Movie reviews are sometimes forced marches by people who have to write something about something. However, a reviewer can sometimes do noble work. When I was in college, I was tapped to write movie reviews for a university student newspaper (that was actually self-sustained by advertising at the time). My first assignment was Ingmar Bergman's "Persona," which was a pretty advanced film for a university town that was far from the big city. When my review appeared, the theater owner phoned the editor to thank him so much for finding a reviewer who could explain it to members of the audience who might not otherwise understand it. For a while anyway, it meant that the theater could book films that usually didn't make it outside larger cities. Today that same university town is plentiful with wine bars and clothing boutiques. I admit, I still have nostalgia for the burger joints and other greasy spoons that were the mainstay when I was there.
