Gawker
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critics
Ben Lyons Shares Secret, Xbox-y Trick For Critical Dumbing-Down
Looking for that elusive, one-of-a-kind resource to help you attain Ben Lyons's dizzying heights of film literacy? Oh. Well, he's revealed his secret anyway. More »
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By STVComment by Desk_hack: I can say with absolute certainty that Ben Lyons does not have "homies". 3 Responses | Other threads
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clive owen
Sorry, 'The International' Will Not Rescue You From The '09 Movie Doldrums
The Berlin Film Festival launched today with the world premiere of Clive Owen's financial-intrigue thriller The International, and we regret to inform that it was critically wounded almost instantly. But recovery is expected! More »
1,916
By STVComment by bodegacat: It's CLIVE. I'd pay to see him watch paint dry at the Guggenheim... or watch dry paint. In framed... 1 Responses | Other threads
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critics
LA Weekly's Ella Taylor Latest Critical Casualty
Sadly, yet another distinguished film critic was put down last Friday when LA Weekly shed veteran scribe Ella Taylor. More »
1,109
By STVComment by NanNangerini: Good-bye to the best critic in the country IMO! This makes me truly sad. more » | Other threads
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bride wars
The Critics Are Crazy About 'Bride Wars'!
Remember when Eddie Murphy's post-Dreamgirls Oscar fantasy died in the blast of the bomb that followed it? Anne Hathaway, we have found your Norbit. More »
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By STVComment by Juancho: I almost walked out of the theatre the first time I saw a trailer for this film. 2 Responses | Other threads
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critics
Indian Baseball Prodigies Offer Keenly Acute Film Criticism
The Million Dollar Arm was a contest launched in India a couple years ago that attempted to find the country's fastest pitcher and get him into the Major Leagues—sort of Bull Durham meets Slumdog Millionaire. More »
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By SethComment by BasicallyLost: I'll go out on a limb & say Rinku is the catcher.. 1 Responses | Other threads
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year in review
Celebrate Our Winners! The 2008 Top 10 of Top 10 Lists, Part II
Believe it or not, there are five critics whose year-end Top 10 lists are even more mystifying, patience-testing and all-around terrible than those five awarded here yesterday. And the Listys go to... More »
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By STVComment by Tiger_Tanaka: Jesus. An English degree has got to be used for something, I guess. 1 Responses | Other threads
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year in review
Critics Gone Wild: The Top 10 of Top 10 Lists of 2008, Part I
The Top 10 mania that grips year-end film culture provides some of the most vulgar oversimplifications, abstractions, nonsense, critical self-regard and hype known to man. We've read the worst so you don't have to. More »
6,937
By STVComment by Ed Gonzalez: Aaron: If my repeated inclusion in STV's "Top 10 of Top 10 Lists" columns does not insult me, it's because... 1 Responses | Other threads
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milk
'Milk' Spoiled With NY Critics' Award For Best Picture
For members of NY Film Critics Circle, an average morning before its awards vote goes like this: 1. Order breakfast. 2. Refresh memory on last month's releases. 3. Review LA Critics' awards the day before. More » -
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tom cruise
MGM Swats Rogue Critic in Latest Round of 'Valkyrie' Backlash
It's been far too long since MGM was on the defensive over Valkyrie, the campaign for which uncomfortably started in its own office lobby but has since found decent enough traction in theaters and on TV. So! Right on cue, and apparently just for old time's sake, a high-ranking New York film critic has found something new to whine about.
