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Siren Six is a starving writer/actor in the Los Angeles Area. She loves you.
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Activity Summary
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Reviews Written: 61
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Member Visits: 2,968
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Total Visits: 13,617
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About SirenSix
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Hello, and thanks for being curious about little old me. I've come back to Epinions after almost a 2-year hiatus, so everything you're reading here is new! Look for new reviews at least weekly from me starting April 2002.
The following is an explanation of The Basics about my life, the particulars of my Epinions persona, How I Rate your epinions, and My Five Star System for grading movies.
The Basics
I'm a starving writer/actor in my late twenties, unmarried, living happily below the poverty line in Los Angeles. Happily, because after years of forcing myself to work at jobs I hated and was terrible at, today every dime I earn is through either acting or writing. If you think I'm a good writer, please support me by reading my opinions, ALL of them, and encouraging your friends to do the same! Also, if you really like my writing, email me and ask to be included on my "hollywood chronicles" mailing list.
I've lived here since January of 2000, when I packed up everything I owned into my Toyota Celica and drove 2000 miles west all alone. I've never regretted that four-day journey, which was probably the most pivotal single event of my life.
My Epinions Persona
I am SirenSix, hear me roar. I review movies almost exclusively, with the odd non-cinematic review thrown in if I have a particularly intense experience with another product or service.
What is my purpose?
I am here to provide a rare and (I think) valuable service to the epinions community. To provide movie reviews that you can safely read before watching a film. Too many reviews give away things that, especially if you haven't seen the trailers for a film, might be better off revealed to you by the movie itself.
The example I always use is the film Ransom. There is one major plot twist in the film which, since I hadn't seen the advertising, came as a delightful shock to me. Meanwhile everyone else in the theater was thinking, "Okay, now the movie starts, finally." They'd been waiting for that bit since the opening credits. What a shame. For this reason, if I ever write a review of this film (which is excellent, by the way), I will not reveal that little twist.
What I try to do in my movie reviews is give an idea of the general subject matter (kidnapping), mood, (tense/frightening), screenplay (cleverly and believably written), acting (phenomenal), and viewing suggestions (with a close friend or significant other). If I was able to make note of such details, I will also talk about the score, the cinematography, other films that relate in some tangential way, etc.
But what I will not talk about to any extent is what happens in the movie. This you can figure out from the plot summaries epinions provides, though I really suggest you don't even read those, and just find out from the movie itself. I'll warn you if there is excessive violence, language, sexual situations, etc., so you should have no reason to need plot summary to know whether or not you'll enjoy a film.
How I Rate
Not Helpful -- You seem to have missed the point of posting a review. Either your review is abusive, off topic, identical to other reviews, or I seriously doubt you've even experienced the product in question. I have no patience for "I bet this movie is going to be great!" reviews. Also, if your spelling and grammar make your review unreadable, you will fall into this category.
Somewhat Helpful -- Your intentions are basically good, but I think you didn't put out the effort you could have. Your review may not enable me or even help me to make a decision about whether a product/service is worth trying. Perhaps you only list bad points, not good, or vice versa. Perhaps you only cover one aspect of it and leave out many important features. Perhaps your review is just squeaking by at 100 words, or riddled with typos that could easily have been amended by use of a spell checker and dictionary. All in all, I think it wouldn't hurt to write another, more thorough draft.
Helpful -- Good job. Your review does what a review is supposed to do. It gives me enough information to influence my decision, and covers all the major points that need to be covered. In addition, the grammar and spelling are reasonably correct, and your writing style readable. I believe your review will be helpful to anyone researching the topic.
Very Helpful -- If someone only had time to read one or two reviews on this subject, yours would be one of the ones I suggested. You are truly the cream of the crop! Your writing style is gorgeous and/or entertaining, you have a unique spin on the subject, or obvious detailed knowledge that the average reviewer does not possess. Your review tells me everything I need to know to make a decision about the product or service... there's really no need to look any further.
A few notes -- Don't be upset if I don't give you a VH. I wouldn't give a VH to half of my own reviews. To me a VH is reserved for those people who write above and beyond the call of duty, who really pour their souls into their reviews. There has to be some way to recognize these people as standing apart from the "good but not spectacular" crowd. Helpful means what it means. It means you were helpful. This is not an insult.
If, after reading my descriptions of how I rate reviews, you are still unclear as to why I gave you an H, an SH, or an NH, please feel free to email me at SirenSix@iwon.com and ask me why. Or, if you rewrite your review and want a new rating, do the same. I'm not here to tear you down or ruin your life, just to try and improve the overall quality of the epinions experience.
My Five-Star System
One Star -- This movie should never have been released. It's a fiasco. Either it has no good points, or the good points weren't enough to keep me from being absolutely furious I'd wasted the time it took to watch it. If I hadn't been determined to write a review of it, I'd have turned it off before the end or walked out of the theater. This is a rare rating, because normally movies like this get such bad buzz I don't even bother with them. If someone asked me, "Should I go see this movie?" I'd say, "Absolutely not."
Two Stars -- I didn't like this movie, and found it to be a disappointment. But there were obvious touches of quality in it, and someone other than me might actually like it. I wouldn't watch it again, but there is room for praise here and there. Even though it left me with a bad taste in my mouth, there is something about this movie that forbids me from just dismissing it entirely. If someone asked me, "Should I go see this movie?" I'd say, "I wouldn't if I were you. But who knows, maybe you'd like it.."
Three Stars -- This is my most common grade. This is kind of your typical Hollywood blockbuster or decent art/indie film. Entertaining, but not worth seeing a second time in the theater. You can get all you need to out of one viewing. My overall feeling about it is either fairly neutral, or balanced between disdain and affection. If someone asked me, "Should I go see this movie?" I'd say, "Sure, it's pretty good."
Four Stars -- This is a movie you may want to watch more than once, either in the theater or on video. I'm likely to buy it on DVD. It has very high quality overall, and obviously a great deal of thought went into it. I'd count it as one of my favorites, even though it does have some obvious flaws. There was something about this movie that really blew me away, made me really glad I'd spent $8.50, and even made me willing to spend it again. If someone asked me, "Should I go see this movie?" I'd say, "Absolutely. It was great. You'll love it."
Five Stars -- Another rare rating from me. These are the rare, virtually flawless gems of cinema that sparkle onscreen and deserve a prominent place in movie history. The Casablancas of the movie world. Movies you can watch dozens of times, and still marvel at them. You won't have to ask me if you should see this movie, because the minute you reveal you haven't, I'll be dragging you to the video store and forcing you to rent it, then sitting next to you and watching your face with rapt delight as you experience it for the first time.
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