Film critics

[lab276]

The person whose opinion I trust most on films is this guy:http://dorkmanscott.com/He's not a professional critic, but I find his opinions insightful and more often then not, I agree with him.I don't agree that critics are freeloaders who don't know anything about film. It's the contrary, they know a lot about film and what works and what doesn't because they've seen many more films than most regular people. You may disagree with them, but criticism is more than just see it/don't see it, it's also about analysing what works and what doesn't and why. They're quite valuable in that sense.I know I'm basically repeating what several other people have already said, but it's apparently something that needs to be said again.

[A Marvel Fanboy]

Film critics exist for reasons. Directors direct movies, critics review movies. People involved with different professions do different kinds of things and jobs.

[Manu Delpech]

The person whose opinion I trust most on films is this guy:http://dorkmanscott.com/He's not a professional critic, but I find his opinions insightful and more often then not, I agree with him.I don't agree that critics are freeloaders who don't know anything about film. It's the contrary, they know a lot about film and what works and what doesn't because they've seen many more films than most regular people. You may disagree with them, but criticism is more than just see it/don't see it, it's also about analysing what works and what doesn't and why. They're quite valuable in that sense.I know I'm basically repeating what several other people have already said, but it's apparently something that needs to be said again.

 

Except that there isn't a rule about what works and doesn't work in a movie, it's just opinions, what works for one person in a movie won't work for another one, so there is no objectivity anywhere, it's just vision, and perception. The fact that they know better is true, of course, but that's not the issue here. 

[mahnamahna]

Yeah, movie critics are failed directors that didn't contribute to the art of filmmaking. Go tell that to François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, Olivier Assayas among others a.k.a. movie critics of Les Cahiers Du Cinéma whether you like their movies or not, that's not the debate. If we're talking about the notion of auteur in movie-making nowadays, that's due to those movie critics turned directors because that notion didn't exist beforehand. Basically without movie critics, no one would talk about "auteur theory" or say "this director is an auteur". It's so familiar among movie buffs discussions today, we now make a distinction between "auteur" and "yes-man/hack".

 

Hitchcock, Lang and Hawks were not considered "auteur" before those movie critics analyzed their filmography at the time and drew some familiar pattern in their respective filmography acknowledging and explaining in columns common resurgences of themes/obsessions and items fused with a peculiar style. That's what good movie critics do.

 

So much fail in that aforementioned post.

So much pretentious fail in this aforementioned post 

 

Do you think 99.9% of people even care about "auteur theory"? When unemployment is actually above 10% (don't listen to media stats), people have bills to pay, kids to raise, jobs to go to? Do people want to watch a "deep" movie simply because critics say you have to? Real life is hard enough and it just makes sense that an Adam Sandler comedy would make a better remedy than say... Amour. 

 

 Frankly I don't think people should get paid solely to watch movies and give an opinion on them. Now I don't have a problem with user reviews on IMDB, or people who just review films for fun  but when you're getting paid quite a bit of dough to simply say whether you liked something or not sounds terrible to me. I also think actors, star athletes, and politicians are all grossly overpaid (the famous ones) so I don't neccessarily think critics are scum. I just think it should be a hobby rather than a profession - they should write novels, poems, essays, as well as get a day job because if all you know is film criticism, you won't be able to properly comment on the themes or ideas in films because you've never experienced them. Either way, I think it should be done for fun rather than a career. 

 

Look no further than the 1001 Movies List - a lot of little-seen "important" films made the list while I can list 100 that would be more enjoyable films to see before you die:

 

