Favorite Film Critic?

Anyone truly have a favorite film critic or consider one, particular critic to be the best?

My favorite is Walter Chaw from FilmFreakCentral.net

His reviews are incredibly detailed and informed.

I used to like Ebert, but I think he fell into the trap of most newspaper critics long ago, which is he likes too much stuff.

I used to be a fairly well-known film critic myself, so I'm curious as to opinions and would love to discover some other critics I didn't know about.

I also like The Filthy Critic.

I find myself in agreement with Ebert surprisingly often, so I'll go with him.

I find most of them have no ideas of their own

Ebert (even though he hasn't seen The Terminator )

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Probably Stanley Kauffman, but there aren't any current professional critics that I read regularly. I follow a handful of people online but they all talk about literature and philosophy and other things rather than focusing exclusively on films.

I'm especially fond of reading about why or how a given film was made (the more detailed, the better) and don't have much time for the "impressionistic" ones like Pauline Kael, though I like some of her reviews too. I get impatient with most second-hand descriptions of an experience and would just rather have my own, I guess. Or maybe it's more a matter of just not liking the gushy style of a lot of film-crit writing or something.

I definitely find film criticism to be something overvalued and taken way too seriously. Most film critics think an awful lot of themselves and write that way.

Holden Pike, Yoda, Meatwadsprite, Ash_is_the_Gal...

Starting to get the picture? All my MoFos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd rather get MoFo opinions, to be honest...

And yes, I said Meatwadsprite - his reviews are FUN to read.

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I don't really like any of the prominent film critics out there. They're pompous and out of touch.

My boyfriend got me into Doug Benson's podcast 'Doug Loves Movies' and I find his tastes to be similar to my own. Plus, he's high-larious

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I think the Halliwell Film Guides were a pretty good indication of quality. They had two great features- one, italicising the cast/crew member whose contribution to the film is particularly noteworthy; two, the star system:

4 stars= masterpiece, or landmark in film history
3 stars= film of a high quality
2 stars= film with two good things going for it
1 star= worth watching

Instead of gushing and spreading hype, it provided a considered review of a film's quality, taking into account the opinions of other critics and popularity at the box office.

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

I think you just have to find one that you agree with a lot and then you can trust their opinion more. They're not all out of touch, but I agree it does seem to be a trend.

Oh and yeah, DLM is awesome.

It's a cliched choice, but Ebert is really the only one I trust if at all.

The only two I read consistently are Ebert and James Berdardenelli.

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"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
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My favorite film critic was that sexy dumb Latina that could barely speak English on Channel 5. Or was she the sports announcer?

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It reminds me of a toilet paper on the trees
- Paula

I look up the AVClub from time to time but honestly I don't pay attention to any critics overall.

Same here, except for horror films.

On second thought, I like just about whichever critic gave my last watched film a good review. I almost never dislike movies, and can't stand it when critics criticize them. If A gave, say, Revenge of the Nerds a rave review, I'll like A, until he gives my next movie, make it Giallo a bad review. Then I dislike A and like B, who also loved Giallo.

I mostly read Ebert, but he can be infuriatingly clueless at times.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Mark Kermode - BBC Radio 5 Live

His stuff with Simon Mayo is just quality.

Well, Neill Cumpston obviously. David Thomson is always worth reading, and so is Ebert, but really I read all kinds of reviews and don't usually pay attention to who writes them. (I guess it depends on if the quote on Rotten Tomatoes is funny.) I like the Time Out stuff best out of the various film guides and best of this and that books, and I pick up Film Comment and Sight and Sound when I bother to buy magazines, so all those people too.

Corey from Spill.com

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Oxfords not brogues.

I like Confused Matthew. He's picky and hates some beloved classics, but he really backs up his opinions, and he's got an interesting take on a lot of different films. Though every single person I have mentioned him to have never heard of him, but that doesn't really matter anyways.