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10 Most Well-Respected Movie Critics of All Time

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The relevance of film critics is often disputed. Even film reviewing platforms like Rotten Tomatoes feel compelled to be inclusive of all lenses of film appreciation by having two kinds of rating systems, where the Tomatometer shows the aggregate of what approved critics think of a film and the audience score is a representative of the audience’s response to a film. There are also separate award shows dedicated to critics-approved films, cementing the fact that the opinion of a critic is only a part of a film’s history and is not the end of all means for a film's success or failure.

Nevertheless, great film criticism has always proved to remain significant in every serious form of discussion since their work is dedicated to creating an ethnography of great films for all generations which inspires future filmmakers. These 10 great film critics remain most referred to at all times, as they remind the audience of what great cinema is and always will be.

10 Vincent Canby

vincent canby new york times critic article clipping

Vincent Canby was known for his entertaining and conversational style of reviewing a film. His matter-of-fact way of describing mediocre films and an equally eloquent way of appreciating good ones made his work a satisfying read. Canby was the chief film critic for the New York Times from 1969 to the early 1990s, and later became the theater film critic of the same publication. His reviews were popular among various filmmakers, such as Woody Allen .

Canby was particularly an admirer of filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, James Ivory, and Woody Allen. Allen reflected that Canby’s review of his film Take the Money and Run influenced his career. Canby sometimes wrote his reviews from the perspective of a Hollywood producer named Stanley, which he created to satirize the film industry in the 1990s. He was also notably critical of films that were praised highly by his peers, such as Rocky , Night of the Living Dead , One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Deliverance, and The Godfather II .

9 Stanley Kauffmann

Stanley Kauffmann started his film criticism journey with the New Republic in 1958 which lead to a 55-year-old career in film criticism ending in 2013. He also contributed as the drama critic for the New York Times in 1966. Kauffmann was an advocate of foreign cinema, and he popularized the works of Ingmar Bergman , Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Yashuziro Ozu in America. His work inspired future film critics such as Roger Ebert and David Denby.

His diverse experience reflected in his philosophical perspectives in his work. Kaufmann also had unpopular opinions about films that were highly praised for example Star Wars , Raiders of the Lost Ark , The Godfather , Pulp Fiction, Million Dollar Baby , Gone with the Wind , and 2001 A Space Odyssey. Kauffmann worked as an actor, a stage manager, a book editor and wrote philosophic novels before being a film critic. His background as an actor and a writer made him stand apart in his criticism, as his reviews also included nuggets of film tutorials and could be read as a work of literary significance.

8 Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin started his film journalism career at the early age of 15 writing for publications such as Classic Images and his own fanzine Film Fan Monthly . He pursued his degree in journalism from New York University and then published articles in numerous journals newspapers and magazines including Variety and Downbeat . Later, Leonard gained popularity by interviewing on a weekly program called Martin on Movies . For 3 years, he co-hosted the weekly syndicated program Hot Ticket, which was produced by Entertainment Tonight .

Matlin became a film writer for hire and has published his work in popular publications such as the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The London Times, Smithsonian, TV Guide Esquire, etc. In 1997, he became a voting member of the National Film Registry, which selects 25 landmark American films every year. He has become a popular Pop Culture figure for his iconic beard and glasses, and has been referred to in South Park . Maltin’s collection of reviews is compiled in his book Movie Guide, which has been influential for several film writers while starting their careers

7 François Roland Truffaut

The French filmmaker François Roland Truffaut was also a prolific film critic. He started his own film club in 1948 and was greatly influenced by the work of fellow critic Andre Bazin. Truffaut joined the French army, which he disliked. Bazin used his political proximity to get Bazin out of the army and gave him a job as a critic in his magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma which became a powerful voice of the French New Wave movement. Truffaut was popular for his unpopular opinions and snarky reviews, and was nicknamed The Gravedigger of French Cinema . He along with Bazin contributed to formulating the Auteur Theory, which refers to the distinct signature of a filmmaker while making a film. The theory was criticized in the beginning, but is today one of the most widely discussed theories in film criticism.