1. The Kid (1921) - Chaplin's first classic

2. Wings (1927) - first Best Picture winner

3. Animal Crackers (1930) - first major Marx Bros film

4. The Mummy (1932) - a Boris Karloff classic

5. Little Miss Marker (1934) - no Shirley Temple?!? She's only the first breakout child star... no biggie 

6. Curly Top (1935) - it brought us the classic song "Animal Crackers in My Soup" and it's her most iconic film

7. The Lady Vanishes (1938) - how did they miss this Hitchcock gem? 

8. The Great Dictator (1940) - how this didn't make the list I'll never know... one of Chaplin's best

9. Meet John Doe (1941) - nice little Frank Capra film

10. Bambi (1942) - there's no excuse for not having one of Walt's masterpieces on here when The Jungle Book has a spot!!

11. The Pride of the Yankees (1942) - one of the best baseball films ever made

12. Road to Morocco (1942) - a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby classic that should be on here

13. National Velvet (1944) - a beloved family film with Elizabeth Taylor's first starring role

14. Anchors Aweigh (1945) - nice, groundbreaking musical with Gene Kelly (he danced with Jerry the Mouse) 

15. Song of the South (1946) - only so that Disney will finally release this on DVD so we can see what the fuss is about

16. The Yearling (1946) - classic family film with Gregory Peck and a good tearjerker

17. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - way to include the quinessential Christmas film...

18. Father of the Bride (1950) - one of Spencer Tracy's best

19. Peter Pan (1953) - I definitely think this ought to have a spot on the list

20. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) - Disney's first truly classic live-action film

21. Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) - a great B-movie and return to Classic Monster form for Universal

22. Lady and the Tramp (1955) - the best animated romance movie ever made

23. The Seven Year Itch (1955) - the dress lifting up is ingrained in pop culture imagery

24. Old Yeller (1957) - it's a great family film and one that makes everyone cry

25. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) - Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman together? This classic should be on there

26. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) - Ed Wood's best-known B-movie should be here

27. 101 Dalmatians (1961) - the last true Walt Disney classic since Jungle Book was underwhelming IMO

28. Blue Hawaii (1961) - Elvis' famous fixation on Hawaii begins here

29. Bye Bye Birdie (1963) - one of those classic teeny-bopper musicals deserves mention and this would be it

30. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) - Ray Harryhausen's SFX work should have been recognized somewhere on the list

31. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) - Clint Eastwood's first classic 

32. For a Few Dollars More (1965) - all three of the "Man With No Name" films should be on the list

33. Cat Ballou (1965) - a well-made Western musical

34. Fantastic Voyage (1966) - a great sci-fi adventure featuring Raquel Welch in one of her first roles 

35. The Fortune Cookie (1966) - Billy Wilder's last iconic film 

36. Barefoot in the Park (1967) - a nice enough romantic comedy and featuring an early Robert Redford

37. The Odd Couple (1968) - another great pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau

38. Bullitt (1968) - Steve McQueen doing what he did best with a killer car chase to boot

39. Romeo and Juliet (1968) - the film adaption of Shakespeare's play most widely watched in schools across America

40. Fritz the Cat (1972) - the first adult orientated animated movie 

41. Paper Moon (1973) - a great, underrated road film

42. Soylent Green (1973) - "SOYLENT. GREEN. IS. PEOPLE!!!" just for that it should be on here!!  great sci-fi film

43. The Towering Inferno (1974) - one of the best disaster films of all-time with a stellar cast

44. The Longest Yard (1974) - Burt Reynolds shines in this superb football comedy

45. Death Wish (1974) - the first in the series of Charles Bronson vigilante thrillers is down-to-earth and gritty

46. The Great Gatsby (1974) - Robert Redford was great as Jay Gatsby and it's based on one of the best-known American novels

47. Shampoo (1975) - a great romantic comedy and one of Goldie Hawn's best films

48. The Omen (1976) - Richard Donner's phenonemal with this and Gregory Peck gives it a high pedigree

49. Silent Movie (1976) - Mel Brooks was at his best doing absurd spoofs on life's folly

50. Marathon Man (1976) - Laurence Olivier in his later years plus Dustin Hoffman at the top of his game 

51. Smokey and the Bandit (1977) - a fun Burt Reynolds/Sally Field road comedy with Jackie Gleason thrown in for good measure

52. Animal House (1978) - the template/inspiration for all college films of the last 35 years isn't on the list? wow...

53. Superman (1978) - again, the template/inspiration for all superhero films of the last 35 years isn't on the list? Tim Burton's Batman somehow got on

54. The Amityville Horror (1979) - along with Texas Chainsaw, it inspired pretty much every "based on a true story" horror film for the last 30 years

