tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post7507547333810783961..comments2024-03-23T21:46:50.843-04:00Comments on the passionate moviegoer: critical quackeryjoe baltakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-471843450230908472017-12-20T23:40:37.841-05:002017-12-20T23:40:37.841-05:00Armond White loved to give negative reviews just t...Armond White loved to give negative reviews just to lower RT scores. TOY STORY 3 sat at 100% until he panned it. He got a ton of shit for that.mike schlesingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15824197221204862706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-46664296032530626242017-12-19T14:57:14.291-05:002017-12-19T14:57:14.291-05:00what you said about rotten tomatoes is so true; th...what you said about rotten tomatoes is so true; that site has really dumbed down reviewing, even if that wasn't its intention. We live in strange times! (In more ways than one!)Len Richardsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-13857136760845769032017-12-16T21:27:28.449-05:002017-12-16T21:27:28.449-05:00well said, joe!well said, joe!zachnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-61966508861967941502017-12-16T17:46:05.023-05:002017-12-16T17:46:05.023-05:00Well said Joe. True. I hope you know that you have...Well said Joe. True. I hope you know that you have achieved decades of a job very well done. a.n.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-41711719687551964512017-12-14T11:05:26.799-05:002017-12-14T11:05:26.799-05:00Apropos of your comment about the different backgr...Apropos of your comment about the different backgrounds among movie critics, I know that both A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Michael Phillips who reviews for the Chicago Tribune started out as book reviewers.Charlottenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-45942157349885793722017-12-14T09:20:35.117-05:002017-12-14T09:20:35.117-05:00Cole who?Cole who?joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-29974515105040924342017-12-14T09:10:28.122-05:002017-12-14T09:10:28.122-05:00I see where a critic named Cole Smithee single-han...I see where a critic named Cole Smithee single-handedly lowered "Lady Bird's" 100% rating to a 99 on Rotten Tomatoes.Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-78066718895529271132017-12-14T08:21:32.388-05:002017-12-14T08:21:32.388-05:00Erika- Regrettably, yes. -JErika- Regrettably, yes. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-53453693100798086242017-12-14T07:54:22.383-05:002017-12-14T07:54:22.383-05:00Joe- Haven't you been on Rotten Tomatoes for y...Joe- Haven't you been on Rotten Tomatoes for years, if not decades? E.P.Erika Pruetznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-15941163406092379242017-12-14T07:25:27.721-05:002017-12-14T07:25:27.721-05:00k.o. - In a word, yes. -Jk.o. - In a word, yes. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-16933475203097762542017-12-14T07:22:54.731-05:002017-12-14T07:22:54.731-05:00So you're saying that most critics learn on th...So you're saying that most critics learn on the job?k.o.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-78158118592094067142017-12-13T08:15:56.211-05:002017-12-13T08:15:56.211-05:00wow, Joe, what a self-deprecating article you wrot...wow, Joe, what a self-deprecating article you wrote, but you know, almost all of it makes sense... <br /><br />Who was the guy who produced "The Twilight Zone"? Ah, yes, Rod Serling...<br /><br />I looked and looked and looked and couldn't find if he really said this or not but in the tongue in cheek reference to critics/writers, he supposedly said:<br /><br />"Writers are like frustrated actors who act out all the roles in the empty auditorium of their skulls..."<br /><br />Waltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-31935367945163895512017-12-13T07:59:11.390-05:002017-12-13T07:59:11.390-05:00Awesomе artiсleAwesomе artiсleGary M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-73280745329074444572017-12-12T22:09:32.332-05:002017-12-12T22:09:32.332-05:00You're right. The internet created a bunch of ...You're right. The internet created a bunch of would-be and wannabe critics and Rotten Tomatoes has given them unearned credibility. I can understand why the studios are so upset with it.Tim K.