Related: Film History: The French New Wave Explained

6 Andrew Sarris

Andrew Sarris grew in popularity for his writing in The Village Views, particularly for lauding the works of Alfred Hitchcock . He later went to Paris and was influenced by the work of the French New Wave after watching Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player and Godard’s A Woman is a Woman. Later, Sarris was responsible for popularizing the Auteur Theory, a popular theory coined by French critics and filmmakers, in America. He wrote for The New York Observer till 2009 and later co-founded the National Society of Film Critics. A collection of essays by critics, filmmakers, and fans were compiled in Citizen Sarris, American Film Critic: Essays in Honor of Andrew Sarris which was edited by Emanuak Levy. Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Peter Bogdanovich contributed to the essay. Sarris’s work has been considered influential to several critics such as Kenneth Turan, K. Hoberman, and Michael Philips.

5 Kenneth Turan

Kenneth Turan is one of the most widely-read film critics who wrote for the Los Angeles Times from 1991 to 2020. Turan was known for his unapologetic stone-cold reviews and also his eclectic range of knowledge of world cinema and documentaries. Turan has also written for The Washington Pos t and The Progressive. He famously wrote a negative review of James Cameron’s Titanic, for which Cameron demanded him being fired from his post. The debacle was featured in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. In his book, Not to Be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites From a Lifetime of Film, Turan compiles films that he loved growing up and thinks will resonate with the audience. The book blends history and film culture as he recommends films from all genres and ages.

4 Pauline Kael

Pauline Kael was known for her contributions to The New Yorker from 1968 to 1991 and was highly regarded for her witty and contrarian opinions. Kael was unique and disruptive in her approach to film commentary and invented a new form of film criticism that was vivid and experimental. Kael was often criticized for disapproving popular films, which eventually led her to lose her position at McCall’s, a leading woman’s magazine. She wrote a review panning the film The Sound of Music titled The Sound of Money, which raised several eyebrows with the editors of McCall’s.

She was later fired for her relentless spree of giving negative reviews to popular films such as Lawrence of Arabia , Dr. Zhivago, and A Hard Day’s Night. Her reputation as a contrarian led to several editors altering her work without her permission at The New Republic. Her writing style was considered to be too brash for a sophisticated banner like The New Yorker . Nevertheless, Kael later received the George Polk Award for her work as a critic for the latter.

3 Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode is known for his work as a regular on BBC Radio 5 Live Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, which he hosts with radio host Simon Mayo. Kermode was born in July 1963 in Barnet, England, and began his career as a film critic in the 1980s with various publications featuring his work such as The Guardian, Sight and Sound, and being a regular contributor to The Observer . Kermode is known for his eloquent and insightful criticism, which is not jargon-heavy and can be accessed by the everyday film viewer. He has written several books such as The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex and Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics which investigate the role and relevance of film criticism in the contemporary film culture.

2 Gene Siskel

Eugene Kal Siskel, better known as Gene Siskel , is known for his collaboration with fellow popular film critic Roger Ebert. He hosted several series of movie review programs on television from 1975 till his death in 1999 with Ebert. Siskel started his film writing career with the Chicago Tribune in 1969 and in 1975 he worked at the Opening Soon at the Theatre Near You show with Roger Ebert. The duo stuck together ever since. Siskel’s television career outperformed his print career due to the popularity of his television shows with Ebert. They were known for their professional rivalry, critical argument, and their thumbs up and thumbs down rating system, which became a part of American pop culture. Ironically, Siskel was a true individualist and believed film criticism was a solo pursuit, even though his career skyrocketed following his professional camaraderie with Ebert.

Related: A Look at What Siskel & Ebert Called the Worst Movie Ever Made

1 Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert is considered to be the most influential film critic who has shaped film criticism in the 21st century. Ebert started his career as a film critic in the Chicago Sun Times in 1967 and contributed to the publication till his death in 2013. Ebert was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005. Ebert stood out from the rest because his critical perspectives complimented with his humanistic and witty views, turning films into an everyday sentiment rather than an unattainable artistic endeavor that only thought elites could pursue.

