MetaChat REGISTER   ||   LOGIN   ||   IMAGES ARE OFF   ||   RECENT COMMENTS




artphoto by splunge
artphoto by TheophileEscargot
artphoto by Kronos_to_Earth
artphoto by ethylene

Home

About

Search

Archives

Mecha Wiki

Metachat Eye

Emcee

IRC Channels

IRC FAQ


 RSS


Comment Feed:

RSS

13 January 2013

Reviewing the reviewers - Now that Ebert has pretty much drifted off the scene, who is your go-to movie reviewer?
Honestly, the only critic I read consistently is the one in my local alt-weekly (Joe O'Shansky - here's his most recent column on his favorites of 2012). His tastes line up with mine fairly well and he does a good job of reviewing smaller/indie films too.

I also listen to the Comedy Film Nerds podcast most weeks.

Other than that, I just talk with friends. I have a pair of friends that go to the theater a ton (at least once a week on average), so I can usually ask them about most anything I'm interested in. But I very rarely go to the movies (I went twice last year), so by the time I get around to seeing stuff, I usually have a good idea of what I'll enjoy and what I won't.
posted by ufez 13 January | 10:37
Mostly just read the consensus on Metacritic.
posted by octothorpe 13 January | 12:09
I stopped listening to the Comedy Film Nerds when they dismissed End of Watch. Not that their criticisms were wrong; it's just that they focused on the problems with the movie that didn't bother me. I guess I just concluded that they watch movies for different reasons than I do.

Battleship Pretension is a better movie podcast, in my opinion. Their website is good too.

My favorite website for quick reviews of the new movies is AV Club.
posted by mullacc 13 January | 14:54
Anthony Lane. Even when I don't agree with his conclusions, I like his writing.

To just find out if I want to see a certain movie or not, I read the top critic blurbs on rottentomatos.com. Usually to my SO, aloud, with voices. (Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune may not know what a thick southern drawl he speaks in.) I don't pay too much attention to the scores, but reading through the blurbs I can usually tell if I'm going to like the movie or not.

Never have liked Ebert or the AV Club. I often disagree with their conclusions and don't find what they say about a movie to be useful. It's like if you run a lemonade stand and want to know the best lemon reamers, you probably don't read Lemon Reamer Collector magazine. Those guys are collectors, not watchers. I'm just going to assume that made any kind of sense.
posted by fleacircus 13 January | 19:22
I had a strange relationship with Ebert's reviews. Our tastes rarely aligned, but 95% of the time, I could tell from his reviews whether I would like a movie or not.

My best heueristic now is whether the IMDB rating is around 8.3 or higher, especially when the 40+ demographic is over 7.5. The RottenTomatoes consensus doesn't work well for me at all, and their format hasn't led me to any individual reviewers.

I'll stick all these in my bookmarks, and see if anyone rises to the top.
posted by Ardiril 13 January | 20:01
I read the AV Club but they've got the Pitchfork thing of not liking anything. I love me Ebert and love his writing and critical work but his reviews have gotten way too soft these days.
posted by octothorpe 14 January | 08:16
Huh? He's still writing reviews, he just skipped a few due to a bone break. Wish he'd do one for Les Miserables.
posted by Melismata 14 January | 15:31
None. I make up my own damn mind.
posted by Eideteker 15 January | 02:50
I just wanna say || Orchestrated Text

HOME  ||   REGISTER  ||   LOGIN