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By STVComment by secretagentman: At the Quantum show I attended (Saturday night, packed)they showed the trailer for Valkyrie. Audience laughed. Not a good sign. 1 Responses | Other threads
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nicole kidman
'Australia' is Reeeeally Long, and 6 Other Notable Lessons From the First U.S. Reviews
Stateside critics have finally seen Australia, and the reviews are in! Kind of, anyway; we've mostly been sorting through first impressions, rough blog sketches and less-then-soaring anti-summaries ("Some kind of lethargy virus had taken over my system," wrote Jeffrey Wells), but we think we have enough to go on to figure out where Baz Luhrmann's epic may sit among this fall's most anticipated releases. Your one-stop cheat sheet follows the jump. More »
6,601
By STVComment by JudgeFudge: Wow. This has "Movie that you passive aggresively agree to see with your parents on Thanksgiving weekend" written all over... 4 Responses | Other threads
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twilight
First 'Twilight' Reviews Confirm Appeal Among Girls, Cheesy FX Fans
Twilight is likely critic-proof, but that's not stopping Summit Entertainment from enforcing a punishable-by-death review embargo until 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Which would explain why today — two days after its chaotic premiere, the morning after the first press screenings, and in a period of seemingly open rebellion against those oppressive studio strictures — not a single official review has yet emerged anywhere online. (UPDATE: In the last hour, embargo-exempt Variety begged to differ!) Unless you count a couple of critics who've backdoored their ways into saying it's pretty much the hormonal goth trifle you'd imagine. More »
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By STVComment by ge90036: This will probably get me shot but I think Robert Pattinson looks developmentally challenged. I'm sure he's a fine actor... 2 Responses | Other threads
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ben lyons
Ben Lyons Gleans Valuable Starfucking Tips From Roger Ebert
Always the type of man to make the best of a bad situation, Roger Ebert has now spun his recent Reviewgate scandal into a deeply constructive thesis on movie critic ethics. And by "deeply constructive," we mean "a point-by-point indictment of Ben Lyons" — that proven archenemy of taste, restraint and decorum in an ever-thinning field of trained professionals. More » -
beverly hills chihuahua
45 Percent of Critics Can't Be Wrong About 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'
We said it once, but it bears repeating in streets and valleys far and wide: It's opening day for Beverly Hills Chihuahua! ZOMG, right? At least we thought so, but despite our all-consuming anticipation and lobbying on its behalf, Defamer's fevered attempts to break down the Disney wall for an early viewing were met with repeated, unappreciative radio silence. And because the world's first review — a rave, natch — seemed suspiciously exempt from the studio's embargo, it's only now that we can reliably study the critical spectrum. And just as we thought: It's almost half-good! Or, more realistically, the reviews catalogued at Rotten Tomatoes are just about split, but that can't deter our optimism — even the slags after the jump have us clamoring for quitting time: More »
1,272
By STVComment by SuryakantiGanado: As I was coming out of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist yesterday, people were coming out of that movie in... more » | Other threads
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Manny farber
Manny Farber, 1917-2008: One of the liveliest, stroppiest and most influential film critics the medium ever knew, Manny Farber died in his sleep Sunday night at the age of 91. Before giving up criticism and teaching for an equally (if not more) accomplished painting career, Farber elevated popular conceptions of B-movies and other forsaken cinema in seminal contributions to The New Republic, Time, The Nation and ArtForum. His prose read almost three-dimensionally — decades' worth of proper nouns and principles, infinitely folding over and burrowing into each other, mimicking those subjects chronicled in his 1962 essay "Termite Art vs. White Elephant Art" (and later gathered in his classic anthology Negative Space): "Good work usually arises when the creators... seem to have no ambitions towards gilt culture but are involved in a kind of squandering-beaverish endeavor that isn’t anywhere or anything... It goes always forward eating its own boundaries, and, likely as not, leaves nothing in its path other than the signs of eager, industrious, unkempt activity." Ray Pride's lovingly assembled obit is a must-read today, as is Franklin Bruno's own Farber study from 2004 — no thumbs up or down around here, we're afraid, and no stars, Tomatometers or numbers. Just words, virtually all worth giving thanks for. [GreenCine Daily]
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By STVComment by SteamyMcFirecrotch: Well, I can't take credit for this but, "It should have been you, Katherine Heigl." more » | Other threads
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the dark knight
When Fanboys Attack: A 'Dark Knight' Critic-Death Threat Roundup
The backlash to the Dark Knight backlash isn't exactly news — not after two weeks and almost $400 million dollars silencing even the most vehement of the film's critics. But today we direct our attention to the more disturbing phenomenon of physical threats against some of those same critics, a few of whose lives have even been targeted by rogue fanboys with a taste for reviewer blood. We hardly believed it ourselves until an unsettling taxonomy of freaks coming after reviewers Jürgen Fauth and Keith Uhlich showcased the worst of it: More » -
the mummy 3
The Few, The Brave, The 12 Percent: Meet the Critics Who Recommend 'The Mummy 3'
