There was a thread a while back that asked if you read reviews before of after you see a movie.
What I’m curious about is which critic(s) you check with in either case.
I’ve gotten to the point of looking at Rotten Tomatoes or Roger Ebert from the IMDB “external comments” (or whatever it is) when I feel the need for informed opinions about a film.
There have been others I’ve checked out, but for whatever reason I’ve dismissed them as being:
I like Ebert – he clearly truly loves movies, which I’m not convinced all critics do. I don’t always agree with him, but he always has something interesting to say and backs up his opinions.
Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer is also good – again, knowledgable and literate, though I don’t always agree with her.
I have trusted Roger Ebert implictedly the last 15 years. Every ONCE in a while he drops the ball – I’m even harder than him when it comes to superhero movies because I’m such a geeky purist – unlike me, he’s open-minded enough to reconsider his opinions, like he did with Charlie’s Angels the other day.
Gene Siskel was great, but I still look at Roeper like he’s the new guy.
3 Black Chicks Review Flicks used to be fun, but it’s been awhile since I’ve been over to their website.
There’s a woman in Atlanta – Elanor Ringel – whose tastes are so diametrically opposed to mine, she’s a useful barometer for movies with so-so reviews: if she hated it, chances are I’ll love it.
Rotten Tomatoes is great, again, as a barometer for weighted reviews and I find SCREEN IT terrfic for finding out what inappropriate material might exist in age-appropriate movies. But it is haaaaaaard website on movies… I don’t think ANY movie has gotten higher than a 8.0 on a 10.0 scale over there.
I really like The Flick Philosopher, a young woman with some geeky tastes, a dab of feminist instincts, and a sarcastic register in her voice that she isn’t afraid to use. She’ll shoot down a movie in a minute if it isn’t to her liking, but doesn’t look down on SF stuff (if done properly). Has a nice turn of phrase, too. The site is completely free, but contributions are accepted.
(I’m in no way affiliated to the site, so I thought it allright to praise it. If this would constitute spam, I apologize).
I love Roger Ebert, although, for the life of me I have no clue as to why he voted “Hoop Dreams” as one of the greatest movies of all time. It hurt to watch that one.
Ebert is among the few I read regularly. The Flick Philosopher is another, as is Cranky Critic. Ebert’s reviews annoy me occasionally when I have a strong differing opinion, but he frequesntly gets little details wrong. Of course, I can’t think of an example, but, for instance, he’ll get the main character’s job wrong, instead of a lawyer he’ll say accountant. Details that might not be pertinent, but the fact that he’s gotten it wrong make me wonder how closely he’s watched the movie. And following the external reviews link from IMdB is always a good idea.
The number one critic I trust is Roger Ebert. I disagree with him occasionally but, generally, if he likes a movie, so will I. He also knows a great deal about what a good movie is. He also isn’t a movie snob which is important. He probably has a few predjudices regarding movies (as we all do) but nothing I can think of right now which is a good thing.
I also like the New York Times reviewer(s) and the Toronto Globe and Mail reviewer(s). The Variety reviewer is good as well.
I will most likely see a movie regardless of what the reviewer says but reviews give me the pluses and minuses of the movie beforehand - which is nice.
I like Ebert, for most of the reasons already mentioned. I often agree with his opinions, and even when I don’t, he defends his position eloquently and reasonably.
James Berardinelli is another critic I like, for much the same reason. (I forget the URL of his website, but if you do a search on his name, it’ll come right up.)
I used to really like Gene Siskel,
I thought he complemented Ebert Well, between the two of them I really got a sense of the quality of a picture.
I don’t like what comes out of his interactions with Roeper.
Lately, “two thumbs up” doesn’t mean what it used to. Now they have to be “way up” for it to mean anything coming from those two.
I mostly rely on friends who I know what they’re like, and know what types of movies I can trust them to recommend.
I’m another in the Ebert category. But for the diametrically opposed bracket I must add my alltime favourite bad critic -
Vivianne Rose - The Teen Movie Critic II. Like 99% of sequels, she is awful. But her completly clueless take on movies is oddly transfixing. I suggest looking for her review of Mrs. Brown