Reviewing a Reviewer - It's Only a Movie

Mark Kermode has lately been the only film critic whose reviews I have regularly been in contact with.  I'm usually behind in my newspaper reading and magazines I'm always behind.  His Friday afternoon show is listened to, via the podcast, every week unless I'm out of the country.

Even though I often disagree with his views on a film I can usually tell if a film is for me from what he has to say.  For a long time I would have said that he was one of my favourite reviewers.  As time has gone by though it has gone from a film review programme to a comedy double act with reviews thrown in.  When they are thrown in his co-host Mr Mayo often feels the need to interrupt the review with what is supposedly meant to be a funny comment.  Unfortunately these comments have become more frequent, less funny and much more irritating.  In the show Kermode has never been averse to telling us anecdotes of his life on the edge of film.  These stories are interesting but tend to be repeated until you can recite them along with him.

This is where my main problem with this book lies.  I've heard most of it before.  A lot of it on more than one occasion.  I like these stories but not enough to make the buying of the book a good investment.  There are parts of the book that were new to me, a fair amount to be fair.  The problem was it was mostly the filler that was fresh to me.  The highlights were old news.

The book is told in a fresh and interesting way.  His wit makes it a fun read.  If you're not a regular weekly listener to the 5Live show I'd recommend you give it a try.  Then comes the awful comparison, I have to admit I preferred Barry Norman's autobiography.  I'm probably biased but Norman will probably never be bested as a film critic in my eyes.  The only way Kermode can take his crown is to get a serious review show of his own.  I hope the BBC see sense and give him Film 2011.  I love his reviews on The Culture Show and think he makes a better critic than he does half of a double act.

3 out of 5 pawprints for me.  Probably would have taken 4 if I hadn't heard most of the stories before.