I really like the concept for the series. Novels are a huge medium, with a much larger history than any of the other media that The Escapist reviews, meaning that worthwhile novel review series will have a duty to do a lot more than just talk about new releases -- a good review series will also talk about old novels that didn't make the sort of impact they should've, overrated past works, and even whole literary periods. Focusing on just novels that have been turned into movies gives you a broad set of novels from many points in time to review, while still giving your series a strong sense of cohesion.
The main reason I don't feel like this is top quality, though, is because, well... You're pretty clearly modeling your reviews after MovieBob, and you're not doing it well. Don't get me wrong, MovieBob is a great person to look at when trying to do a review series. His pacing and editing are great, he clearly has an educated background and constantly brings up points that more casual viewers overlook (I honestly thought of Roland Emerich movies being on par with Michael Bay movies until MovieBob brought the brilliant cinematography to my attention. Viewing the films again, I have to agree that his comparison between Keebler cookies and homemade cookies was astute and accurate, I guess I'm not a cookie guy when it comes to movies), and he's entertaining. In short, I'm totally comfortable with people trying to use this model because it's well-made and has stood the test of time. I feel like your main issue was that you didn't do it well.
MovieBob has a strong background in criticism. He's read other critic's works, and probably about more than movies, too. He constantly reminds me of the literary criticism techniques I learned in highschool and college lit classes, and as a former English major, I really do enjoy that sort of thing. It was mostly in this area where I felt like you fell short. You devoted too much time to talking about how things are "just like when the book came out" and not enough time applying what the book says about those times to the modern era. You didn't make that discussion worth it. I feel like you need some more practice and polish. I don't know if you're a college student or a highschool student but either way if you haven't already I suggest you take some classes in critical literary theory. Learning close reading techniques and applying them better is what could transform this from the best video to not make it to first cut into one of the top contenders. I really do hope to see another video in this series in next year's festival, and if you can strike the sort of balance between intelligent discussion of the movie's merits and passionately talking about its emotionally resonant points then, well, you'll be a great addition to the Escapist staff.
