Now that Ebert is gone, who should be my main movie critic?
May 1, 2013 10:52 AM   Subscribe

I really liked Roger Ebert. He seemed to understand and enjoy film and his reviews were interesting to read. However, he also gave me a good sense of whether I might like a particular movie. Unlke snootier critics, he wasn't above letting his readers know whether a comedy was actually funny or an action movie exciting. Now that he's gone, who should be by go-to critic? I liked having one main critic as I got a good sense over time of how our tastes did and did not match up.
posted by Area Man to Media & Arts (27 answers total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
I tend to bounce between A.O. Scott and Nathan Rabin as far as my personal tastes go.
posted by klangklangston at 10:53 AM on May 1, 2013


Mark Kermode! Check out his podcast, Kermode and Mayo's Film Review.
posted by painquale at 10:56 AM on May 1, 2013 [6 favorites]


Here's a recent MeFi thread about Kermode.
posted by painquale at 10:58 AM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I've been following Geoff Pevere for quite a long time. He's very intelligent and very conversational at the same time. He really has a talent for his work.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:00 AM on May 1, 2013


There will never be anyone quite like Ebert again, but the closest I've found is David Edelstein. (You might know him as the guy who reviews films on CBS Sunday Morning.)
posted by jbickers at 11:12 AM on May 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


Anthony Lane. The only caveat is that he can be a bit of a smartass, but I think he's a great and witty writer.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:13 AM on May 1, 2013 [4 favorites]


I, too, came in here to suggest Mark Kermode. In addition to his excellent BBC film podcast, he writes a regular DVD review column for the guardian.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 11:16 AM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I enjoyed Ebert's reviews but could not count on him reliably as an arbiter of taste.

I've found I can get the best sense of whether or not I'll like a movie by using a 'formula'. In short, I go to RottenTomatoes and have a quick look at the 'fresh'/'rotten' ranking from:
  • A.O. Scott (NY Times)
  • Andrew O'Hehir (Salon)
  • Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)
  • Various (Slate)
  • Various (Village Voice)
Generally, if they're all on board with 'fresh' ratings (Village Voice excluded, they hate everything) I'll take that as a good sign I should see the movie.

After seeing the movie I'll come back and read the reviews. I hate reading reviews before seeing the movie, it really takes away from the enjoyment of discovery.

This strategy has only failed me once. Having seen Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes I had absolutely no interest in seeing the 2011 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes. There was no way that movie would be any good, I thought. I had a quick scan of my RottenTomatoes crew and — low and behold — my top critics all gave it a 'fresh' ranking. Even the Village Voice (!).

On that basis I put my ass in the theatre to see the movie. It was awful. I had to apologize to my wife for suggesting the damn thing. When I got home I started reading the reviews. It turns out the actual praise for the movie was far more muted than the 'fresh' icon suggested. By virtue of being 'ok' it translated into a 'fresh' icon. Because all them gave middling 'fresh' rankings it translating into a misrepresentative and totally skewed 100% Fresh rating. Lesson learned.

posted by mazola at 11:18 AM on May 1, 2013


I submit Manohla Dargis. She doesn't pull punches and is often insightful.
posted by chickenmagazine at 11:31 AM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I also loved Roger Ebert, in his later years he was generous and had nothing to prove. Anthony Lane is my other favorite reviewer.
posted by nanook at 11:57 AM on May 1, 2013


I'm an Ebert fan... he enjoyed what he did.

I bounce back and forth between Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle (because he is a bit of a curmudgeon)

and

shut up haters...

Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly. They are like the young Siskell and Ebert, funny, love movies and they usually disagree.
posted by bobdow at 12:17 PM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love Anthony Lane, for two reasons: 1. His writing is witty & enjoyable, and 2. I have never disagreed with him.
posted by janey47 at 12:46 PM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Filthy hates most movies, in very funny ways, is nearly always correct, and is at his very, very best when an actual good movie sneaks in and his snark disappears.

http://www.millbankusa.com/filthycritic/

posted by Cosine at 12:49 PM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Todd McCarthy at the Hollywood Reporter, Andrew O'Hehir at Salon, and Claudia Puig at USA Today seem to do pretty well for me. But I usually visit Metacritic and browse.
posted by shivohum at 12:52 PM on May 1, 2013


My goto-reviewer is James Berardinelli. He's semi-pro; he makes a fair amount from advertising on his web site and from Amazon kickbacks but he also works as an engineer.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:08 PM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I generally start with movie reviews at Metacritic. If the reviews are universally good, I generally know it's going to be pretty good. If the reviews are universally bad, I generally know it's going to be bad. However, if the reviews are mixed, and in particular when they are highly polarized, I look specifically what Peter Travers from Rolling Stone thinks, because he's really damn good.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:25 PM on May 1, 2013


I nearly always agree with Stephanie Zacharek.
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 1:52 PM on May 1, 2013


My current trusted reviewer is Richard von Busack in the free Silicon Valley Metro weekly -- his most recent columns can be found here. On the other hand, the film critic I avoid (turning off the radio when he comes on) is Bob Mondello on NPR, who doesn't actually review movies, he just narrates everything that happens -- I think of him as Mr. Spoiler.

Anthony Lane, Elvis Mitchell and David Edelstein also get my approval, but I don't have as ready access to them now.
posted by Rash at 1:55 PM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Karina Longworth usually.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:02 PM on May 1, 2013


My favourites are Dana Stevens at Slate and Noel Murray and Scot Tobias from the A.V. Club.
posted by Chenko at 3:10 PM on May 1, 2013


I don't really follow any one reviewer, but my experience with The Hobbit had me looking for online reviews to see if professional critics' opinions were anything like mine. I really enjoyed the writing of the following:

- James Rocchi at Box Office Magazine (example)

- Ann Hornaday at The Washington Post (example)

- Mick LaSalle at The San Francisco Chronicle (here's an example of his writing). His reviews have the somewhat famous rating system of a little cartoon man in a theater chair either asleep, jumping out clapping, or whatever, as a ratings system, which is quite memorable. He used to have a podcast but I don't think he does it anymore.

- Nthing Radio Five Live's Kermode and Mayo Film Review (site)

If I followed any reviewer I'd probably follow Rocchi and Hornaday, as I liked their writing the most.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 3:46 PM on May 1, 2013


I really like Dana Stevens at Slate. Even if I disagree with her review, I just enjoy her writing.
posted by kat518 at 4:34 PM on May 1, 2013


Wesley Morris, who was at the Boston Globe, now Grantland. what a writer.
posted by citron at 8:57 PM on May 1, 2013


I like The AV Club at The Onion.
posted by jazh at 10:23 PM on May 1, 2013


I'm very much enjoying listening to the Mark Kermode podcast. I find that his criticisms are very fair and intelligently presented. I also enjoy the podcast format because they sometimes interview guests (movie stars, directors, producers, writers) and there is some audience participation that I find pretty amusing but of course you may not. I'd definitely give it a go.
posted by like_neon at 1:19 AM on May 2, 2013


2nd Mark Kermode. He passionately defended Twilight as being a film that understands its audience well, and he's also a fan of Zac Ephron - he has teenage children which means he is not so quick to dismiss things aimed at that age group in the name of being a film snob. I don't always agree with him, but he's also great value when he loathes a film.

I only knew Ebert through reading books of his reviews, but MK has two books of his own, and they have a similar bent - nice prose, understands cinema from a fan's point of view as much as a critic's.
posted by mippy at 3:38 AM on May 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


margret and david : http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/review/
posted by compound eye at 5:51 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


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