Talk:James Berardinelli

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[edit] James Berardinelli

well, he's right below ebert on imdb for the review pages, and it's "the largest non-commercial movie site on the net".

Here are two direct links to biographical information Bio on his website(FAQ section) and Bio on Rotten Tomatoes . I would suggest...
- that comments be added about how long he has been reviewing on the internet
-that someone mention his book of reviews, or at least it's ISBN.
- mention his serialized novel published online
- mention Ebert's comments about him

[edit] Female Toplessness

I would like to see some sourcing on the phrase "he has been a forceful advocate of decriminalizing public female toplessness". I check his site daily and vaguely remember him even discussing the subject jokingly, let alone as a "forceful advocate".

I removed this reference. I contacted Berardinelli regarding this and he described as a "stretch" of his opinion on the issue. Perhaps, in a future section, his views on the matter could be given a proper and better sourced airing.--Lord of the Ping 19:42, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Criticism

This is odd. Most everyone in the online review sites I frequent blast Berardinelli for lacking insight and being boring; I was actually kind of surprised how much praise is exhibited in this article. I hesitate to edit the article myself, being obviously biased and such, but the respect for him is surely not as widespread as suggested.

Berardinelli's writing style is not very colloquial and tends to make him sound highbrow, which I could easily see how people could find him "boring." I disagree completely, but that's just my opinion. The fact that Roger Ebert gives him praise says a lot. Can you list some sites that disparage him? Willbyr 21:19, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
Eh, I could, but it's just message board crap. Just... ho boy, "highbrow" is not how I'd describe the guy at all.

Berardinelli is one of the 5 most popular - and arguably appreciated - movie critics online. Anyone with that sort of pedigree is bound to get a lot of criticism. Ebert is arguably the #1 movie critic in the world in terms of pedigree AND he also gets more criticism than anyone else. Because he just happens to be the most famous one. It's the same with Berardinelli. But judging simply by the general response in movie discussion forums around the net, Berardinelli comes #2 after Ebert in terms of how much people respect him - I'm of course talking about still *living* movie critics. Just look at discussions where people list their favourite movie critics.

[edit] NPOV

The article herein was so obviously POV that I found it worthy of a "criticism" section. I've tried to entertain a more appropriate balance of both his advocates and opponents, since he has plenty of both. In fact, I think this whole section may be too nice to him, with hoards of critics accusing him of almost total lack of insight (I somewhat disagree, though their point is clear). I think the next step should be citing sources clarifying both sides of the coin (Roger Ebert is not enough, thank you very much).

[edit] His criticism of the movie Heat (1995)

I just saw this guy's review of the masterpiece that is the movie Heat (1995) here: http://www.reelviews.net/movies/h/heat.html. I think he has completely missed the point of the movie and criticizes the exposition of the (too many) characters as causing the movie to drag. Yet that is exactly what this movie is - an exploration of obsession, of man's ability to stick to his principles.

Perhaps for that reason it should not be called a 'movie' at all, but something akin to a 'treatise' or 'essay'. For that reason time is required, nay demanded, for character building and not a single moment is unnecessary or over-indulgent. Yes the action scenes are short, but that's because the 'long stretches of banal dialogue' enlighten us to the fact that these set of characters are intelligent professionals that know how to deal with a score and deal with it fast. We do not need protracted action to demonstrate what is being intimated in the scenes leading up to it if we bother to read between the 'pedestrian' dialogue (besides, these people are 'cops and robbers', not thespians).

Furthermore, the coffee shop scene was a meeting of two guys with mutual respect for each other, wanting to know what makes the other tick and, crucially, recognizing the own obsession in the other. Again if one pays attention, one sees how succinctly the scene summarizes the first half of the movie, and sets up the second. As Hannah says, "he's worked all kinds", and such a meeting of seasoned men does not require 'tension and raw energy' (which is more appropriately reserved for other foe) but rather engenders a more dignified response (and thinking about the potential parallel that could be drawn between such a hypothetical meeting of these two great actors in real life was exhilarating).

If this guy had wanted to see more fast paced action then maybe he should have gone to see a 'routine.. serviceable cops-and-robbers thriller' - because this great work most certainly is not that.

And all the above doesn't even begin to take into account the non-dialogue. Th exquisitely constructed interplay of colour, light, and sound, with mood and how beautifully it offset each scene. From reading this guy's review again, it would seem that neither did he. Maybe he was too busy looking at his watch.

Interesting, but this isn't a chat board about Berardinelli's reviews. --Golbez 04:04, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
I disagree with Golbez: this is not interesting. -Seth —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.85.162.167 (talk) 22:07, August 24, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Occupation

1. His autobiography on Rotten Tomatoes reads [1]: "I attended the University of Pennsylvania... obtaining both a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. Putting my education to use, I went to work for a company called Bellcore... ."

2. His autobiography on his website, ReelViews.net, adds more detail[2]:" I went to work for a company called Bellcore (now re-named with the moniker of "Telcordia Technologies") and spent the next 15 years working in a variety of fields, including fiber optics, video testing ... and software systems."

3. The website for Telecordia Technologies describe itself as "[providing]... configurable software and services for IP, wireline, mobility and cable networks—helping communications companies around the world transform, manage, and grow their networks." [3] Their clientele include many telecommunication companies [4].

4. In the forward to Berardinelli's "Reel Views" (2003), Roger Ebert describes Berardinelli as "a computer expert." Ebert, also in the forward, references an article he wrote for the June, 1996, edition of the defunct internet magazine 'Yahoo! Internet Life' in which he writes: "Berardinelli describes himself as an electrical engineer..." Berardinelli includes an excerpt of this article on his website [5]. There seems to be discrepency between the publication date of the article; Ebert lists it as June, 1996, in the forward, while Berardinelli's website lists it as September, 1996. However, there are no substantive differences.

In sum, there is no clear and definitive description of his job or job title . However, I think describing him as an electrical engineer is aprropriate, for now, for two reasons:

1. The term 'electrical engineer' is extremely vague, given the breadth of the field. This article is written for lay people and there is no value in clarifying some esoteric job title.

2. There is much evidence to suggest he works in some field that is covered under the umbrella of the 'electrical engineer' job title.Lord of the Ping 06:59, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Berardinelli is educated"

Where? What in? To what level? Everyone is educated. As it is, this phrase is meaningless. The JPStalk to me 20:21, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

The entire phrase: "Berardinelli is educated and works as an electrical engineer." In other words, he studied electrical engineering at university, and works as an electrical engineer. On Berardinelli's website he answers the "where" and "to what level" questions [6]. Perhaps the phrase should be reworded and some additional content added.--Lord of the Ping 16:08, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sources

ReelViews.net- Berardinelli's personal website- I think is reliable for personal information. I doubt a professional journalist or editor would look for sources outside the person in question when inquiring about their marriage. Similarly, I think his education would be considered personal information, and ReelViews would be an adequate source for information on it. However, for more public information, such as his place of employment and the number of hits to his site, I think ReelViews would not be suitable.Lord of the Ping 20:23, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] His critics

Are there sources to allegations like "opponents claim that his engineering background is an impediment to substantial commentary on film as a legitimate art form"? Sounds like something that was just made up.

[edit] Infobox

I've added an infobox for Berardinelli per the request at the top of the page. I assigned an arbitrary day of birth to make the code in the infobox work; if someone has his correct DOB, please update. Willbyr (talk | contribs) 16:31, 9 April 2008 (UTC)