Critics you respect, Critics you don't

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:40 am

Respect:
Adam Kempenaar (Filmspotting)
Wesley Morris
Mark Kermode

Fuck off:
Andy Greenwald
Armond White
Richard Brody

add on

YouTube · Post by **Philaflava** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

sepinwall

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:13 am

yeah, pretty much just check sepinwall for tv. joanna robinson of v-fair does good on the recap/podcast front, does justified, GOT & an assorted podcast, all of which is good listening for the earlier a.m. when one doesn't want to explode into some comedy or anything of more heft
& whoevers writingthe review on the dissolve that i'm reading, often don't read the byline, for movies
can't say i know the names of the negatives, i figure the majority of grantland & the av club would fit in there
& by the by, finally going through sepinwalls book, am about 85% of the way through, lot of intriguing shit there within

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:24 am

I would actually want to punch Armond White in the face if I ever saw him in person.
Also agree that a lot of the Grantland/AV Club staff suck at criticism, yet I read a lot of both sites, but more for their interviews and such which AV Club is especially good at.
I read Sepinwall's book last month, pretty good. Skipped over the Buffy and Shield chapters though cause I need to finish both shows first. I like Sepinwall about 80% of the time, he's a bit overrated though to be honest.

In general, most critism bores the living shit out of me. I get way more out of someone on here saying "this was awesome, JGL gets punched in the face 6 times and this girl shows her south mouth" than just about any serious film critic trying to sound intelligent and better than everyone else.

Website · Post by **Random Sample** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:26 am

I don't respect any critics. I could care less of what people think of something. If I like something, I like it.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:34 am

i've been reading them whether or not i've seen all or any of the shows (Oz-none, BSG/24- most but not all), on the mad men chapter now, of which i've only seen the first season, was planning on plowing through but maybe i will skip it for a later day now. sepinwall does pretty much get all of the love nowadays, would say it's mostly deserved but the acclaims probably too universal for its own good at this point. pretty ashamed that's the first book i've picked up this yr
& yeah, av club is still fruitful in many other ways, just on the review tip when they lost 80% of their peoples it went way downhill, new blood sucks dick

drizzle · Post by **drizzle** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:40 am

Tommy Bunz wrote: In general, most critism bores the living shit out of me. I get way more out of someone on here saying "this was awesome, JGL gets punched in the face 6 times and this girl shows her south mouth" than just about any serious film critic trying to sound intelligent and better than everyone else.

this

I've gotten far more insight into movies and tv from casual convos with/between knowledgeable people then I have from formal reviews and recaps

the only time I actually read reviews of anything before watching it is for older obscure movies or shows that don't involve anybody/anything that I'm familiar with, just to see if they are worth a look based on public reputation alone.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:04 am

oh just to state, can't think o the last time i read a review or much outside of message board talk and watching a trailer prior to seeing something

ackbar · Post by **ackbar** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:24 am

don't read grantland. that's bill simmons/espn site isn't it? no interest
i do read av club, mostly for news & the stupid comment section tho. i check in with rotten tomatoes to see what the general consensus is but rarely read an entire movie review. i hate spoilers. if i've seen a movie & i'm going in for further analysis i'll usually just head to google & go down a worm hole of various entertainment sites, message boards & yahoo answers pages

PopeyeJones · Post by **PopeyeJones** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:43 am

Emily Nussbaum is the only TV critic that I consistently expect to be good. Sepinwall is fucking great as a recap guy, but not really as a critic. As a film critic Wesley Morris is good more often than not.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:51 pm

Fave Kermode movie review of 2013:

alpha · Post by **alpha** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:11 pm

Wesley Morris is a tool

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:33 pm

alpha wrote:Wesley Morris is a tool

Same love bro

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:43 pm

reviews are the only ones I trust since the poster thread.

The Rapping Coffin · Post by **The Rapping Coffin** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:01 pm

the only ones i read most of what they write are

movies: wesley morris (his 12 years and fast 5 reviews were really great)
the times guys (manohla dargis and a.o. scott)

tv: emily nussbaum

music: they are all mostly terrible. jody rosen is ok on country music.

agree with popeye about sepinwall. not much under the surface there.

drizzle · Post by **drizzle** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:16 pm

The Rapping Coffin wrote:
movies: wesley morris (his 12 years and fast 5 reviews were really great)

was curious about the fast 5 review and google brought up an article he did about race in movies he did before that movie came out. the article ends with

"In the end, it might not be Barack Obama who drives us into the future. It may just be Vin Diesel and The Rock."

I am now a fan

TeenageMoustache · Post by **TeenageMoustache** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:23 pm

I think Morris is the only living critic with a pulitzer. (RIP Ebert)

peanut butter · Post by **peanut butter** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:53 pm

I usually dig appreciate Morris, but disagreed with pretty much everything he said about True Detectives on the most recent podcast with Pappademas (who I also like).
Of course none of this matters though, because the only truly important critic has left us. RIP Ithe

PEACE

Ramen · Post by **Ramen** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:08 pm

Can't say I ever read reviews. I feel like the Phila collective have a pretty good grasp on what is worth checking out for the most part.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:32 pm

people go wild for the nuss
should probably check her out one of these days :shadesswaylow:

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:37 pm

you guise like totally know that reading critiques isn't just about making your mind up whether to see a movie right? It's also (maybe even moreso for me) about getting a perspective on a movie that makes you consider elements you hadn't previously.

off the top, I can say critiques for Drive, Rosemary's Baby and Possession changed how I viewed those films.

ric · Post by **ric** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:09 pm

most critics blow period.

goes hard because once you get a sense of what people like you can choose to view accordingly

ChaMerZ · Post by **ChaMerZ** » Sat Mar 15, 2014 4:39 pm

I don't use reviews to evaluate the quality of a movie i'm thinking of watching. I watch the movie first then read the reviews so that i can gain a different interpretation, look at it from a different perspective. a lot of what makes movie watching so enjoyable, is the discussions you have with others concerning the movie, and all the different things different people extracted from it.

my reviews are always filled with spoilers, but i try to keep my writing style 'buddy, buddy'. i make it explicit that mine is just one interpretation out of many.

forums are the perfect vehicle for getting those sorts of interaction going though, but i still don't see critics disappearing any time soon.

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