Movie Critics Reviews
Let’s take a moment to talk about movie critics reviews. That is, reviews of some of the folks to whom America turns weekly to help out with their cinematic selections. Here’s a look:
Roger Ebert: No doubt the most readily recognizable name on this list, Roger Ebert has been the Chicago Sun Times’ film critic since 1967. Of course, you’ll also know him from years on television giving the thumbs up (or down) alongside either Gene Siskel or Richard Roeper. Mr. Ebert’s reviews are always eloquently written – clearly, he loves the words on the page as much as he loves watching movies. Still, this movie critic’s reviews can be maddeningly disconnected from what is undeniable onscreen fact, so much so that you may be left wondering if you saw the same movie. He often chooses instead to critique real-world details surrounding the actual film.
Bottom line: If you like your reviews enveloped in flowery (and often humorous) prose, Ebert is tough to beat. But if you want to get straight to the point, you may want to skip down the list.
A.O. Scott: It’s hard to believe that A.O. Scott has only been the New York Times movie critic for ten years. He writes his reviews with such authority, you’d think he’d been on the job forever. Whereas some critics tend to go in for the spectacle of a film, commenting on cinematography and special effects ad nauseam, for Scott the (screen)play’s the thing. If the story is nonsensical, it’s unlikely to score high marks with him. But unlike other critics, Scott doesn’t employ a star, tomatoes, or thumbs rating. You’ve actually got to read the whole shebang to understand what side he comes out on.
Bottom Line: If you’re too impatient to read Scott’s occasionally ponderous prose, a quick scroll-down of this movie critic’s reviews will also let you know where he stands on the film. In general, the longer the article, the more he likes it.
Owen Glieberman/Lisa Schwarzbaum: Entertainment Weekly’s resident reviewers are like the Hepburn and Tracy of movie critics. Both whip-smart and mercilessly snarky, even when they disagree, they go together like peanut butter and jelly (or “like lamb and tuna fish”, to quote a Rob Schneider character). Although she doesn’t suffer fools or romantic comedies, Schwarzbaum generally has the softer touch, preferring kids movies and those that are otherwise heartstring tuggers. Meanwhile, Gleiberman sets his work apart from other movie critic’s reviews by refusing to check his machismo at the door. He makes no apologies for his appreciation of tits, explosions, and kick-ass fight scenes. They both work on the letter grade scale – the best films earn an A+, the worst an F.
Bottom Line: They don’t usually review the same film for the magazine, but it’s a special treat to watch them butt heads on their blog at EW.com when they do.
Shane Rivers/Gregor Turley/Roxanne Downer: Of course, no roundup of movie critics reviews would be complete without a mention of the team here at A1 Movie Reviews. Like every other movie critic out there, we just love to share our opinions. But here, we also try to provide context and share as much as we can about plot without giving the whole thing away. We grade movies on a scale from one to five stars.
Bottom Line: We don’t wear particular hats, although it’s pretty clear who among us favors the well-done blockbuster action flick, the serious American drama, or the character-driven love story.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 2:08 am and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.