Archive for the 'Critics' Category

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Box Office, Comic/Superhero/Geek

The divide between critics and audiences has been growing stronger and stronger. This very site has done several reports of late about how studios and directors think critics are snooty, snobby, and out of touch with what the public wants. It seems more and more movies are not even being shown to critics prior to release. That practice used to be reserved solely for the worst of the worst, but now big-budget movies with big stars aren’t being submitted for review. In light of recent evidence, critics’ opinions don’t really seem to have any effect on business at all. These past few months have made for some shocking revelations come Monday morning box office report time, with such critically panned movies as 300, Norbit, Ghost Rider, and Wild Hogs all doing huge business.

Now Peter Bart at Variety has chimed in with a new article on the subject. He says that critics “may be shopping around for a new line of work,” and states that they “should consider a sabbatical until September, when movies aimed at their quadrant magically reappear.” Huh? Bart suggests, “if the established media wants to stay relevant, should their critics make a passing attempt to tune in to pop culture?” Well, what does that mean exactly? Does that mean hiring a quote whore to just write about how he or she adores every steaming pile that comes down the chute? Why should critics’ tastes have to sync up with what makes money? To me, reading a great film review is like having a conversation after the movie. It’s a kick to read an in-depth analysis of something I just saw, whether the reviewer agrees with me or not.

This whole debate has gotten out of hand. Audience poller Cinemascore reports that all four of the aforementioned movies were not just successful financially, but at least reasonably enjoyed by audiences. Is anyone who laughs at Wild Hogs an uneducated hillbilly idiot? Of course not. Does Norbit’s success mean that all critics are dumb and should quit their jobs because they personally didn’t like it? No way. The old “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” rule doesn’t, shouldn’t, and can’t apply to film criticism.

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Filed under: DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Politics

Following in the footsteps of folks from Disney and Fox — who recently called out critics for panning films like Norbit and Wild Hogs, even though audiences are eating them up at the box office — Brian Robbins has popped in to add more fuel to the fire. After all, if there’s one man at the center of all this rubbish, it’s Robbins; not only did he direct Norbit, but he also produced Wild Hogs — combined, both films have taken in upwards of $120 million so far. According to Robbins, he cannot — for the life of him — understand how a film like Norbit could score so well with audiences, yet be universally panned by critics. He says, “How do you figure that? Is the audience that stupid? Is America’s taste that bad? I don’t think so.”

I don’t think so either. It’s not that all of America is stupid; I believe it has more to do with what feels familiar. Wild Hogs and Norbit are both “familiar” films; from the actors to the stories being told, audiences have watched and enjoyed similar films, therefore it’s easier for them to sit there with a smile because they’ve already been pre-trained to do so. Robbins continues: “The only films that get good reviews are the ones that nobody sees. I just don’t think you can make movies for critics.” Well, this is a stupid argument, because plenty of great films simply get butchered when it comes to marketing; studios would much rather spend their money on Eddie Murphy in a fat suit than Clive Owen in a film about the end of the world. And, regardless, a number of big blockbuster films get good reviews … but those same reviews are conveniently forgotten about when someone like Brian Robbins is trying (but failing) to make a point.

This shouting match is a tired one because, in the end, no one really wins. Hollywood will continue to churn out movies for the masses, and critics will continue to trash the shoddy acting, regurgitated plotlines and lack of originality. Just like an audience is programmed to enjoy what’s familiar, a critic is programmed to be, well, critical. And neither party should be blamed for doing their job.

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Filed under: Movie Marketing, Lists

Now, before you start thinking this is a gossip post let me just set the record straight and say you won’t see anything involving actresses, pop stars, or heiresses in here. These are the biggest film critic whores of 2006 as compiled by Erik Childress at eFilmCritic.com. Those who will lend a blurb to anything and everything under the sun. It’s a pretty comprehensive list, covering everyone from Harry Knowles to Joel Siegel (who gets honored with his own special award), and assembles a massive amount of blurbage in one spot for your enjoyment.

The list is pretty snarky, serving up stuff like “The sad thing about Harry Knowles’ little fanboy jizzpool is that there are probably a couple legitimate writers in there,” but he’s right on the money. He skewers the winner, nice guy Pete Hammond (out of 83 reviews he wrote, 66 were positive and 17 were negative — I smell fresh ink on some studio checks!) and doesn’t cut any amount of slack for anybody. Check out his series of articles about the whores of film criticland and see if you agree with him or not. At least Cinematical isn’t on his list yet … but give us time.

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Idolator got 497 critics, bloggers, and...well we suppose that's it—everyone's a critic or a blogger—to rate the year in music.

Go check out what they've done and see who won the top artists, tracks, and albums of the year. At the very least it makes for some fodder for your fancy new music player you got for Xmas. – Jason Chen

Jackin' Pop 2006 [Idolator]