Serious points – well made.

I suppose there’s always going to be room for the ‘quick and dirty’ review one experiences in many provincial publications, but it’s been good to see that there are some, at least, who appreciate the increased benefit of a well-rounded film knowledge.

In particular, I appreciated the point you make about the benefit of investing time in other pursuits. A good all-round general knowledge is invaluable for an accomplished critic.

There have been many occasions, when listening or reading another’s criticism that I’ve found myself rolling my eyeballs where the reviewer has simply missed the point being made due to his /her lack of life experience.

Bravo.

I find I mostly agree with numbers 6 and 10. Watching today’s trashy films makes me wonder about what happened to the movie going public between the 1940s and today. Why there’s so much therapy in recent Hollywood product, and why immaturity reigns. I can’t help but wonder if there are darker sociological trends to decipher from today’s random bad movie. Sometimes they give me an existential case of the willies.

I think the problem many full-time critics feel the strain of a lot of movies rather quickly and there tastes veer very far away form commerical, because they have to watch and review 50+ films a year in a theater to maintain guild membership. When you watch that many, your tastes start to dull for anything that follows conventions.

Amurabi, thankyou yourself for the initial link. And no need to apologize for horrendous English grammar–most of us native speakers are the worst offenders in that area. I’m just excited that the article managed to transcend international and cultural lines and connect with someone who is probably very different (as well as very similar) to myself.

And Margaret, how charming to have you stop by our little corner of the internet and comment! Us young Caucasian American males (sadly, that demographic, of which I am a member, makes up most of our audience here at MZ) likely have an extremely limited perspective to bring to the world of film. Your thoughts, and presence, are absolutely fantastic, and I hope you drop by more often. I have little doubt that your perspective on film in many ways will be richer than mine will.

Take care.

Balls of Fury remains the most agonising experience of my film reviewing career, not because it was the worst film, but because, like an animal that will die, it continued to try and be funny until time was up and I could leave the screening, the rest of my day useless to me.

Craig, thanks for the kind words. I truly enjoy your own reviews, and per point #9, you’re one of the guys I check in with as soon as I finish one of my own pieces…my only complaint would be that you don’t write enough of them .

Tim, certainly anyone can become a critic, but can everyone do it well? The same is true for filmmakers, but one look at YouTube will tell you how many of them are creating anything of significant value. Checking out Matchflick, it appears to be most similar to a group of friends having a casual conversation about film and discovering what likes and dislikes they share. The reviews look to be snapshots, tiny paragraphs expressing a positive or negative. Granted, that is important stuff (the comments section here at MZ essentially functions that way), but I would posit that it isn’t classical film criticism, or even film reviewing for that matter. I understand that you would rather read a fanboy’s reaction than a film critic’s (again, wholly justified), but in that case this article might not be for you.

Margaret, Kael’s essay really is superb, isn’t it? Point 10 was a surprise to me, but made complete sense when I thought about it. If you’re in it for the long run, you really have learn to roll with the trash.

Caleb, I can’t count the number of critics I give a single chance to, and if I’m not intrigued or entertained, I never read them again. It’s actually a bummer to think that people likely process my own work that way, but that’s the way it goes. There are just way, way too many critics out there to read any more than the very best.

Prithvi, thanks for dropping by. As far as I’m aware, there is no kind of formal training (its not exactly a high-paying job, especially in light of the recent layoffs), although I’m sure you could take some film appreciation, film theory, or essay writing classes. Then again, you can learn most of that stuff on your own.

Alexander, hey, anytime you get tired of writing your own blog (which, by the way, is excellent), you’re welcome to come and write at MZ. I mean really, how can you resist the awesome?

Kristena, I’m glad you think so. I’m also glad you managed to make it all the way through without becoming bored out of your skull.

Richard, you bring up great points that tie into the current ‘crisis’ in criticism. For the most part, no one turns to critics for advice on what to see and what to avoid. With the internet and massive marketing campaigns and information overload, most people make their movie-going decisions based on the trailer or the suggestion of a friend. So as to your question, movie critics should be aware of what’s going on, but in reality it is mattering less and less whether they do or not. Before long, film criticism may not be a lucrative profession any longer.

It´s just illuminating read this kind of text for amateurs like me trying to achieve a decent piece of writing about the pleasure and art of the movies.

Double thanks, again.

I loved your article, true class – especially point 10 and Ms Kael’s world-weary look at life, and of course movies.

I’d add to your list: Think About What it Means to be a Critic – and that’s exactly what you’re doing here. So many people think you can just regurgitate the plot and say a few words about the acting and how it made you feel and leave it at that.

I think it’s great you’re actively thinking about the nature of criticism. It’s probably why your reviews stand out the way they do.

Way to go!

Also, I really enjoy critics and writers who can be “salt and light” without being total idiots at the same time. They are few and far between.

@Kevin
Go ahead and send me their email address, although I’m guessing it won’t do any good. Hey, if your local critic stinks as much as you say he does, you should try it out yourself… can’t hurt, and you’ll probably do 10x the job that he does.

And yes, you’re right, the five paragraph essay gets a bad wrap, but I constantly read paid critics – as in people who make a living at it – who write like that. The bar for a professional really should be raised a bit higher than what is acceptable in High School, I think.