55. The Black Stallion (1979) - an overlooked family classic with Mickey Rooney in one of his later roles 

56. The China Syndrome (1979) - Jack Lemmon shines in this political drama

57. The Blues Brothers (1980) - a terrific musical comedy with plenty of great performances by Belushi, Akyroid, and the musical guest stars

58. Private Benjamin (1980) - Goldie Hawn's top-tier comedy and one that should definitely have a spot on here

59. Arthur (1981) - a solid romantic comedy and the inspiration for most "spoiled slacker" comedies of the last 30 years

60. The Great Muppet Caper (1981) - a irreverent, fun adventure with the Muppets that always keeps its tongue in cheek

61. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - probably considered the best Star Trek film to date (even more than JJ Abrams' reboot/re imagining) 

62. Trading Places (1983) - Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyroid hit it out of the park with this comedy classic

63. Flashdance (1983) - the inspiration for many a dance film

64. Gremlins (1984) - a great homage to creature features' past

65. The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) - a simple Muppet musical that just works wonderfully

66. The Karate Kid (1984) - a great entry in the "underdog" category of films

67. The Goonies (1985) - a heartfelt "Indiana Jones with kids" film that's endearing and quotable

68. An American Tail (1986) - Don Bluth deserves a mention on the list and why not for this heartwarming animated classic?

69. Dirty Dancing (1987) - a rite of passages for most teenage girls is to watch this movie plus it's got the Swazye 

70. RoboCop (1987) - a subversive and prophetic sci-fi thriller with Red Foreman chewing scenery 

71. Beetlejuice (1988) - one of Tim Burton's best and it's not on the list?

72. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - Studio Ghibli's best-known film not on here? Blasphemy! 

73. Indiana Jones and Last Crusade (1989) - Sean Connery helps elevate this to iconic status

74. Dead Poets Society (1989) - Sublime teen drama with Robin Williams in a mostly subdued role. Kudos to Peter Weir!

75. The Little Mermaid (1989) - the movie that sparked the Disney Renaissance needs to be on here - this is just a low blow!

76. Home Alone (1990) - John Hughes' last iconic production and it just has enough heart that it somehow works 

77. Beauty and the Beast (1991) - nominated for Best Picture and one of the best Disney animated films... why omission?

78. A Few Good Men (1992) - Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Rob Reiner all made this courtroom drama pitch perfect

79. Scent of a Woman (1992) - I'm surprised it doesn't have a spot 

80. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - the film that basically popularized stop motion movies and it's still got massive appeal today

80. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - Nora Ephron just shows her knack for romance in this Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan comedy

81. Ed Wood (1994) - Tim Burton's last truly great film aside from Frankenweenie

82. Apollo 13 (1995) - Why isn't this on the list exactly? 

83. Jerry Maguire (1996) - Cameron Crowe's most widely seen film... no mention?

84. As Good As It Gets (1997) - this was a great dramedy and ought to be on the list

85. Good Will Hunting (1997) - how'd this miss the list? It's a drama up the film critics' alley

86. The Truman Show (1998) - Jim Carrey at the top of his game and once again Peter Weir shows he can keep manic antics under control

87. Toy Story 2 (1999) - Pixar showed they could tell a great story even if it was a sequel 

88. Cast Away (2000) - Tom Hanks was amazing in this film

89. Shrek (2001) - inspired pretty much all of the irreverent animated movies of the last 10 years

90, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) - the sleeper hit of the 2000s IMO and definitely a solid romantic comedy 

91. Finding Nemo (2003) - one of Pixar's most enduring films and is a must for a list containing 1001 movies

92. Elf (2003) - The best Christmas film of the 2000s and Will Ferrell's great as Buddy the Elf

93. Anchorman (2004) - the most quotable comedy of the 21st century isn't on here but Borat and Bridesmaids are? 

94. The Incredibles (2004) - Pixar showed everyone how to make a phenonemal superhero film 4 years before TDK 

95. Juno (2007) - I was actually baffled this isn't on the list at some point...

96. Gran Torino (2008) - Clint Eastwood should have left this as his last acting role because it's a great way to end an acting career

