The ARTS/LEISURE section of the NY Times and Washington Post (and when I lived in LA the LA Times) has always been my favorite part of the newspaper and not the least the ads for first run movies that feature critic quotes in BIG BOLD type. But you have to be very careful when deciding what movies you wanna see on the basis of these quotes because they are very often taken out of context or from critics whose 'thumbs up' can be bought for as little as a free dinner.
Accordingly, I am offering a few tips to readers to help them discern which critics to pay attention to and what quotes - no matter how positive - are warning signs to avoid seeing these films at any cost.
Par example, pass on any film recommended by Pete Hammond who writes for BoxOffice Magazine,
Jeff Craig of SixtySecond Preview and any film critic on Fox Network. Another film critic to avoid is Susan Granger whose son was a productive executive at Paramount Pictures where I worked for 26 years and it was rumored that anytime you needed a positive quote for a new film ( no matter how awful it was), you could get one from Ms. Granger.
You should also avoid any film whose print ads feature quotes from critics in newspaper from
Ft. Lauderdale (Fla), Detroit, Phoenix, Birmingham (Ala) and any city in Texas (except Austin).
Do pay attention to the print reviews of most film critics in the NY Times, especially Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, Rex Reed in the NY Observer, Anthony Lane in the New Yorker and Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post (although I disagree with Ms. Hornaday a lot she's a terrific writer and I enjoy reading her reviews).
My favorite print critic of all time is the late Pauline Kael of the New Yorker and David Ansen who was the senior film critic for Newsweek for many years. I worshipped Ms. Kael and idolized Mr. Ansen.
Beware - I repeat - beware of critic quotes for films that read as follows:
"YOU WILL STAND UP AND CHEER..."
"YOU WILL LAUGH, YOU WILL CRY..."
"THIS IS A LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY..."
"ACHINGLY HILARIOUS...ALSO HEARTFELT."
"PROVOCATIVE...GRIPPING"
"POSITIVELY THRILLING...ENTHRALLING...SENSATIONAL."
"UPLIFTING...INSPIRATIONAL...TOTALLY SATISFYING."
"THE BLIND SIDE MEETS SAVE WILLIE"
"BEST FAMILY (or COMEDY or DRAMA) TO COME ALONG IN A DECADE"
"THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FILM"
"GREAT HEART...ANOTHER 'ROCKY'"
I could go on and on but I think you get my point and the above should provide you with enough warning signs to beware of certain films. Oh, and watch out when a critic says that a film is a mix of 2 films (i.e. The Big Chill meets Pretty in Pink, etc, etc etc) or says that the performances are...
ELECTRIFYING. Like when was the last time you saw a movie and left the theatre thinking that the lead actor's performance was 'electrifying'?
I recently saw MONEYBALL with Brad Pitt and enjoyed it though like the game of baseball it depicts, it has some pretty dull moments in it. Had I reviewed the film for a column, I would have given it a 'thumbs up' but I don't think I would have said that it ..."WILL LEAVE YOU CHEERING...POSITIVELY THRILLING as one critic raved or that it "RENEWS YOUR BELIEF IN THE POWER OF MOVIES" as another critic said.
Beware of hyperbole moviegoers. Any film that get such hype ends up disappointing. You are better off entering your local multiplex with low expectations of what you are about to see and end up being happily surprised by how much you enjoyed the movie.
And my last piece of advice is to be very, very careful when you watch trailers of coming attractions because they are most often misleading. I've seen trailers that knocked me out only to bore the hell out of me when I finally saw the film. Studios long ago learned how to make terrific trailers for lousy films. Be careful. Very careful and you will learn how to avoid wasting your hard earned dollars seeing DRECK.
Have a nice day. See ya at the movies.
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