He was known to be more lenient than most critics but wrote several reviews panning films he despised which were enjoyed by many. He even wrote keeping in mind audiences that were not particularly film fanatics, simplifying films to a larger audience. Furthermore, he was also responsible for popularizing international films to an American audience. His collaboration with Gene Siskel was a highlight of his career, and the duo’s heated arguments made film criticism popular in American pop culture. Ebert was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in 2002 and died in 2013 at the age of 70.

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The 25 Best Movie Critics of All Time

Everyone else's opinions are optional.

Image via Complex Original

As self-ran blogs and online message boards continue to dominate pop culture conversations, one old adage seems more apt than ever: Everyone's a critic.

The days when new movies were reviewed exclusively by knowledgeable film scholars are gone. Anyone who knows how to navigate Wordpress can publish their written views about the latest art-house film, popcorn flick, or costume drama. And, chances are, somebody's going to read it.

The most frustrating thing about this online renaissance—aside from suffering ignorant comments from trolls—is the way it trivializes the grade-A essays and critiques penned by folks whose entire lives have been dedicated to cinema studies.

In our own humble ways, we operate this Pop Culture channel utilizing the fine examples left by the greatest women and men of film criticism, albeit without losing sight of the modern vibes of 21st century Internet methodologies. And by "the greatest," we're referring to The 25 Best Movie Critics of All Time . Anyone who takes cinema seriously is advised to read their work.

RELATED: The 50 Harshest Roger Ebert Movie Review Quotes RELATED: The 100 Best Movies of the Complex Decade RELATED: 20 Pieces of Hollywood Trivia That Will Blow Your Mind!

Written by Matt Barone ( @MBarone )

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25. David Edelstein

Publications: Slate , New York Post , The Village Voice , Boston Phoenix , The New York Times , Rolling Stone , Vanity Fair , Variety , New York Read Reviews Here

As filmgoers, we obviously prefer good movies over bad ones, but when it comes to reviews, it's always more fun to read a tear-down of a truly crappy movie. Few critics are able to eviscerate cinema's dregs quite like New York 's champion of snark, David Edelstein. It's exactly that brand of written scorn that immortalized Edelstein during the heyday of Saw and Hostel , wholly unpleasant horror movies that he famously dubbed "torture porn."

24. Kim Newman

Publications: City Limits , Sight and Sound , Empire Read Reviews Here

Highbrow movie critics have a tendency to downplay horror movies, and unfairly so. Kim Newman, on the other hand, has made a career out of championing the weirdest, most overlooked, and decidedly one-of-a-kind gore flicks, creature features, and every other kind of scare flick.

Hailing from London, Newman also moonlights as a horror fiction writer, but it's his regular Empire column, "Kim Newman's Video Dungeon," that still provides the 28-year veteran's most anticipated writings. Everything from Lucio Fulci pictures to schlock like Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks the Same (yes, that's a real movie) gets the Dungeon treatment.

Those interested in catching up with Newman's pro-genre narratives should start with his massive, brilliantly comprehensive book Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s .

23. Wesley Morris

Publications: The Boston Globe , Grantland Read Reviews Here

Wesley Morris' resume speaks for itself. First, there's the college he attended: Yale University. Second, and most importantly, there's that measly honor he was bestowed with last year: the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

Just imagine the sobs and head-smacks happening inside The Boston Globe 's office when Morris announced that he was leaving the newspaper to join Bill Simmons' Grantland full-time and become its biggest on-staff movie head.

22. Mike D'Angelo

Publications: Las Vegas Weekly , The Village Voice , Variety , Time Out New York , Nerve (website), Esquire Read Reviews Here

Mike D'Angelo caught onto the power of online film criticism way before anyone else. Back in 1995, he started the blog The Man Who Viewed Too Muc h , a popular cyber hub for D'Angelo's accessible yet brainy reviews. Through the success of that site, he scored a full-time gig with Time Out New York and handled a monthly column in Esquire .

These days, he's back on the World Wide Web via AV Club's recurring "Scenic Routes," where D'Angelo breaks down one key scene from a noteworthy film in extensive detail.

21. Todd McCarthy

Publications: Variety , The Hollywood Reporter Read Reviews Here

Movie junkies who impatiently wait for the first reviews of prestige pictures and pricey blockbusters should know Todd McCarthy's name well. Beginning in the late 1970s, McCarthy spent more than 30 years writing reviews for Variety , meaning his takes were, more often than not, the earliest published reactions to big studios' latest releases. And in that, he became a major authority whose dry, clinical observations helped to either build buzz or deliver a film DOA.

20. Glenn Kenny

Publications: The Village Voice , Premiere , The Auteurs (website), MSN (website) Read Reviews Here

Reading Glenn Kenny's reviews and essays is like being in a film class, but without the dry chafing of academia. As astute as he is witty, the former Premiere critic has a strong knack for connecting current movies to old classics.

On his highly recommended blog, Some Came Running , Kenny regularly posts long, knowledgeable analyses of vintage films that draw insightful connections to today's pictures. In early January, for example, Kenny used the racial debate surrounding Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained to reflect upon D.W. Griffith's 1915 controversy magnet The Birth of a Nation .

19. Dana Stevens

Publication: Slate Read Reviews Here

To best appreciate Slate 's Dana Stevens, and in an effort to show her unpredictability and dedication to her own convictions, let's cite a few of her more recent reviews. As most of her peers were praising Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained , Stevens reacted from a place of inner disgust : "Tarantino’s intent may have been to showcase the horrors of slavery, but there’s something about his directorial delectation in all these acts of racial violence that left me not just physically but morally queasy."

But, at the same time, she's able to embrace the splattery weirdness of genre maverick Don Coscarelli's absurdist delight John Dies at the End , writing, "The story’s rabbit holes got so deep that I can’t actually tell you whether the movie’s title is a spoiler or not, but I loved John Dies at the End for so confidently whisking the viewer to a place where the question 'Well, did he die or didn’t he?' seems hopelessly un-nuanced and square."

18. Vincent Canby

Publications: Variety , The New York Times Read Reviews Here

During his 24-year run as the chief film critic for The New York Times , Vincent Canby's (1924-2000) words wielded the power of mighty swords. If he chastised a foreign or independent movie, which he so often did, said film didn't stand a chance of catching on in the Big Apple. Take British director Terence Davies, for example, who made two pictures that Canby ridiculed in print and inadvertently prevented from receiving healthy American distribution.

His reviews didn't read like scholarly texts; rather, Canby's writing favored whip-smart humor. When covering a young, seriously bulked-up Arnold Schwarzenegger, he described the Austrian bodybuilder as ""something the actor might want to shed in order to slip into something more comfortable."

17. Philip French

Publications: The Times , The Observer , Sight and Sound Read Reviews Here

Over in England, Philip French is a loud voice among film critics. In fact, he's arguably the UK's greatest living movie analyst. And if French has an area of untouchable expertise, it's in the cowboys-and-spurs sect of cinema: Originally published back in 1977, French's definitive book Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre is regarded as the greatest book ever written on the subject. And, best of all, you don't need to know Sergio Leone's birthday off the top of your head to appreciate the genre, thanks to French's lively writing.

16. Dilys Powell

Publications: The Sunday Times , Punch

Check those publication names above—far cries from the worldwide notoriety of periodicals like The New York Times , right? That's why the late Elizabeth Dilys Powell (who dropped her first name when writing) isn't frequently referenced when people discuss their favorite movie critics.

She worked in a vacuum of sorts, and her self-aware, pithy style of writing wasn't universally acknowledged until after her death in 1995. The source of her posthumous respect: cinephiles acquainting themselves with her sprawling, though now hard to find, book The Golden Screen: Fifty Years of Films .

15. Lisa Schwarzbaum

Publications: The Boston Globe , Entertainment Weekly Read Reviews Here

Earlier this week, the face of Entertainment Weekly began an unexpected face-change when Lisa Schwarzbaum, one of the magazine's two in-house movie critics (the other being Owen Gleiberman), announced that she's leaving the post after 22 acclaimed, productive years. It's a real blow to the glossy, easily consumed mag, since Schwarzbaum's loose, conversational reviews are, on a weekly basis, one of EW 's strongest components.