97. Up (2009) - if District 9 and The Hangover made the list, this touching animated adventure should be on here

98. Toy Story 3 (2010) - This is the perfect cap-off to Pixar's only trilogy at the moment99. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - DreamWorks finally made a classic animated film without pop culture references or potty humor

100. The Help (2011) - a great throwback to the well-made weepies of the late 80s/early 90s with a lot of heart. Great performances put this over the top

101. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (2011) - while I'd include Prisoner of Azkaban too, I figured this was more fitting since it got near-universal acclaim and was a great finish to the Harry Potter series. Alan Rickman should have at least been nominated for Supporting Actor. 

 

The point is that all of these great commercial films aren't on the list while plenty of little-known or small films that critics and snobs find "important". Trainspotting is a prime example - I thought it was terrible, but it's on the 1001 movies list. Why?! Jerry Maguire would have been a much better pick and one regular moviegoers might warm up to a little better. The answer is that it's little-seen so critics automatically think it's "well made" or "signficant".

 

When you have 1001 slots on a list, there's no reason all 101 of the ones I just listed should be snubbed. 

[dashrendar44]

Please educate yourself. And come back until then.

 

Movie critics that developped "the auteur theory" shaping a new way of film criticism everyone is now using from artists, critics to movie buff audience) were also directors/screenwriters so your initial point is still a fail.

Edited August 14, 2013 by dashrendar44

[ThatMovieGuy]

did you just say you thought trainspotting was terrible/?> how>?? please I wanna hear this!

[mahnamahna]

did you just say you thought trainspotting was terrible/?> how>?? please I wanna hear this!

I just think it's vastly overrated and didn't deserve to be in a list of films to see before you die. Again, it's an opinion and an unpopular one at that but it's what I think

[CaptainJackSparrow]

I could care less what a critic says. The only film reviewer I watch is Jeremy Jahns, for obvious reasons!

[DAR]

Ultimately it comes down to your opinion, but that doesn't mean you should blow off a well written review even if you disagree

[luna]

I just think it's vastly overrated and didn't deserve to be in a list of films to see before you die. Again, it's an opinion and an unpopular one at that but it's what I think

 

but you're not a director, so why on earth are you criticising something when you can't do better yourself?

[dashrendar44]

but you're not a director, so why on earth are you criticising something when you can't do better yourself?

 

Boom! Headshot.

 

I think this trend of bashing film critics as worthless pricks has flourished thanks to the internet where everybody can now voice their (often stupid and uneducated) opinions whereas before the advent of the world wide web, movie genre afficionados got to dig into countless magazines, collect genre fanzines to find reviews and articles about their favourite movies. Now everything is served on a plate for free and no one care to read anymore unless the critic put himself in front of a camera doing some stand-up comedy on youtube.

 

Reading movie critics were one of my only bridge to extend my movie world culture and knowledge when I read a review about a movie  then the critic would draw a comparison to a better film/worthy genre classic I didn't know that I suddenly wanted to check out to expand on the subject/the genre. Those critics transmit their passion for movies/genre to me. That's what good movie critic do, expand your movie culture and explain how a movie fit in history and its genre, or how it is so peculiar, an UFO in its genre, it is unique.

Edited August 15, 2013 by dashrendar44

[Jack Nevada]

Yeah, movie critics are failed directors that didn't contribute to the art of filmmaking. Go tell that to François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, Olivier Assayas among others a.k.a. movie critics of Les Cahiers Du Cinéma whether you like their movies or not, that's not the debate. If we're talking about the notion of auteur in movie-making nowadays, that's due to those movie critics turned directors because that notion didn't exist beforehand. Basically without movie critics, no one would talk about "auteur theory" or say "this director is an auteur". It's so familiar among movie buffs discussions today, we now make a distinction between "auteur" and "yes-man/hack".

 

Hitchcock, Lang and Hawks were not considered "auteur" before those movie critics analyzed their filmography at the time and drew some familiar pattern in their respective filmography acknowledging and explaining in columns common resurgences of themes/obsessions and items fused with a peculiar style. That's what good movie critics do.

