Listening To The Critic
How do I know which critics to listen to?
In terms of knowing which critic to listen to, that's pretty subjective. If you have a trusted critic who's steered you to the right place, I would continue to listen to them or continue to read their writing. But I think people fall out of favor with their critics all the time. They'll be like, "I love that critic, he liked this, he liked this, but he didn't like Shakespeare in Love. What's wrong with him?" That'll happen all the time. So it's good to read what's out there, it's also good to get a sense yourself of what the movie's all about. On the other hand, if Basic Instinct 2 comes out and everybody hates it and you're disappointed by it, I wouldn't be surprised. But I also know what it's like to really want to see a movie even if the critics hate it. You're curious, you want to see Sharon Stone, you want to see something happen. For whatever reason this movie appeals to you, you're going to see it anyway.
Do those stars or thumbs or grades in film reviews really mean anything?
I do think that the quick reads, like the thumbs up or fours stars etc - does mean something to the average reader or the average consumer because some people don't have a lot of time. They want to know if the critic liked it or not; they want to know if it's a pick or if its a pan - is what I think they call them in People magazine. Stars and thumbs-up are a quick way to get a sense of whether the movie's any good or not.
Does one movie critic's opinion matter more than another's?
There are certain places where people go to for distinguished film criticism: "The New York Times," "The LA Times," "The New Yorker," "The Wall Street Journal," and sometimes "Time" or "Newsweek." People do read those reviews and maybe hold them in a higher esteem. But for other people, it's checking out that blog that they always rely on. It really depends on the person.
Why do film critics often hate hit movies?
Film critics often hate hit movies because they're not just trend spotters. They're looking for certain things in a movie. They're looking for good characters, plotting, storytelling and good aesthetic choices, and not the dumbing down of culture. There's an elitism among some film critics and there's a disconnect between what critics want and what audiences want sometimes. That's just the way it is. Sometime a movie that is hip is not enough. That's facile for a critic. "Flashdance" is a movie that caught on with the populists, and I don't think any critic liked it. It was a hip, trendy, MTV movie for its time, and all that critics saw was like a lot of cutting and a welder-by-day/dancer-by-night dumb story. They though it was a big music video, but that's why people liked it. Critics and audiences often make up two different schools of thought.