14. Manny Farber

Publications: The New Republic , Time , The Nation , New Leader , Cavalier , Artforum Read Reviews Here

Manny Farber (1917-2008) had a low tolerance for high art. Which isn't to say that the Arizona native had bad taste—on the contrary, Farber possessed a brave, against-the-grain fondness for otherwise frowned-upon fringe cinema. Most of his peers couldn't be bothered by the genre trappings of anti-prestige artists like Laurel and Hardy, Don Siegel, and Andy Warhol, but Farber, bless his soul, devoted most of his career to casting their kinds of creative minds in a celebratory, you-need-to-watch-this light.

See his landmark essay "White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art" for a look into this singular mind.

13. Janet Maslin

Publication: The New York Times Read Reviews Here

Those who currently read The New York Times solely to check out film critic Manohla Dargis' latest reviews should salute Janet Maslin, big time. From 1977 through 1999, the NYC-bred Maslin brought her sterling combination of smarts and wiles to the reputable newspaper, specifically riding hard for the independent movie scene.

12. A.O. Scott

Publications: Newsday , Slate , The New York Times Read Reviews Here

One look at Anthony Oliver (or, simply, A.O.) Scott's family background should quickly explain why he's such a poignant writer: Both his parents were college professors. Keeping the Scott brood's educated leanings alive and well, Mr. New York Times Movie Reviewer (working alongside Manohla Dargis) represents a younger breed of critical prestige. He's only 46-years-old, yet Scott's work can be placed next to the also currently active Roger Ebert's output. Don't be surprised if he's held in the same kind of reverential esteem as Mr. Ebert by the time he reaches 70.

11. James Agee

Publications: Time , The Nation Read Reviews Here

A true trailblazer, James Agee gave film criticism a boost of widespread credibility back in the 1940s, when he reviewed countless movies for both Time and The Nation . And he never hid his affinity for silent films, often saving his most positive thoughts for wordless cinema. As for every other kind, Agee is largely remembered as being a tough man to please. He wasn't the type to hand out middling criticisms—his standards were sky-high.

Clearly, he knew what he was talking about: After ending his critic hustle in the early 1950s, Agee went on to work on the screenplays for the greatly revered films The African Queen (1951) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Plus, following his death in 1945, Agee posthumously won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel A Death in the Family .

10. Anthony Lane

Publications: The Independent , Independent on Sunday , The New Yorker Read Reviews Here

In a different reality, Anthony Lane could be a prolific comedy writer. Through his intelligent reviews, The New Yorker 's free-wheeling critic (he's been on staff there since 1993) always conveys a sharp sense of humor, addressing a film's faults and positive attributes with self-deprecation and jokes.

In his 2003 book, Nobody's Perfect: Writings from The New Yorker , Lane provided a short list of must-do practices for anyone who's interested in following a similar career path, and it's quite indicative of the man's wit. Case in point, this tip: "Try to keep up with documentaries about Swabian transsexuals (or, see everything regardless of budget or hype)."

9. François Truffaut

Publication: Cahiers du cinéma Read Reviews Here

François Truffaut is remembered best for being a master filmmaker, and with good reason. With undisputed classics like The 400 Blows (1959) and the meta Day for Night (1973) under his belt, the icon of French filmmaking (1932-1984) stands as one of cinema's exemplary directors.

But all of the talk about his behind-the-camera work detracts from his impressive run as a movie critic, during which he earned a stigma as France's harshest voice, writing for Cahiers du cinema, the film magazine from which the Nouvelle Vague movement sprang from. His polarizing negativity reached its apex with the article "A Certain Trend in French Cinema" (1954), a call-to-arms for those who weren't happy with the country's moviegoing trends.

8. Manohla Dargis

Publications: Los Angeles Times , LA Weekly , The Village Voice , Film Comment , Sight and Sound , The New York Times Read Reviews Here

You have to respect Manohla Dargis' anonymous gangster. Whereas every other movie critic on this countdown will gladly take pictures and go on camera to voice their opinions, the 50-something Dargis has enjoyed a respected, fruitful career without needing to put a widely-seen face to her byline.

Week in and week out, her learned, gorgeously written work enhances The New York Times Arts section, giving equal attention and excitement to films as diverse as Silver Linings Playbook and divisive as French writer-director Gaspar Noe's dizzying Enter the Void . Unlike most high-end critics, Dargis' name above a review of a genre film doesn't guarantee a wrongly slanted, probably disinterested point-of-view. For her, weirdo cinema has just as much potential as Oscar fare.

