so immediately after Sideways laid a Cincinnati Air Freshener in my bedroom, i was struck with the validity of that article that said that Sideways gets good reviews because it's the kind of movie made for the kind of people who become movie critics. spot on. however, it made me try to think of other film critics that offer somewhat of a different perspective, and i'm kind of drawing a blank. are there female movie critics? perhaps a black one at that? i can't think of any, although i'm thinking about calling up Steven A Smith and seeing what he's got going on, see what he thought about Million $ baby before i watch it. although he's been wrong about everything else.

In Indianapolis, at the Star, we had...


Bonnie Britton

I don't think she's exactly what you're looking for.

even if i knew of some female or black critics, i would still only trust the old, awkward, lonely white guys.

chase, is sideways really that bad? dl'ing it now...is it worth waiting for?

stephanie zacharek at salon writes just as many awful reviews as white men in their 50s.



KPH

probably not that bad, honestly, but i really hate movies where a guy wallows in his problems like Lost in Translation and it's supposed to be some sort of meditation on the nature of a mid-life crisis. and i thought that church was and is a terrible actor in a slapstick part. actually, i thought that the physical comedy was the best part of the movie. some of the wine stuff is kind of a neat device though. if you're d/ling it i'd say go for it, because i'm often wrong about this sort of thing, but i woudn't be able to recommend anyone pay for it.

They have a website too

I agree. I thought it was a bit too bland for my tastes. I had absolutely no reaction while watching it which is usually a bad sign.

I saw Million Dollar Baby last night it was good. I don't know if 'liked it" would be accurate though. I don't think people are going to be buying this one so they can watch it over and over. The movie "pulls no punches" with the audience (sorry) with the raw last 1/3 of the movie. Eastwood follows that same slow pace that he used in Mystic River. I had an "I can't believe this movie is actually taking this turn" type of reaction.

I think the Hollywood Reporter called it an "uplifting tragedy". It has definitely resonated with me well into today though.


Apologies to chase for being off topic. I guess I could see a lot of critics liking it because I don't think it really tries to entertain/please the audience in any way other than a couple of quips from Eastwood and Freeman. It just shows you this stuff towards the end and lets the audience do with it what they will (trying not to give anything away).

hey, actually, this isn't a bad review of Sideways. i disagree with it but it sounds legit. anyone who's seen it, how on-point is this:
DEAD ON! what the fuck was that about?!

no worries, i've actually just gotten a report across my desk that we're watching it tonight. should be interesting.

I don't really give a crap who reviews my movies.

As long as there's two 50 year old White men with white hair sitting in the pilot's seat of the airplane that I'm boarding, the movies don't matter. That's my review.

I think Ebert is in his 60's, actually.

Elvis Mitchell host of NPR's "The Treament" & NY Times film critic (although I think he might have left the times)

you get reports about that?

yeah man, i caught a hot fax.

I'm pretty sure he did leave The Times...Pauline Kael was like 98 when she STARTED reviewing for the Times, and I believe was somewhere around 178 when she died in 2003?

The main problem is that most critics don't look at stuff from a "fan's" perspective, they look at it through the lense of a failed artiste. So you get the one's that heap praise upon crap, becaue they think its good.

I thin yr. main problem here chase, is going to be the ones that aren't fat, old white dudes A) Can't write their way out of a wet paper bag and B) Heap their praises on 'clever, fast action thrill rides' like National Treasure.

I don't have a clue what show it was or even what channel I saw it on, but I saw a movie review show recently and all the reviewers appeared to be homosexual. Just a guess, of course. Can't be sure about those things.


Steve

When you say "no reaction", you mean you didn't even chuckle or snicker? If you didn't think that any of this movie was remotely funny then you sir, are a robot. Just sayin'.

i was going to say the 3 black chicks with flavah
they are pretty solid reviewers.

i didn't know they had a book.

I really liked Sideways a lot. But then again, I also really liked Lost In Translation a lot. I guess it really depends if you're into that kind of movie or not. But if you are, Sideways is a great one.

The AJC has had Elanor Ringel Gillespie for years; but her reviews are typically as exciting as the stale farts of 50 something white men.

Edit: Exibit A: Here is her "mini-review" of Sideways:
Sidles into your heart and soul. Seven days of wine and neuroses is the subject of Alexander Payne's ("About Schmidt") bittersweet comedy-romance about two old pals who take a last-fling week in the California wine country before one of them gets married. Thomas Haden Church is perfect as the 40-ish actor who wants to have as much sex as possible before his wedding. Even better is Paul Giamatti as Church's anxious, self-hating wine connoisseur friend. Payne's movie switches from tender to hilarious on a dime, capturing the subtle nuances -- and painful missteps -- of human behavior with candor, intelligence and humor. (ERG) At Phipps, Landmark's Midtown Art. 2 hours, 4 minutes. Rated R. Grade: A-

Based on that; I'd rather drive a 16 penny nail into my pee-hole than see that movie.

While the big Dailies here in Toronto have white men reviewing films, the indie weeklies mix it up a little bit. I try to read a few reviews of everything, and chekc out Rotten Tomatoes as well before commiting the $30.00 it costs to see a film these days.