A Critique of Critics

I am delighted to return to The Lounge as a guest this month. Since there have been so many great posts about the Oscars, I thought I would chime in about film reviews, generally. I just skimmed an interesting article about the Internet’s dilution of the quality of reviews, and I’m not sure I completely agree. I think there are great critics who publish their work on the Web; Salon’s Stephanie Zacharek is an example. For my first post of the month, I thought I would ask others about their favorites. Who are some of the best film critics, Web-based or otherwise?

Comments

[Tim Zinnecker]

Kelly, is someone who offers commentary on a film deemed a "critic"? Or can someone merely "review" a film without being a "critic"? Maybe in popular usage the terms have melded into one.

I ask in this context: my wife often visits a particular web site to determine whether a film is "age appropriate" for our daughters. Those film commentaries (or reviews) are helpful, but I'm not sure if I would view the authors as "critics."

In years gone by, I always enjoyed watching the television show hosted by Siskel and Ebert (perhaps because they played rather long film clips!). These days I read some of the film reviews in a weekly entertainment magazine we receive at the house, and I read some of the film reviews in the local paper. Many times, though, I won't read much beyond the "score" or "grade" assigned to the film -- at least if it's negative.

[Kelly Anders]

Yes, Tim, you are correct. People often use these terms interchangeably when they are very different. Reviews are designed to whet the appetite by encouraging readers or viewers to learn enough about a film to decide whether to see it. In contrast, film criticism is a scholarly exercise that provides readers (and not typically viewers) with a full analysis of a film, often including a discussion of the work in its entirety. Once upon a time, before law school, I reviewed films for a large newspaper in the Midwest, and I took a graduate-level course in Film Theory and Criticism. Very quickly, I learned that reviews and critiques are vastly different. Anyone with an opinion can write a good or bad review, but providing a comprehensive critique requires a command of film history and great writing skills. Some writers, such as the one I mentioned from Salon, manage to mesh the two.

[Kelly Anders]

One more thing: You may want to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_criticism for a decent description of this distinction. I suspect someone with your knowledge of film would have some great suggestions for places to find either well-written reviews or critiques. Any favorites?

[Colin Miller]

I think that A.O. Scott is one of the better print critics, and I enjoy him on At The Movies. My favorite web-based critic is Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/

[Tim Zinnecker]

I've enjoyed the reviews at http://www.answers.com/ (type in movie name). I've used the link when mentioning most of the movies in our Oscar Countdown.

[Kelly Anders]

Thanks, Colin and Tim. These are great resources -- and very different. I am impressed that Wells has had this site for 10 years, and he has an impressive film reviewer pedigree. The writing is pithy and conversational, if not slightly...colorful. (smiles) As for answers.com, I had no idea that the information about films would be so comprehensive. I typed in an old film from 1990 (it's hard to believe that was 20 years ago), and I was very impressed with the results.

[Colin Miller]

Yeah, Wells basically lacks a filter, which means that he will say some things that are offensive but also that he will sa ysome interesting things that nobody in mainstream media would/could say. Mainly I just like his site because I tend to agree with the movies he likes/dislikes more than any other critic, which is probably the most important part of it for me.

[Karlee]

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