7. David Denby

Publications: The Atlantic , New York , The New Yorker Read Reviews Here

Consider David Denby the film critics' circuit's answer to the hip-hop community's Nas. Similar to how Nasir Jones made it his mission to question the existence of his once-prevalent and always cherished art form, The New Yorker 's chief film writer shook up the world of big-screen lovers with his controversial book Do the Movies Have a Future? . Largely avoiding snark, Denby's writing throughout the page-turner is earnest, focusing on the promotion of film's older ideals against the blockbusters and money-first products that major studios rush into theaters nowadays.

If written by a lesser critic, Do the Movies Have a Future? would've came off as a real bitch-fest, one akin to an aged D.I.T.C. fan crying about Chief Keef and Trinidad James for 368 pages. But thanks to Denby's sterling, deserved reputation, it's an important conversation-starter from a master who's at the top of his game.

6. Jonathan Rosenbaum

Publications: Cahiers du cinéma , Film Comment , Chicago Reader Read Reviews Here

Jonathan Rosenbuam is a true crusader. Born in Alabama, the wide-eyed, then-26-years-old go-getter moved to Paris in 1969, where he routinely contributed film reviews to publications like Sight & Sound and The Village Voice . That time spent overseas filled Rosenbaum with an intense appreciation for non-American movies, and he's since made it his personal mission to promote international filmmaking here in the states.

For his most impassioned defense of non-Hollywood productions, the indispensable 2002 book Movie Wars: How Hollywood and the Media Limit What Movies We Can See is a must.

5. J. Hoberman

Publications: The Village Voice , Film Comment , The New York Times , The Virginia Quarterly Review , ArtInfo (website) Read Reviews Here

Simply put, there's no greater living film essayist than James Lewis Hoberman, better known as J. Hoberman. Starting at The Village Voice in the '70s, the New York City native owned the paper's film reviews section with his beautifully composed, scholarly critiques until he was wrongly removed from his post in 2012.

The thing about Hoberman's reviews, though, is that they don't read like reviews; they're more like heavily researched narratives that relate the movie in question to larger, all-encompassing themes that touch upon society, cinema, and politics.

For incredibly informative and vibrantly penned time capsules, pick up any one of Hoberman's many books. Our recommendations: the cult community manifesto Midnight Movies (co-written with Jonathan Rosenbaum) and his most recent release, Film After Film , a compilation of Hoberman's post-9/11 writings that makes for a dynamic companion to Denby's Do the Movies Have a Future?

4. Pauline Kael

Publications: City Lights , McCall's , The New Republic , The New Yorker Read Reviews Here

It takes a lot of nerve to go against the popular consensus, no matter the contrarian's gender, but a female movie critic who doesn't fear pissing off her (male) contemporaries nor Hollywood's (male) elite? That's one tough person.

Widely regarded as one of the most influential film analysts ever, the late Pauline Kael filled her New Yorker reviews (published from 1968 through 1991) with fearless wit, often writing in the first-person to either attack or praise a motion picture. She thrived during times when jealous ones especially envied, weathering sexist insults and accusations of star-chasing favoritism.

Best of all, Kael championed genre filmmakers like Brian De Palma, Walter Hill, and Sam Peckinpah, artists who are revered now but initially released low-budget, unfairly B-pegged flicks. She was a rebel with a passionate cause.

3. Andrew Sarris

Publications: Film Culture , The Village Voice , NY Film Bulletin , The New York Observer Read Reviews Here

Every cinematic shotcaller working today, whether independent or major, owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Andrew Sarris. Strong-minded and blessed with the gift of fluid prose, the late Brooklyn-born writer is best remembered for his classic 1968 tome The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968 , an exhaustive, opinionated dissection of pre-'68 sound films broken down by the individual filmmakers.

In The American Cinema , Sarris fully developed the influential auteur theory, bringing the daring pro-director beliefs practiced by the many great critics working for France's Cahiers du Cinéma and popularizing them in the United States.

