Movie critics deserve the same respect as journalist
By: Robert Neely
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Opinion
My first online review, written about a year and a half ago, sucked. It was more rambling than actually reviewing, as I tried to find the words to express how I felt and make it clear. After that, I had a greater appreciation for movie critics.
Too often, critics are hated for having an opinion that differs from the opinions of their readers. But critics aren't supposed to tell you what to think. If this were the case, no one would see lousy movies, and all movies would be made only by those winning the Critic's Choice Awards two weeks ago. On the other hand many people say they never like what the critics like. Roger Ebert was named by "Forbes" as the most marketable pundit, and his opinions make more money than Bill O'Reilly's. Those who profess to never like what the critics like would hate Pulp Fiction, the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars series, which made Ebert's Top Ten List for their respective years. They would love films such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, New York Minute and the latest Olsen twins' movie (on the Worst Ten List.)
Movie criticism has a journalistic objective. We are to clearly inform readers what the movie is about and where its strong and weak points are; through our opinion we should help the movie-goer make an informed decision. The goal is to help the movie-goer make his or her own decision, not to make the decision for them. As Ebert once said, "The point is not to avoid stupid movies, but to avoid being a stupid movie-goer."
If you're going to put two and half hours of your life into waiting in lines, watching the movie, spending money at the box office and concession, as well as having friends come with you, doesn't it make sense to read up on the critic's opinion? Is the movie action-focused or character-driven, as emotional as advertised or cliché? In time, you could find a critic you agree with, or at the very least, one who makes it clear whether you'll like the movie by how he describes it.
Too often, critics are hated for having an opinion that differs from the opinions of their readers. But critics aren't supposed to tell you what to think. If this were the case, no one would see lousy movies, and all movies would be made only by those winning the Critic's Choice Awards two weeks ago. On the other hand many people say they never like what the critics like. Roger Ebert was named by "Forbes" as the most marketable pundit, and his opinions make more money than Bill O'Reilly's. Those who profess to never like what the critics like would hate Pulp Fiction, the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars series, which made Ebert's Top Ten List for their respective years. They would love films such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, New York Minute and the latest Olsen twins' movie (on the Worst Ten List.)
Movie criticism has a journalistic objective. We are to clearly inform readers what the movie is about and where its strong and weak points are; through our opinion we should help the movie-goer make an informed decision. The goal is to help the movie-goer make his or her own decision, not to make the decision for them. As Ebert once said, "The point is not to avoid stupid movies, but to avoid being a stupid movie-goer."
If you're going to put two and half hours of your life into waiting in lines, watching the movie, spending money at the box office and concession, as well as having friends come with you, doesn't it make sense to read up on the critic's opinion? Is the movie action-focused or character-driven, as emotional as advertised or cliché? In time, you could find a critic you agree with, or at the very least, one who makes it clear whether you'll like the movie by how he describes it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Newspaper reader
posted 1/28/08 @ 11:59 PM CST
This is more of a rambling than it is a column, and your recent review of Cloverfield was more of rambling than a review.
Sean Valdez
posted 1/31/08 @ 1:54 AM CST
Some movie critics do deserve the same respect as journalists. Not you, though. You don't deserve respect from anybody. You can't even talk right. You're a bad movie critic, and a terrible edition to the Pine Log. (Continued…)
Robert Neely
posted 2/03/08 @ 12:45 AM CST
It's "terrible ADDITION" to the Pine Log, not terrible "edition." You can't even talk right. You're a bad commenter.
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