourable review when most critics offered praise. Being an avid fan from days of loaning Tintin comics from the library to owning the faithful Canadian animated series on DVD, I’d like to think I have a firm grasp on what Tintin is and isn’t.

This animated adventure wasn’t terrible but didn’t capture the essence of the characters as I knew them, tried to reinvent the beloved series with a new style and had an artificial air, which I felt was at odds with the quaint, understated and charming nature of the original Tintin comics and animated series.

And finally Question #5… What other film-related things do you do when you’re not presenting Talking Movies?

I write reviews, articles and conduct interviews for splingmovies.com, advise screenwriters and filmmakers on their scripts and films at my script services consultancy reviewmyscript.com, serve as a judge, juror or panelist at film festivals, am a freelance writer/copywriter, serve as a screenwriter and creative producer, and have recently published a book called ‘The Essence of Dreams: An Anthology of Film Reviews’.

Thank you to all of you who tune into Talking Movies. I hope that you continue to enjoy listening to the programme, as much as I enjoy creating it for you.

For more movie reviews and features visit splingmovies.com.

And remember, Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!