Your Top 5 Critics

[Sonny Corleone]

God, I hope this hasn't been done before. I did a search and came up empty so here it is:

Who are your top 5 critics? Feel free to say why you trust your 5 the most.

Mine:

05. (tie) Michael Phillips / Richard Roeper
04. James Berardinelli
03. JoBlo
02. Peter Travers
01. Roger Ebert

[Lazy Boy]

1. Walter Chaw -- http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/
2. Roger Ebert -- http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/
3. Armond White -- http://nypress.com/film_area.cfm
4. Mike D'Angelo -- http://www.panix.com/~dangelo/
5. Ed Gonzalez -- http://slantmagazine.com/

Four of the best, most erudite purveyors of film criticism I've read. Chaw is probably the harshest, but damn, the man can write a good four star review to counterattack some of his most babyish critics; White is a little contrarian just for the sake of being so, but I feel by reading his reviews an honesty that plagues most online bloggery. D'Angelo has that as well, and Gonzalez is as frank as Chaw but less hilarious. Ebert has gone soft over the years, but he's a good writer.

[APzombie]

1. Roger Ebert
2. Mark Kermode
3. Michael Phillips
4. A.O. Scott
5. Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson (filmspotting podcast critics)

[Tayzlor]

Amy Taubin
Manohla Dargis
Jim Hoberman
Kent Jones
Roger Ebert

[APzombie]

For anybody unfamiliar with Mark Kermode's brilliant BBC reviews, check out his Pirates of the Caribbean 3 review (watch every minute!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZMfe4qnoKU

most entertaining critic to listen to... ever.

[Bourne101]

In no particular order:

Michael Phillips
Roger Ebert
James Berardinelli
Todd McCarthy
Peter Travers

All of those critics are very reliable, and always give a great insight on every single film that they review. Although Travers is a bit of a quote whore. :D

[athf1980]

Roger Ebert
Richard Roeper
Scott Keith
Dave Meltzer
Peter Travers

[Hannibal21]

1. Roger Ebert
2. A.O. Scott
3. J. Hoberman
4. Ed Gonzalez
5. David Edelstein

Honorable Mentions to Manohla Darghis (the best female critic there is), Andrew Sarris, any of Slant Magazine's critics, Walter Chaw, Michael Phillips

And if we're counting critics who are no longer with us, then I would include Gene Siskel and Pauline Kael.

THE WORST:
Victoria Anderson (or whatever her name is)
Steve Rhodes

[APzombie]

good call Hannibal, the thread wouldn't work without a mention of Pauline Kael

[pinballwizard]

1. Richard Corliss-Time
2. Roger Ebert-Chicage Sun Times
3. Peter Travers-Rolling Stone
4. Richard Schickle-Time
5. Richard Roeper-Chicago Sun Times

[Tayzlor]

I would mention A.O. Scott if I could tell him and Stephen Holden apart.

[Pulp_Joker]

1. Roger Ebert
2. Richard Corliss
3. A.O. Scott
4. Manohla Dargis
5. Andrew Sarris

[Reigh Kaufman]

Mark Kermode
Kim Newman
Barry Norman
Peter Travers
Pauline Kael

[Stumbling Block]

1. Pauline Kael
2. John Hartl
3. Roger Ebert
4. Joe Bob Briggs
5. Lindy West

[BakeTheMooCow]

1. MaryAnn Johanson
2. Manohla Dargis
3. Nick Schager
4. Scott Tobias
5. Ed Gonzalez

The ladies at 1 and 2? No ratings or stars. Just thoughtful analysis of film, the way it should be. The Slant boys are excellent writers and fantastically bitter and I love the way they deconstruct race and sex in movies. Scott Tobias is a pimp and I treasure all things A.V. Club.

Ebert is like my grandfather. He has his good days, but some days he's just spouting nonsense (three stars for "The Women" when he admits it's not a great movie, but simply because it has actresses that he admires).

Berardinelli's reviews are so banal. Synopsis-positives-negatives-summary. Booooooring.

[ilovemovies]

Critics I frequently read/listen/watch to:

James Berardinelli
Roger Ebert
Richard Roeper
The Philadelphia Inquirer critics (Steven Rea, Carey Rickey)
The EW critics (Owen Gleiberman, Lisa Schwarzbaum)
Dustin Putman
Bill Wine
Jeffrey Lyons and whoever his partner is in Reel Talk
Leonard Maltin
USA Today's critics


I'm also a fan of though do not necessarily read the works of A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips.