Film Critics: Michael Medved

Even before he 'came out' as a Right Wing shill, Medved's criticism of films was always less focused on the thing itself; especially compared to his on air tv partner, Jeffrey Lyons.

Why people feel they need to be so didactic in criticism of things outside of the art they are ostensibly reviewing always says more of the critic than the art.

Here is Medved in full political idiocy, denying the genocide of American Indians:


Ten Lies About America - CBN.com - Celebrity bloopers here

What's amazing is that folk like Pat Robertson would, if they had their druthers, just as soon be rid of Jews like Medved; yet still Medved tries to 'assimilate.'

Three Monkeys (Take Three)

Ok, so I got around to seeing the film- a bit of a disappointment. Visually, Ceylan continues to improve, but storywise, this is a second rate soap opera, and a bit too moralistic.

I wrote of it here, and will have a forthcoming review, but overall, a disappointment.

Film Critics: Manny Farber

No video exists for this critic:



But, he once uttered this inanity, that the role of evaluation in criticism is ‘practically worthless. The last thing I want to know is whether you like it or not; the problems of writing are after that. I don’t think it has any importance. It’s one of those derelict appendages of criticism. Criticism has nothing to do with hierarchies.'

1) he still shows that he thinks of criticism on a like/dislike axis rather than a good/bad one.
2) without hierarchies, there can be no good nor bad. Things HAVE to be better or worse than something else, lest it's all gray sludge.

These sorts of attitudes are why criticism (and especially film criticism) has yet to have a great practitioner- at least one in print.

Film Critics: Pauline Kael

Yes, she's dead, but her dreck lives on. Just look at all these pithy, stolid, and dull reviews, from a woman who bragged she never saw a film twice. It's arguable whether she saw many of them even once since her comments are often at odds with reality.

Here is the woman:



If some of the other critics I've mentioned are Lowest Common Denominator, Kael is overblown, didactic trash.

What say you?

Film Critics: Leonard Maltin

Ok, if Jeffrey Lyons (see last post) is a typical example of Ray Carney's claim about almost all film critics buying into Hollywood's Lowest Common Denominator, then Leonard Maltin may be the emblem of that LCD! Granted, he seems like a nice guy, and he's not as obnoxious as a Michael Medved, but Jeez, is he LCD or what?

Here he 'interviews' Ebert:



I have to say it saddens me to see Ebert in such Stephen Hawking-like shape, but he's made millions doing what he loves to do, so he cannot have many regrets. As for Maltin? Reading his film review books is painful. He's not a good writer, and he makes Ebert look like an Auteurist by comparison. Oh well, he's still a nice guy, right?

Film Critics: Jeffrey Lyons

Jeffrey Lyons was one of the big tv-based film critics in NYC (Channel 11, WPIX), when I grew up in the 1970s. Over the years, though, I noticed that he's gotten more and more Lowest Common Denominator.

Here's his typical sort of tv gig, pimping bad movies:


Film critic Ray Carney has basically declared that critics that kow tow to Hollywood are always (whether giving a positive or negative review) part of the system. This includes not giving spoilers, etc., as if the end all and be all is to sell the art, rather than make good art.

Lyons seems to be a classic (if not the worst) example of Carney's Dictum.

Dark City

Ok, since I'm interviewing Lem Dobbs for later on in the Dan Schneider Interviews, and I mentioned The Limey, here's the trailer for his other great film:



Roger Ebert called it 1998's best film. That's tough to swallow, with Terence Malick's The Thin Red Line around, but this film is everything crap like Blade Runner wanted to be.

Three Monkeys Redux

Ok, I got the DVD of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's latest and will watch it this week.

He, like Bela Tarr, seems to get better with each film, so here's to trends.

And here's the trailer:

The Limey

Rewatched this last night- it's Steven Soderbergh's best film, easily.

Also, it has an asskicking Terence Stamp.



Oh, and I'm gonna be interviewing the film's screenwriter, Lem Dobbs, who also penned Dark City. Two great films, and the guy's not afraid to opine- should be good!

New Star Trek Film

Here are some trailers:





Ok. It's clearly more in the vein of a Michael Bay film than the classic Star Trek ethos. Also, director J.J. Abrams was a Star Wars, not a Star Trek, fan; and also brought such tv schlock as Felicity, Alias, and Lost into culture. On the other hand, the Star Trek franchise has never lived up to the original series (in sequel series or films). So, a dying franchise and a schlock tv hack- could they somehow alchemically be good?