Who to Trust?

Are there any movie critics that can be trusted? Where do you go for good advice on wether movies are good or not? Who can give a decent, balanced opinion? I’m looking for the movie equivalent of Claude Rajotte who has some very specific and weird tastes but who can give a well thought out opinion within the style of an album. For example he hates Celine Dion but can still give her a good review if the album is good in the sirupy balad style that some people like. Who does that for movies?

6 Comments

Bill August 22, 2003

I like the Cranky Critic, myself. At least, he and I seem ot have the same taste, which is the most important thing – just check out critics’ past reviews; the ones who have had the same reactions to movies as you are most likely to be useful to you in future.

Mathieu August 22, 2003

Personnally I prefer to read in diagonal the response from CinemaMontreal.com

my movie index goes a little like that :

(((GR+RFMD)*(GC/BC))/2)*GF

GR : general rating
RFMD : rating for my demographic
BC : number of bad & intelligent “looking” critiques over 10 lines (except repetitive ones)
GC : number of good & intelligent “looking” critiques over 10 lines (except repetitive ones)
GT : Gut feeling

The trick is no to really read the critiques as much as “scan them”…

That the best way I found of making an opinion without beeing “preset” for the movie… I like to watch a movie knowing as little as possible about it (except that its most probably a good one).

Than AFTER that, I go through the long and overly analyzing critics… usually moaning to myself things like “yeah right” or “no way” and “make’s sens”.

Mathieu August 22, 2003

Hey… I just shoved your latest entry in “The Gender Genie” and guess what!!!! you write like a girrrrl!!!

HaHa! Sucker!

And guess what… all of Steph entries rate as being “male”!

Quite a Genie indeed!

Patrick August 23, 2003

Bill: Thanks, I’ll give it a look.

Mathieu: That’s pretty much what I do and even if I find someone reliable I still dont want a detail account but one person I can trust that would give me a 1-10 score or thumbs up thumbs down would sometimes be useful. About the gender genie, lightspeedchick posted something about that, lots of “women” bloggers in Montréal.

Martine August 24, 2003

C’est difficile de trouver un critique tel que tu le souhaites. à la télé il y a Georges Privet, de l’émission Le Septième (Télé-Québec) qui est un très bon critique, articulé et cultivé, mais l’émission n’est diffusée qu’une fois par semaine, de septembre à mars je crois.

Moi je me fie beaucoup à Salon, même s’ils ont la réputation de ne rien aimer. Je connais leur critique et je suis capable de faire la part des choses: c’est ce qui compte, je crois, d’être capable de connaître assez bien un critique pour comparer ses goûts aux nôtres puis évaluer en conséquence.

Patrick August 24, 2003

Je vais essayer de voir Le Septime, quoique j’ai bien de la difficult suivre les missions de Tlqubec, elles sont souvent bien mal cdules et ce n’est pas un canal dans ma “zapping list”. Probablement quelque chose que je devrais changer dans mes habitudes de patate de divan.

J’aimais bien Salon mais aprs avoir lut quelques conneries de trop dans leurs critiques litraires et de films j’ai pas mal coup le site, de plus mme si je comprend bien les raisons derrire leur systme de publicit ca me tappe royalement sur les nerfs.

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