 

So much fail in that aforementioned post.

You're so wise. Like a.. miniature black Budha all covered in hair. 

[Jack Nevada]

Film criticism is just as valid and important as any other form of criticism (books, music, wine, whatever) and the idea that all film critics are jaded and cynical is jaded and cynical in itself. 

[Jack Nevada]

Ultimately it comes down to your opinion, but that doesn't mean you should blow off a well written review even if you disagree

Yes. Like for example Roger Ebert made a ton of "What the fuck, why would you like/not like this movie?" reviews, but they would still be insightful and often well argued.

[Ozymandias]

Film criticism is just as valid and important as any other form of criticism (books, music, wine, whatever) and the idea that all film critics are jaded and cynical is jaded and cynical in itself. 

 

Yep.  Also, people who call critics jaded and cynical only do it when they disagree with them.  When they actually do agree with them, they're smart peoples!

[Jack Nevada]

Movie critics are jaded free loaders for the most part.

You calling anyone jaded is fucking hilarious. 

[cannastop]

I guess I like most of the top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Mainly people who like the same movies I like.

 

And finally I have to admit that David Ehrlich has an amazing wit, even if he doesn't like a movie I liked. @That One Guy

[Barnack]

Using this old thread to comments on the talks on critics:

 

@CenterMeOnSam

There is a serious issue with the fact that critics are a bit homogenous. There's not a LOT of diversity of thought with critics because they are primarily looking at films from a different lens. Yeah, sure, there are some that are probably more in line with your average moviegoer in America, but not the majority. To become a film critics, you likely have a much higher bar for the product you see, which is great! But, as that becomes more and more the case... you will continue to see critical/audience divides. 

 

It depend of what we talk about when we talks critics, but something like popular youtube channel and podcast (and the giant among of critics that arrive from the franchise fanbase side of it), I am not sure is less in line with the average movie goers than in many era of the pass.

 

There is many force in place, to become a film critics you often like movies (lower the bar), watch hundreds of them every year (in some ways higher the bar in other lower it, after having seen the 100 worst movies, something average can look really good)

 

@Last Man Standing

I don't see the point of the critics discourse: NO-ONE blindly trusts critics, everyone knows they're a weird little clique with their own biases

 

Really unsure about either claim, the Globes membership was a little clique hanging around, 

If you look here:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_notice/reviews

 

There is critics from spain, Australia, UK, Canada, USA, Israel, Singapore, Ireland, from the Patriot Ledger to Vanity Fair, to some mother in mo,vies publication to Fat guys at the movies, to NPR to the Financial Times.

 

The list of critics is giants:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critics/authors

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critics/sources

 

Podcast on the genre:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/genre/podcasts-tv-film/id1309

 

Youtube channels:

https://blog.feedspot.com/movie_review_youtube_channels/

90 Movie Review Youtube Channels For Movie Lovers

 

It is quite far in 2021 to a little clique, it is not little by any stretch (there is no curating anymore in that sector and for a long time) and it is not a clique either, many are doing it without getting in contact with anyone else much now (and a giant amount that make a living out of it get way too much in contact with it at the same time).

 

People do not trust the little click that get handpicked by studios to see the previews and those (for the different group) that often get handpicked together can become clicks, but it is worldwide, each media ecosystem having their own critics and many international one.

 

 

 

 

[Barnack]

For the movie that spawned the conversation, Ghostbuster goes from 90 on metacritic to 10, with almost a perfect normal distribution spread (14 positive, 22 mixed, 10 negative)

 

That is about the less all the same/clique critical reaction to a movie one can make.

[Daxtreme]

4 hours ago, Barnack said:

For the movie that spawned the conversation, Ghostbuster goes from 90 on metacritic to 10, with almost a perfect normal distribution spread (14 positive, 22 mixed, 10 negative)

 

That is about the less all the same/clique critical reaction to a movie one can make.

 

What do you mean 90 to 10?

 

The current score is 45 critics score, 8.5 user score. Let's say it started with 90 critics score, where does that 10 come into play?