Thoughtful reviews, the Boulder film scene

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Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee's complex, intricate look at race relations in Bed-Stuy NY. —Marty Mapes (review...)

" My cardinal trait is generosity "
— Katrin Cartlidge, Career Girls

MRQE Top Critic

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Why do certain critics love trash and trash the movies you love? Maybe it’s because they were dropped on their heads as infants. Maybe it’s their upbringing. Or maybe it’s purely a matter of bad genes.

We’ve invited our writers to introduce themselves so that perhaps you can get a better insight into their unfathomable minds.

Who are you?

Pablo covers Sundance, horror films, and niche DVDs
Pablo covers Sundance, horror films, and niche DVDs

Pablo Kjolseth

What are your writing credentials?

Occasional freelance writer, mainly for Turner Classic Movies. The last time I Googled myself some of my interviews and reviews appear to have been translated into German (and, thank God, not by me - my German sucks) as well as appearing in Nunsploitation.net - for which I am honored.

What are your movie credentials?

I have been passionate about cinema since I was in my single digits and am currently the International Film Series Director.

Why should anyone listen to your opinion?

Because my opinion is like the voice of the haggard old drunkard seen at the beginning of some horror films, like the one in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre who barely gurgles out “I’ve seen things” or the one at the beginning of Friday The 13th who screams “You’re all going to die!” (I’m paraphrasing from memory here.) Anyway, if those damn kids had just listened... things could have been different. But then the movies would have been pretty lame. So, go ahead. Ignore me.

Movie pet peeves?

People who kick the back of my chair nervously throughout the film. Or light up the auditorium text messaging their buddies. Or yawn frequently, and loudly, as if inflicted with some kind of disease. But especially people who talk through films - all variants, whether it be “the constant whisperer,” or the horrendous specimen that is always trying to prove their “intelligence” by predicting everything to their compatriots, or the especially loathsome “parrot” who simply blurts out exactly what is playing out on screen, as if though interpreting the film for a blind friend. There is a special place in hell for all of them.

Do you have any non-movie habits?

Yes. And they are all killing me slowly. God, I love them.

Give us some movie recommendations.

Any archive and/or restored prints on the big screen, it’s the purest form of time travel. I thought I’d seen Deliverance many times but, really, until I saw the mint-condition and only archive print Warner Brothers let the IFS borrow from its vault, I’d never really seen it before. I heard similar testimonials from random audience members who attended our packed screening of the recently screened archive print of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s also what makes the IFS special, since we have two upright reel-to-reel projectors (vaults will not release archive prints to projection booths with platter systems - which is how most theaters are set up).

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

Traumatizing children. Hey, it worked for me as a kid. The Boulder Film Alliance used to put on some summertime poolside screenings of films like Jaws or Anaconda, and whenever a child burst into tears and ran to their mother’s arms I thought “success!” Trust me, they’ll remember that film forever. And so will the parent.