Top Three Critics

Anthony Lane

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2010/12/13/101213crci_cinema_lane

Anthony is a film critic and from what I’ve read, he seems to go for more of the drama based films. I really like his insight on films. He is also very good at describing what he means through illustrating a specific scene. Ironically, this brings about the only problem I have with his style as well. Although he shows what he is saying by giving direct examples by the movie, he tends to get a little carried away with the descriptiveness of the scene. I had to reread a couple of his paragraphs due to losing interest in what he was saying or what he was trying to prove. Other than that I found his work very relatable. The articles I read of movies I actually saw had many of the same thought on them that I had with the film. Anthony speaks more from an average viewers standpoint rather than a stuffy critic who only looks for the negative of films.

Anthony Quinn

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/xmen-first-class-12a-2292269.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/green-lantern-12a-2298534.html

I gave two examples of this critic because I love how he gets straight to the point. He doesn’t overstate what he is trying to say at all. He simply says what the movie’s about, what he liked about it, and what he didn’t like about it. Period. There are no digressions or overly descriptive details. At the most, Quinn will give a quote from the movie as far as describing anything from the film. If you don’t like critics spoiling the plot or ending of a film for you, this is the critic for you. There is no word on the plot other than what is already stated from previews. What you will get from this critic is strictly his opinion on the film and that is it. Plus you don’t have to read through pages of a review to get the opinion.

Simon Abrams

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/thor/5496

The main reason I picked this critic is because I have a very similar style of thinking when watching movies. Reviews of films that I’ve seen have very similar thoughts to what I usually have. Some of the reviews have caused me to think of a concept in the film a different way. Abrams has a very observatory way of looking at films from multiple angles. If a film isn’t very good from a story telling perspective, Simon will acknowledge and appreciate a film from a cinematography perspective. He is capable of looking at a film from literally every angle for both critique purposes and enjoyment purposes. This critics only flaw is dragging out a review wayyyyyyy to long! I could barely finish reading his review on Tron: Legacy. He made very good points, I just wish he would have made them faster… A lot faster.

Two Articles

Both of these articles taught me about a man named Alan Sepinwall and how he revolutionized television criticism. The first article was about how Alan got his start and what he turned out to become. I learned how Alan changed the criticism world by having in-depth weekly reviews of a show he followed rather than watching a few episodes of a series and creating a short review for it that became irrelevant quickly as the show series progressed. The other article presented the argument that this new style isn’t always better. The fact the reviewer follows the show and tends to appreciate what it is taints the unbiased opinion of the matter. Sometimes the reviewer may overlook the flaws of the show and only point out the highs of it in order to promote it. In Alan’s case, the argument over his efforts to save the series “Chuck” is brought up. He offered some critique to save the show and after the show took his advice, his reviews were positive and promotional to get more viewers. The article emphasized the line between appreciating a show while critique its flaws and simply promoting a show through praise and avoiding pointing out any flaws for it.

The first hyperlink I clicked on was the link taking me to the article on Sepinwall making a cameo appearance on the show “Community.” I was curious to see how it happened or why it happened. It seems the article it took me to was a review by Sepinwall himself after his appearance on the show. It turned out to be a weekly review of the show and his involvement with it. He also temporarily discussed an interview he held with Gillian Jacobs. The second link I clicked on was a link to Myles McNutt. I really wanted to know who this guy was after he started criticizing Levin’s criticism of Sepinwall. I became more interested after seeing that Mcnutt continued the argument in the comment section of Levin’s response article to it. The link just led to Mcnutt’s original criticism review of Levin. From what I got from the article, I’m assuming McNutt is some type of critic as well and was using this article to point out to Levin that the questions and problems he points out in his article have been addressed many years ago and will always exist since there are no true answers or solutions to them.

Show List

Cory’s Show List:

I’m not too sure on how accurate this list will be since television watching is a very on and off thing for me but here it is: (some of these lists may be extremely short)

1.      Shows I’m watching these days: Franklin and Bash is about the only show I’m currently following this summer.

2.      Peripheral Shows: I’m currently living back home with my parents for this summer so I no longer have complete control over what I want... Unfortunately… Mom loves to watch HGTV, shows like DesignStar, House Hunters, Hidden Potential, and Selling New York. The only reason I tolerate these shows is because I’m either eating and I need something to watch or because I’m trying to fall asleep. I help my dad on his farm so we tend to watch Bloomberg to keep an eye on crop prices on the stock market so we know the best times to sell.

3.      Guilty No-Gos: I guess Family Guy could fall under this category, I’ve seen this show before but only a few times and it’s only been at friends’ houses. Every time I’ve seen it I’ve enjoyed it but I’ve never really attempted to follow it myself. Dexter is one I’ve heard a lot about. I absolutely love It’s Always Sunny but I can never work my schedule around to watching… Plus I don’t even know if my family’s TV plan gets FX…

4.      Guilty Pleasures: Honestly there are a few shows that I still watch on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Some of the shows on there such as Wizards of Waverly Place, Victorious, and Penguins of Madagascar can be legitimately funny without being raunchy.

5.      All-Time Favorites: That 70’s Show is BY FAR my favorite show of all time. Some others would be My Wife and Kids, Castle, and Supernatural.

6.      Shows I used to like, but not anymore: The CSI series, The Closer, basically any forensic crime investigation shows. I used to like them all until I realized they were all basically the same with a few minor detail changes here and there. Castle is the crime show I still watch and enjoy.

7.      Pretty much any show from Disney Channel or Nickelodeon fall into this category. I always thought shows on these channels were full of nothing but childish humor. It wasn’t until I was forced to watch them while taking care of my niece and nephew that I realized they actually had a lot of potential.

8.      Shows I refuse to watch: American Idol! I DO NOT understand how this show still exists!!! Any reality show falls under this category actually. Some other examples would be Jersey Shore, My Sweet 16, and the Bachelor or Bachelorette…

9.      Non-TV related shows I watch: I love to watch anything by Julian Smith, Ray William Johnson, and Rhet and Link. Those three youtube stars are hilarious to watch.