Man oh man! there are only american people in this joint. Gosh! I don’t know those people? They work for the press? which one? I know Travers cos I read RS but the others???
I’ve read Jim hoberman lately and fredric jameson and sir Frayling… but I ve got a problem… is a critic someone who write regularly on movies and cinema (telling whether he likes it or not) or someone who tries to think of cinema… I’d like to know your opinion… because i’m confused, really.
Personnaly I see a critic as someone who tries to circle his object and who sometimes tell whether he likes it or not (but it’s not necessary).
Rene Rodriguez is also another who comes to mind. I do miss Gene Siskel however, him and Ebert had a great synergy and they were very popular.
For any and all Kael fans:
http://www.geocities.com/paulinekaelreviews/#I
@ Mathieu – I believe when we talk about critics here we mean people who evaluate the films they watch, not just comment on film in general (though I suppose they could do both).
I’m so glad someone mentioned Tim Lucas. Since I much prefer to explore out of the way films rather than watch whatever is current, his magazine, Video Watchdog, is a monthly necessity for me. He writes with real passion and love for more obscure films and usually has something interesting to say about newer stuff like Cloverfield. In his latest blog post he discusses a thriller not even legally on DVD called The Name Of The Game Is Kill and goes into a brief tangent about forgotten actress Susan Strasberg. He considers the entire world of cinema and I really admire that sort of all-encompasing view.
I’ll never read a review by David Denby or Peter Travers again because both gave away the end of Magnolia in their reviews. I’ll never know what it would have been like to have experienced that as it was meant to be. I’m angry just thinking about it, and it’s almost a decade later!
The best writer on films i.m.o is David Bordwell, e.g Figures Traced in Light.
After the disappointments of his updated editions of the once admired Biographical Dictionary of Film, David Thomson has redeemed himself somewhat with his recent book Have you Seen? with his comments on 1000 films. I’ve liked the writing of Geoff Andrew, Gilbert Adair (eg Flickers) and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Jonathon Romney who writes for The Independent in the UK (having replaced Gilbert Adair) is fine too. I’ve not read Anthony Lane for years but liked his columns- i think it was The Independent too- years ago. And (like most if not all the above) he really admires Sansho the Bailiff.
My actual reading black hole (as someone wrote before in this topic) is the “Have You Seen” book from David Thomson – a thousand short reviews of films he both like/dislike, sometimes funny, sometimes emotional, sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Not a must-read on cinema, but fun and informative. Besides that, I tend to agree with brazilian writer Ruy Castro. In english, I enjoy Peter Bogdanovich’s writing – the “Who The Devil Made It” interviews book, the reviews – and I just read Lilian Ross “Picture”, that’s not exactly movie criticism, but an excelent inside story about the making of a picture in Hollywood.
Rosenbaum (I haven’t filled the void since he retired from writing for the Chicago Reader), J. Hoberman, Amy Taubin, Kent Jones, Deve Kehr.
None.
Manohla Dargis, A.O. Scott, occasionally Roger Ebert. Try to go by reputation of the director, or actor, though. I don’t like knowing anything about a film before I watch it.
Ebert is severly overated as a critic.
My picks are Rosembaum, Quintin, Mañu Yañez, Álvaro Arroba, Adrián Martin, Christoph Huber, Mark Peranson and Ferreira.
I try to avoid them as much as possible. I’ve probably just had bad experiences, but I’ve found that film critics are often more interested in themselves than in the films they are writing about. I’m not interested in the critics, just the films.
The least egotistical,i know is the gently consistent and unpretentious Howard Schumann who writes online mainly. His style may not be brilliant or devastatingly insightful but he’s self-effacing and to the point. I forgot to mention previously Ray Durgnat was penetrating and knowledgeable, which i didn’t grasp properly when i was younger but re-reading his book on Renoir i was more impressed.. David Cook’s History of Narrative Film is pretty astounding.
I have seen that a new book translating Andre Bazin’s What is Cinema? is now released in Canada. This is my favorite Bazin essays so I think that if you only speak English you should read these. They will make you look at the cinema in a whole new way! They don’t ship to the United States because of the copyrights but they are showing up on eBay already.
i also dont like critics who are more interested in themselves than in the films. if a critic uses the word “I” too much in his writing, or “me”, or any other self-referential thing, it’s a red flag for me.
i’m interested in critics who subsume themselves underneath their work. plus, i’m interested in critics who aren’t interested in value judgments, but rather building up a systematic knowledge surrounding cinema through their writing.
James Naramore and Nicole Brenez (to the extent her work has been translated),
Ebert has greatly influenced my taste in movies, but he’s kind of a crackpot. Otherwise, I do like using Rottentomatoes to evaluate if a movie is worth watching. And City Girl, aren’t we all?
And yes, Ebert is an “I” person.
I am currently reading a Truffaut book on his critique of many films. Other than that- I actually do like Roger Ebert very much even though he rates everything high. Donald Richie, Manohla Dargis, etc. are good!
I listen to Mark Kermode’s podcast every Friday. I don’t always agree with him about everything, but nobody can rant like that man. It’s hilarious.
Well, he’s articulate, intelligent, knowledgeable, sometimes entertaining but he does spend too much time on junk, kitsch, horror and Hollywood blockbusters for my liking- and i can’t bear some of his favourites (The Exorcist- he’s been plugging that over and over for ages now-, Mary Poppins). He thinks Del Toro is the modern day Orson Welles. I’d much rather he promoted world cinema a bit more
none
If some of you speak in French, you can take a look at 24 Images, a French Canadian magazine. Their website is full of reviews/critics of actual and reissued films. For more complete exploration on specific topics and films you can also check Hors Champ and Offscreen.
24 Images
http://www.revue24images.com/
Hors Champ
http://horschamp.qc.ca/
Offscreen
http://www.offscreen.com/
Sorry for my English…hope to break the language barrier!
stutsman, biberkopf, kenji, and others on auteurs and imdb
I read Manohla Dargis and Anthony Lane every week, and do my best to keep up with Jonathan Rosenbaum’s blog. I like most of the writers at Film Comment and Cineaste (though it’s often a bit too politically focused for my taste). And who doesn’t love picking up a volume of Pauline Kael once in a while?
I rarely read a full review before seeing a film but J Hoberman is a delight for his insight and wide-ranging as well as sometimes playful references.
Manohla Dargis and Anthony Lane can write some penetrating reviews.
I agree with most of Rosenbaum’s sentiments but he is also capable of long, petty rants.
Critics of Film Comment can be good but some of them like Kent Jones are capable of poor logic to justify a particular reading of a film.
A. O. Scott and Armond White tend to slip in too many silly things in their reviews to be taken seriously.
Dave White.
André Bazin
Jacques Rivette
Mia Hansen-Love
Nicolas Schaller
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Michel Frodon are the French critics I admire.
Roger Ebert
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Graham Fuller are my favorite US critics.
I quite hate Veronique Le Bris,François Truffaut,Pauline Kael and especially Leonard Maltin.
Rotten Tomatoes for a good overall evaluation. Also use Filmcritic.com – Chris Null usually has a good feel for movies.
C Tyler Belile
i personally read bordwell/thompson, sarris, donald ritchie (for japanese), lanzoni (for french cinema), murphy, and naremore (specifically for acting for cinema).
i read many others, those are just critics i go to often.