2. Roger Ebert

Publication: Chicago Sun Times Read reviews here

Like Jay-Z is for rappers, Roger Ebert is the most widely recognized movie critic ever. He's been cranking out entertaining, witty, and often heartfelt reviews for the Chicago Sun Times since 1967, forging a 40-plus-year career that's seen him conquer print media, the online blogosphere, and even television. Of course you remember watching him on his groundbreaking At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert , which he co-hosted with his best confidante, the late Chicago Tribune critic. Together, they made upward and downward thumbs iconic.

Ebert's congratulatory reviews are top-notch, yet it's his negative, gloves-off beatdowns of crappy cinema that have always been his most delightful to read. Read his 50 harshest review quotes for yourselves .

1. André Bazin

Publication: Cahiers du Cinéma Read Reviews Here

There's arguably no book about movies that's as mandatory as André Bazin's What is Cinema? Still taught in film classes today, it's the definitive explanation of what makes the medium's proverbial heart beat, offering groundbreaking views on visual storytelling, with a special fondness for patience and duration. Bazin was a strong advocate of the long take, after all.

He's also responsible for co-founding the game-changing magazine Cahiers du Cinéma in 1951, through which Bazin and his colleagues introduced the auteur theory that has since helped to contextualize the classic films made by the likes of Fritz Lang, Howard Hawks, and Alfred Hitchcock.

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The Best Movie Reviews We’ve Ever Written — IndieWire Critics Survey

David ehrlich.

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Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

While this survey typically asks smart critics to direct readers toward good movies, we hope that the reverse is also true, and that these posts help movies (good or bad) direct readers towards smart critics.

In that spirit, we asked our panel of critics to reflect on their favorite piece of film criticism that they’ve ever written (and we encouraged them to put aside any sort of modesty when doing so).

Their responses provide rich and far-reaching insight into contemporary film criticism, and what those who practice it are hoping to achieve with their work.

Siddhant Adlakha (@SidizenKane), Freelance for The Village Voice and /Film

Let’s cut right to the chase. Christopher Nolan is probably my favourite working director, and going five thousand words deep on his career after “Dunkirk” was an itch I’d been waiting to scratch for nearly a decade. “The Dark Knight” was my dorm-room poster movie — I’m part of the generation that explored films through the IMDb Top 250 growing up — though as my cinematic horizons expanded and my understanding of storytelling grew, I didn’t leave Nolan’s work behind as I did the likes of “Scarface” and “The Boondock Saints.” What’s more, each new film by Nolan hits me like a tonne of bricks. I’m waiting, almost eagerly, for him to disappoint me. It hasn’t happened yet, and I needed to finally sit down and figure out why.

In “Convergence At ‘Dunkirk,’” by far the longest piece I’ve ever written, I’d like to think I unpacked a decade worth of my awe and admiration, for a filmmaker who uses the studio canvas to explore human beings through our relationship to time. Tarkovsky referred to cinema as “sculpting in time.” Time disorients. Time connects us. Time travels, at different speeds, depending on one’s relationship to it, whether in dreams or in war or in outer space, and time can be captured, explored and dissected on screen.

What’s more, Nolan’s films manipulate truth as much as time, as another force relative to human perception, determining our trajectories and interpersonal dynamics in fundamental ways. All this is something I think I knew, instinctively, as a teenage viewer, but putting words to these explorations, each from a different time yet connected intrinsically, is the written criticism that I most stand by. It felt like something that I was meant to write, as I interrogated my own evolving emotional responses to art as time went on.

Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), Freelance for Remezcla

At the 2017 Sundance premiere of Miguel Arteta’s “Beatriz at Dinner,” starring Salma Hayek, I found myself in shock at the reactions I heard from the mostly-white audience at the Eccles Theatre. I was watching a different movie, one that spoke to me as an immigrant, a Latino, and someone who’s felt out of place in spaces dominated by people who’ve never been asked, “Where are you really from?” That night I went back to the condo and wrote a mountain of thoughts and personal anecdotes that mirrored what I saw on screen.

This was a much different piece from what I had usually written up to that point: coverage on the Best Foreign Language Oscar race, pieces on animation, interviews with internationally acclaimed directors, and reviews out of festivals. Those are my intellectual passions, this; however, was an examination on the identity that I had to built as an outsider to navigate a society were people like me rarely get the jobs I want.

