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(2) CINEMA SINS & TV SINS (USA 2012 & 2018)

“No movie is without sin.” Ding!

With over 9 million subscribers, Cinema Sins is the most popular (and prolific) film review or commentary channel in my top tens or special mentions by a long shot (probably among film channels in general for that matter) – and not coincidentally, the most contested. People seem to love or hate them online.

Haters tend to see it as nitpicking and to a clickbait formula at that – with some fairness to both claims, although as my top-tier ranked special mention would indicate, I think that’s taking the whole sin schtick too seriously.

I see their video content more as playing a drinking game while watching a film, even (or perhaps especially) films they like or enjoy, and calling out ‘sins’ for shots – with only a minority of sins as actual flaws in the film and the majority mostly running gags or just plain snark:

“Sins include continuity errors, research errors, anything that breaks willing suspension of disbelief, editing mistakes, instances of  “Dude, Not Funny!”,  instances of idiot ball or idiot plot, plot holes, deus ex machinas, logical fallacies, continuity lockouts, overused and misused tropes, or just anything the guys can make a snarky joke or reference to.”

I mean how seriously can you take such running gags as “Roll credits” (for title drops or where the title of the film is used in the film itself), or my personal favorite “Scene does not contain a lap dance” (for exactly what you think – an actress the narrator finds attractive is onscreen, usually in a titillating way).

I’m also a fan of their recurring gag for “the Prometheus school of running away from things” for the infamous scene in the film Prometheus for running away from the crashing ship in a straight line (and failing), as opposed to taking a few steps to the side. Also their sin “they survive this”, for scenes in which the characters should have died.

And speaking of “they survive this”, you know their takedowns of the Fast and Furious franchise as cinematic trash is absolutely right, even if I have seen (and will continue to see) every film instalment in that franchise.

They do remove sins from time to time for things they like about a film or that it does well (like having Natalie Portman curtseying in kinky outfit in V for Vendetta).

They’ve had several spin-off channels, but the most enduring (and one I like the most) is TV Sins, which adapts the Cinema Sins formula to episodes of TV series.

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)