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-82345591607504952712017-12-12T21:58:27.021-05:002017-12-12T21:58:27.021-05:00There are no more Pauline Kaels and Andrew Sarrise...There are no more Pauline Kaels and Andrew Sarrises among movie critics. And I'm not sure that critics like Kael and Sarris would survive in this age of instant gratification when critics who can't write give grades and when, in turn, grades are the only thing that moviegoers talk about. They don't quote what the critic said; they only refer to the star and number ratings. An A+ or three stars tell me nothing about a movie. People today are movie-illiterate and so are the critics they "read."Frannynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-4741237614593610382017-12-12T21:52:07.063-05:002017-12-12T21:52:07.063-05:00You mention critics being conscious of not being t...You mention critics being conscious of not being too negative. I guess it does look bad if a critic dislikes more movies than he likes. It could put his job in jeopardy. But the result is that so many reviewers have lowered their standards and they seem to save their venom for the easiest target. There are few critics worth reading these days.Paul Gottliebnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-10743764006285675042017-12-12T15:51:46.744-05:002017-12-12T15:51:46.744-05:00Good one. But I'd like to think that a monkey ...Good one. But I'd like to think that a monkey could do a better job!vannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-23538544725346056682017-12-12T15:18:36.660-05:002017-12-12T15:18:36.660-05:00Van & Sheila- Yes, food critics are a joke an...Van & Sheila- Yes, food critics are a joke and make no sense, given that no two meals are alike, even if they are ostensibly identical, the same. I would think the quality varies from day to day. I've had terrific means only to be disappointed when I ordered the same entree on the next visit.<br /><br />And Van- Who needs any qualifications to review television. The idea is absurd. As an editor once said to me, "A monkey could do it" (no offense to monkeys intended).joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-66592499422873488732017-12-12T15:11:37.016-05:002017-12-12T15:11:37.016-05:00The food critic here is also a joke, but the paper...The food critic here is also a joke, but the paper seems to love him. I guess he gets a lot of "clicks." We have a TV critic (whose qualifications are also in doubt), but the movie critic was axed a while back. The paper runs reviews from other papers.vannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-53512249694766076622017-12-12T11:11:20.358-05:002017-12-12T11:11:20.358-05:00Yes, the turnover stinks!Yes, the turnover stinks!Bill from Phillynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-381486379774227862017-12-12T10:54:05.023-05:002017-12-12T10:54:05.023-05:00I appreciate that you address the lack of turnover...I appreciate that you address the lack of turnover among the major movie critics who do, indeed, stay the job for decades, leaving little room for fresh voices. I remember that both Gene Shallit and Joel Siegel died on the job, after decades at their respective networks. What's interesting is that neither was replaced at the networks. Movie reviews were discontinued at bothBunuelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-10097873854577949162017-12-11T22:18:53.365-05:002017-12-11T22:18:53.365-05:00It's so eerie that you should mention Addison ...It's so eerie that you should mention Addison DeWitt. Although I've seen the movie "Rebecca" more times than I can remember, I finally got hold of the book at the library. Hitchcock followed the book admirably and the disgusting cousin (played, of course, by George Sanders) was spot on. I loved ZsaZsa Gabor for something she said when she was still coherent. When asked what the saddest moment in her life was, she said, "the day I heard George Sanders had died." Kikinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-47539688397300155832017-12-11T15:56:22.773-05:002017-12-11T15:56:22.773-05:00The only critic worse than a movie critic is a foo...The only critic worse than a movie critic is a food critic. The one who writes for our local paper, who is very popular, seems like such a fraud. And his reviews are hilarious, unintentionally, I'm sure. They read like parodies of criticism.Sheilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-77109784435920402272017-12-11T15:18:22.865-05:002017-12-11T15:18:22.865-05:00Your column immediately brought back memories of t...Your column immediately brought back memories of that classic Marshall McLuhan scene in "Annie Hall" when Woody Allen tries to quiet down a guy pontificating in a movie lineBennettnoreply@blogger.com