“Better Than Bladerunner”- Top Fifteen Uses of Voiceover- A Mexican Standoff

Voiceover is a mechanic that I hate. Most of the time, it’s superfluous and annoying and really just only explains the absolute obvious, pandering straight down into the audience’s faces. Personally, it turns me off.

That’s why proper use of the mechanic should be awarded. It’s not without its merits. Sometimes it’s necessary to understanding the plot, while others use it for an added injection of comedy. It can be a handy feature, but only if used correctly. The items on this list will be immortalized for their not being as bad as the voiceover from Bladerunner.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The entire genre of film noir has been discounted from this list, as the vast majority of its films contain voiceover and it’s all so strikingly similar that it’s hard to differentiate them. That being said, on with the list…

15.) Mean Girls

#5- “I Would Watch iCarly if its Stars Weren’t Racist”- Don’t Let Your Feelings about the Author Affect Your Feelings on the Work

Chekhov’s Gunman is a film and television blog written by Kevin Lanigan, a future writer of awesome movies and TV and some mediocre self-titled folk albums. Some mild, mild spoilers may follow. Like chain grocery store salsa mild.

We as a society put a lot of pressure on our artists.

Wait, no, scratch that. Not artists. Film and TV can be raised to the level of art, but it’s really a craft more than anything. You get better by doing it. It’s like making a chair. You make better chairs by continually making chairs. Directing Lincoln is not dissimilar to crafting an armchair. A rambling armchair with distracting cinematography, but an armchair none-the-less. Let’s try this again…