This week Amy Nicholson posted an essay titled “Stop Laughing At Old Movies, You $@%&ing Hipsters,” followed by a response / continuation from Sam Adams, titled “When You Laugh at Old Movies the Joke Is on You.” Both writers take a similar stance, criticizing individuals who watch old films and laugh at moments never intended …
Richard Corliss, the film critic for TIME Magazine, passed away at the age of 71 due to complications following a stroke Thursday night. TIME editor Nancy Gibbs sent a note to the staff Friday morning about his passing, which you can read here. Corliss was a film critic with TIME for 35 years, sharing bylines alongside fellow …
David Bordwell, one of film criticism’s eminent scholars and arguably most knowledgeable film historian working today, took to his blog, Observations on Film Art, Sunday to criticize the New York Times for a new series they’ve launched called “The Moviegoers“. In his piece titled “Zip, Zero, Zeitgeist“, Bordwell addresses a trend in film criticism he calls …
Over the course of reviewing hundreds of movies a year, a critic over-hypes at least one movie; it happens more times than one would like, but it happens. The main culprit is often red-carpet festival premieres that lead to a dizzying high that positively impacts a film’s reception. A plethora of four star reviews that …
It isn’t always easy for a film critic to admit he’s wrong or say he’s sorry. Our job is to defend our statements, even if it comes to revising them later. It’s even harder for a modern film critic, today’s most dwindling yet thriving non-occupation, to leave a lasting influence on popular culture, the web …
Life Itself Directed by Steve James USA, 2014 In Roger Ebert’s memoir Life Itself, he dedicates an entire chapter to his love of Steak ‘n Shake. “If I were on death row, my last meal would be from Steak ‘n Shake,” he explains. “If I were to take President Obama and his family to dinner …
Kathryn Barrett and Misha Solomon have been friends and movie fanatics for over a dozen years. They have spent countless hours watching premieres in darkened theatres. An almost equal amount of time has been devoted to perusing Entertainment Weekly. Barrett and Solomon, both nineteen, go through a lengthy Google-fueled process before viewing a movie. Their …
For the Love of Movies: The History of American Film Criticism charts the evolution of film criticism as a means of discussing its changing face and potential non-future. Using historical context, the film offers, in particular, its opinion on the downfall of the print critic. Most of the biggest names in popular film criticism make …