It’s Blusterin’ Time!
If you’re new to this feature or need a refresher, click the label at the bottom of this post and see the first few posts. Otherwise, here are the basics:
What I do is list a site; you critique it. But here’s the catch: to induce the most honest reactions, don’t leave the comment using your normal alias/login – instead, go anonymous, and be as brutally honest (or complimentary) as you wish to be. Also, be specific, and naturally, don’t be rude. If I deem anything inappropriate, I’ll have no problem deleting the comment.
So, go to the site listed below, familiarize yourself with it for a few minutes, then come back and leave some constructive criticism and/or comments that you have.
And remember: Blustering should be a two-way street; if you’ve asked to be blustered, you better be a blusterer.
Site: Andy Buckle’s Film Emporium
LAMB#: 813
URL: http://buckle22.blogspot.com/
If you would like to have your blog blustered by fellow LAMBs, please send me an email containing your site’s info and “Bluster Me!” in the subject line.
It’s a great site, but I’d recommend getting rid of the list of reviewed films on the left hand side. It seems kind of pointless seeing as you have a review index and that the list doesn’t contain any links…
Apart from that though, great stuff!
Good mix of reviews and news. There’s plenty of solid content out there. My only suggestion is to make the blog cleaner. There’s so much detail on the front page that it can be a bit overwhelming. I’d try to make the content pane in the middle wider and lessen the space taken by links and other information.
Nice blog indeed. I agree with the first poster that I’d get rid of the films listed section on the left, but apart from that I like it a lot. I might be biased because I read it quite often.
Very good blog, in terms of both writing and layout. The reviewed films list, which was criticized by others above, works for me, so think twice before you remove it. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons and not to rush to implement changes (not that I think you would). Keep up the good work. Thumbs up!
One of my favourite movie blogs.
Agreed on the side review panel, it doesn’t need to be there.
I’d also reconsider the small size of the photos on the site, especially when you’re doing a best screenshots type deal I’d increase the picture size. Also posts with just text are a bit boring, even the link collections could work better with a related picture.
I like the occasional off-topic post personally but some might want more focus.
When it comes to content and writing, the blog is great.
Have you considered doing an about page? It would be nice to read a) something about the writer and b) something about your motivations in doing the blog and c) your focus of interest.
Thank you for all of the positive feedback everyone. I would like to make the main body of the blog a bit wider (#2) and that would probably mean getting rid of the left-side panel. I don’t really need the list of reviewed films (but I did want a list of 2011 films in there somewhere). To move the LAMB Banner, Last Film Watched etc. over to the other side would mean it would be cluttered perhaps.
Apart from the reviewed list, is there anything else that I don’t need?
Making the body wider would mean I could post larger pictures too (#5). I am actually in the process of having a website built, with my own domain name, so I don’t know how long this blog will be the site I post to. But a huge thanks for reading and taking an interest in my work. I’ll play around with the layout and see what I can come up with.
Great content, and I see nothing wrong with the layout.
One thing I suggest is to consider disabling captcha verification on comments, some users like myself find it annoying. You can always turn on moderation if you have to.