Rope of Silicon review

Rope of Silicon is a site which explores a variety of films and their quality. These films include hollywood films, independent films, and foreign films. The head of the site is Brad Brevet, a Seattle native. Brevet has several features on his site. One of the features is reviews.

Brevet's reviews are thoroughly written and go beyond simply whether a film is good or bad. For example, when reviewing 12 Years a Slave, Brevet analyzed the sound in the film, saying "Sound, in fact, weighs heavily on this film. Following Northup's abduction he's chained and tossed into a room with a concrete floor and wooden slats for walls. Every move he makes the chains strike and scrape against the floor at a nearly intolerable level. And when the ambient noise isn't setting the mood, Hans Zimmer's cello-driven score threatens and taunts us with the promise of more to come." He is also not afraid to go against the status quo, giving American Hustle (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) a C+ rating while giving Spike Lee's Oldboy (44% on Rotten Tomatoes). Brevet is noted for finding entertainment in unusual ways. He enjoyed Oldboy because  he found "the cultural differences between the Korean original and this American remake result in a fascinating game of compare and contrast for those that have seen both, though it's not even necessarily the actual culture [he's] referring to as much as it's the difference in cinematic culture. Your willingness to expand your cinematic horizons, whether you're a seasoned film geek or simply a mainstream moviegoer, will serve as the true test." 

Brevet also discusses movie news. For example, he discusses recently released trailers and posters as well as his box office predictions. He thoroughly analyzes his box office predictions by taking many things into account, including the film's plot, the director and their relative box office success, and the actors and their relative box office success.

Arguably the most popular feature is the "Awards" section. Brad Brevet uses several factors to predict who will be nominated at the Academy Awards each year. He avoids bringing his own opinions into account and instead focuses on the common consensus, as well as the sentimentality that often times attracts the Academy. He thoroughly examines each individual or film that he considers to be a contender in the Oscar race. Brevet also looks at the other award shows that precede the Oscars to make his predictions. He has a high success rate with his predictions. However, the notable thing is his commentary on the Oscars itself. He likes them in the way that they are a celebration of film, but he dislikes the politics involved in the award show.

Overall, Rope of Silicon is an intelligent site that I would recommend any movie buff to visit. From the well written reviews to the engaging look at Oscar season, it should have something for everyone.