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We should warn you right off that if you're exclusively interested in film criticism, MediaScreen is not for you -- you may want to check out our sister site,
Critics.com.
Yes, film is art, and, yes,
we include critical comments within our reviews. But we're primarily interested in
high-end video as a consumer entertainment product. We get as excited with a film's
visceral and sensory thrills as with its edifying aspects. And how well a film has been
transferred to disc has a lot to do with whether we will recommend a title or not. Our DVD reviews are as much about the medium as about the message.
Because we've covered home-theater software for a long time we've had the opportunity to
experiment with different approaches to reviewing and with innumerable formats (plus we've
managed to compile a most impressive database of reviews).
While our critics are technically savvy, they write for the average consumer and avoid
technobabble. The DVD format has changed from a technology for the home-theater cognoscenti to a mass video medium. So instead of merely piling on reviews of DVDs, invariably
longwinded ones delving into all sorts of esoteric technical issues, we rank reviews for the collector who wants to build a DVD library and doesn't know where to start and when to
finish. Our objective is to prepare reviews that are pithy and to the point, covering content and extras; we cover technical aspects when and where necessary -- after all, most
newer DVDs are technically almost flawless.
All titles are ranked from A to C, within several thematic categories, divided into two main categories: Genres list conventional film categories while under Eclectic we list unusual
and even quirky categories..
Within categories, reviews do not open into a new window when you click the title. Instead, we're using an innovative web technology that allows "opening" and "closing" reviews on the
same page -- sorry, but it does not work with older browsers. the advantage is that it makes browsing much faster and you are spared a lot of our advertising.
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