Welcome to Aesthete Reviews
Film criticism without the activism.
An alternative to the current dire state of film criticism.
Conversations on art have become stale. The excitement and celebration of analysis and opinion are now ruled by political ideology. Morality, ethics, and political correctness now dominate discussion rather than plot, character, story, themes, visuals, and style.
Both sides of the political spectrum judge the quality of art through the lens of their ideological worldview. Condemnation of art is all too common amongst today’s critics and consumers who are less concerned about a film’s artistic merit than they are about political activism.
Today’s criticism has influenced a generation to view movies as vehicles to promote virtues and values rather than as an art form.
AESTHETE REVIEWS is committed to viewing film as an art form and removing the political biases that cloud the consumer’s ability to recognise artistic merit.
Bringing the conversation back to the art.
To be able to return to conversations that excite and intrigue us about the power of art to provide luxury, immersion, escapism, and intellectual discussion, we must reject the idea that all art is political.
While many political films exist, it is preposterous to conclude that all works are created with this intention. It is impossible to depoliticize criticism while holding the belief that all art communicates a political position. After all, how are we able to differentiate a political film from those that are not if everything is?
We must also separate the art from the artist. The quality of art is not dependent on the character of the artist involved in its creation. Works should not be tainted or judged by events that are external to the piece itself. Even by the making of the piece. Judgment is solely focused on the artwork. The world that exists outside of it is irrelevant.
And finally, we must remove ethical or moral judgment on artworks. AESTHETE REVIEWS does not believe that an artwork can be harmful. Consumers must take personal responsibility for their emotional reactions.
If you judge art as harmful, then you invite censorship. To allow art to thrive, we must encourage freedom of expression. Otherwise, we may be depriving ourselves of art that would enrich and add to the legacy of cinema.
What will YOU get out of it?
AESTHETE REVIEWS will be a publication AND a community space.
By subscribing, you can expect the following;
Posts
A review of a brand-new or upcoming release every week.
Occasional opinion pieces on current conversations, observations, and news in the film world.
Occasional retrospective reviews
Community
Access to comment on posts and join in the conversation free of political correctness and ideology.
Talk to me directly about anything to do with film.
Chat with the rest of the community in a space full of like-minded people.
Coming soon: A monthly film club event where we can all talk about the most recent cinematic releases in an environment free of judgment.
All content will be free for the foreseeable future. However, you can support me financially by becoming a paid subscriber for as little as £3.50 a month or £25 for an annual subscription to help me fund trips to film festivals so that I can provide reviews months ahead of general release.
I’ve attended major film festivals including:
Cannes Film Festival 2023 & 2024
Berlin International Film Festival 2020
BFI London Film Festival 2022
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023
Cannes Film Festival 2024.