Even in the pre-Internet days I read as many film reviews as I could to prep myself for the weekend’s movie barrage.
Living on Long Island meant access to three major dailies – The New York Post, The Daily News and Newsday. The New York Times never entered our house for some reason (although today I can see why). So I’d scour at least three reviews of the newest films and judge my ticket buying plans accordingly.
Today, the web gives us a near endless supply of film critics to sample. But which ones are the most trustworthy?
For me, I go with a combination of the following:
- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly. A consistent straight shooter whose taste more often than not mirrors my own.
- Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post. It’s the paper that hits my door each Friday, and her reviews are always thoughtful and relevant.
- Christy Lemire, AP: For my money the best critic around.
- Kyle Smith, The New York Post: I don’t always agree with his reviews, but they’re often hilarious and there’s never a dull sentence to be found.
- John Nolte, Big Hollywood: John’s writing is unlike any other film critic. It’s passionate, original and often develops points I never even thought of while writing my own reviews.
So … that’s my fantastic five. Which film critics do you trust … and why? And while it’s flattering if someone – anyone! – mentions WWTW please leave me off your list for a semblance of balance.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Christian Toto (WWTW)- Your reviews are different and more varied than the average reviewer. I first enjoyed reading your stuff at Big Hollywood.
Vic Holtreman (Screen Rant)- I wrote a few articles for his site, but prior to that, I enjoyed his reviews from the point of view of a guy with kids. Quite a few warnings about content were greatly appreciated.
Garth Franklin (Dark Horizons)- I dig his writing style and have been enjoying his website for years.
Govindini Murty & Jason Apuzzo (Libertas Film Magazine)- Libertas is just a different site, but offers a conservative perspective on movie news and reviews. I tend to like Jason’s articles/reviews more than others on the site, but Govindini is just so hot, she must be mentioned.
To the ones listed above, I would add James Berardinelli (Reelviews), whose reviews are almost always interesting and well-written.
Well, since in the name of balance and not being able to mention you, it’s slim pickin’s. Without WWTW, Carl Kozlowski and Kyle Smith are about it.
Gave up on Nolte after he admitted not long ago he doesn’t see many movies anymore. Dude, I realize you’re the Editor-in-Chief of BH, but writing about movies is your bread and butter.
He did used to write some danged brilliant stuff, though, before he devolved primarily into a culture warrior.
I go to Staci Layne Wilson (Horror and other sites) for my horror fix. She hates torture-type and zombie films and so do I. She likes ghost and vampire flicks, so once more I am sympatico with her.
Rex Reed is my go-to New Yorker. I don’t agree with him on all things, but I love his snark.
JImmy,
Bernadelli is the best critic who should be insanely more popular than he is … such a good read on a regular basis.
The Ain’t It Cool guys are usually good for a laugh or two … most of the time they’re completely off but it gives you a good starting place.
This is actually not as easy to answer as it sounds. Those with conservative cultural and political values find little comfort in a dark forest of leftist film criticism. But… There are ways to make an unfair system work for you. For example the collective sites of Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic can be useful. In both sites overwhelmingly favorable rating scores are as close to a sure sign that the movie has a left-leaning message as there is. Thus, that movie would be placed on the “Do Not Disturb” list. Of course, one could visit uber-leftist sites like Salon and reverse engineer. But doing that too often has the same effect on the mind as binge drinking does on the body. These days the trick is to find the well scripted, acted and directed – and thus non-megaplex – non-political films. These films are unlikely to receive visible marketing so one must perform a comprehensive review of monthly releases and look for respected actors and directors. In other words, you have to work backwards. The small independent films require a critic that occasionally gives them some ink and at least enough info to judge their “humanity.” One critic I respect for this – even though he is a full-bore leftist – is Roger Moore at the Orlando Sentinel. But, in the end, it’s a tough job rooting through the trash to find something valuable.
You, Ace (though ace works at being a little too inside baseball) My brother, and a person who I’m not allowed to let anyone know that I’m remotely associated with, who is also a big horror fan.
Christian Toto, Leo Grin, Carl Cozlowsky, John Nolte, & Agent Bedhead
I usuall like Ain’t It Cool News, but don’t always agree with them. Moriarity and Hercules the Strong’s reviews are usually pretty funny, whether I agree or not.
Also, I am indebted to Christian for reviewing three movies I wouldn’t have known about otherwise and loved: Let the Right One In, (500 Days of Summer, & Adam. He often reviews movies that aren’t mainstream, which I appreciate.
The person I’m not allowed to let anyone know I know, told me I absolutely had to watch “Audition” which I haven’t gotten around to yet, but It’s an assignment given to me by a friend so I will.
Phil Villareal.