Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 So this thread has two purposes:1. Who are your favorite film critics?2. What makes a film critic good?I know a lot of you think that film critics are snobs or stupid, but I'm really not interested in having that discussion in this thread. I mean, I can't stop you from having it, but I myself just don't care. I just want to ask these two questions at the top.I can't really answer the 2nd question. But my answers to the first question include: Matt Zoller Seitz, Film Crit Hulk, The AV Club (the entire site), The Dissolve (most of the site), Todd VanDerWerff, and Dana Stevens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Not really a "fan" of any particular film critic, but I think a good critic is somebody who can make you want to see a movie without explaining the plot and/or spoiling the movie, there are way too may critics now that do pretty much just that. There are some critics though I can safely say I don't like such as Rex Reed, Devin Faraci and his e-clique at BAD, and master troll Armond White. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniNate Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 (edited) MaryAnn Johanson is my favorite, but I think most major publication critics are fairy respectable. I always like reading Variety and THR's writeups. I think any critic that fulfills the basic requirements of giving and defending their opinion on a film is worthy of being listened to. What I don't like are the ones that use their reviews to attack the opposing perspective. Edited September 4, 2014 by tribefan695 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmlover Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 (edited) James Berardinelli is my main "go to" critic. I may not always agree with him, but his reviews never cease to entertain me. I always check the trades (Variety, Hollywood Reporter, etc.) as well. Edited September 4, 2014 by filmlover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I stopped by attention to critics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tawasal Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Any critic that likes what I like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakspear Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I don't go to any film critic sights. I so go to Comingsoon.net so I often read Ed Douglas' reviews and I find that I agree with his reviews a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Hunt Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Jeremy Jahns and the members of Schmoes know. Other than that I don't trust critics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I still like Richard Roeper. Drew McWeeny is a good critic. Wesley Morris over at Grantland is good too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniNate Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 McWeeny's a bit too forgiving for my taste, but he does seem sincere and intelligent about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 Thoughts on a few of the critics posted:Mary Ann Johansson-Her writing style bugs me.Drew McWeeny-He is good. His reviews sometimes seem to worry to much about his emotions, as opposed to explaining how the film created those emotions.Richard Roeper-IDK how to feel about him. He has a lot of passion, but rarely any valuable observations, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empire Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I read and like my critics, but my go to is Richard Roeper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniNate Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Mary Ann Johansson-Her writing style bugs me. She can be a dick sometimes, but I like how confident she is in her opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Wiseau Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I don't read critic reviews.. critic reviews read me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAJK Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Even critics that I really like, I don't ALWAYS agree with... Given that, I really like JeremyJahns, Schmoes Know and Chris Stuckmann on youtube I like reading Scott Mendelson's reviews on forbes, and Roger Ebert's reviews for older movies I'm also a fan of AMC Movie Talk, so when they do their reviews, I'm generally excited to watch them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webslinger Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 I read Berardinelli more than anyone else. He was the second critic whose writing I started to read regularly (after Ebert), so I've stuck around as a loyal reader since the mid-2000s. Among the professionals, I most enjoy A.O. Scott, the rotating group at The Hollywood Reporter, and Michael Phillips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmlover Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Berardinelli's scathing review of the Paris Hilton (lol yeah that should've been the hint right there to abandon all hope) so-called "comedy" The Hottie & the Nottie from 2008 is still one of the funniest things I've ever read. http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=632 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webslinger Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 I'm still partial to his "inside the studio" review of Dukes of Hazzard. His detractors are correct in saying that his writing is mostly dry and formulaic (although that's going to be true of many critics, so whatever), but I love it when he cranks one out that is just dripping with cynicism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbar Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 I tend to agree with guys on Filmschoolrejects the most. Collider and Slashfilm less but they are still quite reliable. Variety and THR are the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 I read Berardinelli more than anyone else. He was the second critic whose writing I started to read regularly (after Ebert), so I've stuck around as a loyal reader since the mid-2000s. Among the professionals, I most enjoy A.O. Scott, the rotating group at The Hollywood Reporter, and Michael Phillips. I don't read critic reviews but my fave is probably Berardinelli since he started off as one of us, a regular fan, whose reviews started getting picked up by the trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