What is a loud, developmentally disabled summer action blockbuster to do when even Hollywood's biggest quote-whore critic won't endorse it? That's the dilemma facing The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which, at this time Thursday, was packing a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. What a difference a day makes, however, with a glint of support finally peeking through the mounting opprobrium. In the spirit of fairness and equal time, after the jump we salute some of the independent thinkers and/or drunks brave enough to stand up for Rob Cohen's crapterpiece — even including a Pulitzer Prize winner! More » -
defamer
Brilliant Film Critic Tragically Mistaken For Pathetic Drunk
Unless it results in an extra getting thrown off the set of Transformers 2 for lunch crimes against Michael Bay, we're not generally in the blog-comment monitoring business. But some flame wars are so spectacular (and some news days so implacably slow) they defy ignoring — especially when obvious intoxication is involved, and especially when the offending party himself is the only one around to catch fire. More »
1,963
By STVComment by TheQuestion: Well, props for one thing - it takes a singularly major league asshole to make film critics the sympathetic party. more » | Other threads
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defamer
Escalating Film Critic Crisis Enters Crucial 'Everything Sucks' Phase
Since film critics' heads began rolling en masse at newspapers and magazines a little over a month ago, the debate over the job's future has ignited deep thoughts from New York to Los Angeles. The discussion turned especially profound this week as a selection of esteemed critics moved on to slapping anyone and anything that would stand still long enough to absorb their blows. Follow the jump for our favorite sallies of critic-on-critic violence: More » -
defamer
Newsweek Critic Celebrates Retirement By Spoiling Cinema's Greatest Endings
Since put-upon, soon-to-retire film critic David Ansen officially has nothing to lose by prattling on at length over at Newsweek, expect a lot more pieces like the one in the magazine's current issue. To wit: Hollywood movies have lousy endings! And: Here, let me give them all away! More »
2,813
By STVComment by raincoaster: This Defamer post is just a dream Pam is having. Right? more » | Other threads
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defamer
All A.O. Scott Really Needed To Know, He Learned From His Kindergarteners
The heavily-reported decline of the American movie critic hasn't touched New York Times first-stringer A.O. Scott, who has gradually outgrown and stabilized our wildly fluctuating regard for him over the years. After a long period of wondering where he might have found all this new maturity and gravitas, a perceptive Scott reader points out today that like Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, James Agee and all the greats who preceded him, he simply stole from his kids: More »
1,958
By STVComment by Little Mintz Sunshine: Can we get the little darling to explain why there is no director's commentary on "There Will Be Blood"? ...and... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Bought-Out 'Newsweek' Film Critic Just Happy to Not Have to Sit Through Movies Anymore
The Great Film Critic Euthanizing of 2008 continued over the weekend with its highest-profile casualty yet: David Ansen, the highly respected 30-year veteran at Newsweek, joined 110 colleagues in accepting a buyout that Variety's Anne Thompson reports included "a sweetened pension, health coverage until age 65, and two years' salary." Plus he keeps a contributing editor title at the magazine, chipping in occasionally with reviews, features and whatever else Newsweek's fast-shrinking newshole can accommodate starting in 2009. More » -
defamer
'The Jetsons' One Step Closer To Becoming Ill-Advised, Live-Action Motion Picture
· The Weinstein Co. (with help from their besties at Lionsgate) will release Michael Moore's documentary Sicko on July 29th, which should do for America's health care system what Bowling for Columbine did for a senile-seeming, rifle-loving Charlton Heston. [Variety] More » -
movies
'House Of Wax' Bad Review Round-Up: Critics "Drip" With Sarcasm!
Today's release of Paris Hilton's most eagerly anticipated film to date, the much-hyped remake of House of Wax, has the critics polishing their celebutante-eviscerating knives. Here's the obligatory bad review round-up, presented in order of increasingly "dripping" sarcasm: More » -
media
Overthinking The Jay Leno-Jacko Problem
Who says we have to choose? Can't Michael Jackson be the kind of creepy clown that gives kids wine, calls it "Jesus Juice," then shows them some porn as a warm-up to an inappropriate sleepover in his bed? Leno, on the other hand, can be the kind of creepy clown who devotes his monologue to "such topics as electrocution and prison rape" and jests "about the possibility of Jackson attempting suicide." First, cultural critics and pointy-headed types like Elaine Showalter should stay off our turf. Secondly, when did Leno's monologue get funny? Eh, we're not going to lose any sleep over it. We're sure his prison rape and suicide jokes are hacky anyway. More » -
gossip
Owen Wilson Comes To Buddy Ben Stiller's Defense
In a letter in the current issue of The New Yorker, Owen Wilson defends on- and off-screen buddy Ben Stiller from getting pushed around by movie critic/big bully David Denby. (Click on the picture of the pals to see a scan of the letter or read the transcription below.) Unsurprisingly, Wilson's is a much more eloquent (and funny) response than the full-page attack ad that Rob Schneider unleashed on the LAT's Patrick Goldstein last week. Note especially Wilson's subtle invocation of the threat of violence, and contrast with Schneider's near-promise of bloodshed. In any case, we're witnessing a hot new trend being born in Hollywood—we're sure dozens of actors are learning how to write so they can publicly dress down unkind critics. More » -
media
The Fat One And The Other One
From the NY Post's Sunday story on esteemed film critic Roger Ebert: More »
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