My editor at Remezcla, Vanessa Erazo, was aware of the piece from the onset and was immediately supportive, but it would take months for me to mull it over and rework it through multiple drafts until it was ready for publication in time for the film’s theatrical release. In the text, I compared my own encounters with casual racism and ignorance with those Hayek’s character faces throughout the fateful gathering at the center of the film. The reception surpassed all my expectations. The article was shared thousands of times, it was praised, it was criticized, and it truly confronted me with the power that my writing could have.

A few months later in September, when Trump rescinded DACA, I wrote a social media post on my experience as an undocumented person working in the film industry, and how difficult it is to share that struggle in a world were most people don’t understand what it means to live a life in the shadows. The post was picked up by The Wrap and republished in the form of an op-ed, which I hope put a new face on the issue for those who didn’t directly knew anyone affected by it before. Once again that piece on “Beatriz at Dinner” regained meaning as I found myself filled with uncertainty.

Ken Bakely (@kbake_99), Freelance for Film Pulse

Like many writers, I tend to subconsciously disown anything I’ve written more than a few months ago, so I read this question, in practice, as what’s my favorite thing I’ve written recently. On that front, I’d say that the review of “Phantom Thread” that I wrote over at my blog comes the closest to what I most desire to do as a critic. I try to think about a movie from every front: how the experience is the result of each aspect, in unique quantities and qualities, working together. It’s not just that the acting is compelling or the score is enveloping, it’s that each aspect is so tightly wound that it’s almost indistinguishable from within itself. A movie is not an algebra problem. You can’t just plug in a single value and have everything fall into place.

“Phantom Thread” is Paul Thomas Anderson’s dreamy cinematography. It is Jonny Greenwood’s impeccably seductive, baroque music. It is Vicky Krieps’s ability to perfectly shatter our preconceptions at every single turn as we realize that Alma is the movie’s actual main character. We often talk about how good films would be worse-off if some part of it were in any way different. In the case of “Phantom Thread,” you flat-out can’t imagine how it would even exist if these things were changed. When so many hot take thinkpieces try to explain away every ending or take a hammer to delicate illusions, it was a pleasure to try and understand how a movie like this one operates on all fronts to maintain an ongoing sense of mystique.

Christian Blauvelt (@Ctblauvelt), BBC Culture

I don’t know if it’s my best work, but a landmark in my life as a critic was surely a review of Chaplin’s “The Circus,” in time for the release of its restoration in 2010. I cherish this piece , written for Slant Magazine, for a number of reasons. For one, I felt deeply honored to shed more light on probably the least known and least respected of Chaplin’s major features, because it’s a film that demonstrates such technical virtuosity it dispels once and for all any notion that his work is uncinematic. (Yes, but what about the rest of his filmography you ask? My response is that any quibbles about the immobility of Chaplin’s camera suggest an ardent belief that the best directing equals the most directing.) For another, I was happy this review appeared in Slant Magazine, a publication that helped me cut my critical teeth and has done the same for a number of other critics who’ve gone on to write or edit elsewhere. That Slant is now struggling to endure in this financially ferocious landscape for criticism is a shame – the reviews I wrote for them around 2009-10 helped me refine my voice even that much more than my concurrent experience at Entertainment Weekly, where I had my day job. And finally, this particular review will always mean a lot to me because it’s the first one I wrote that I saw posted in its entirety on the bulletin board at Film Forum. For me, there was no surer sign that “I’d made it”.

Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker

No way would I dare to recommend any pieces of my own, but I don’t mind mentioning a part of my work that I do with special enthusiasm. Criticism, I think, is more than the three A’s (advocacy, analysis, assessment); it’s prophetic, seeing the future of the art from the movies that are on hand. Yet many of the most forward-looking, possibility-expanding new films are in danger of passing unnoticed (or even being largely dismissed) due to their departure from familiar modes or norms, and it’s one of my gravest (though also most joyful) responsibilities to pay attention to movies that may be generally overlooked despite (or because of) their exceptional qualities. (For that matter, I live in fear of missing a movie that needs such attention.)

But another aspect of that same enthusiasm is the discovery of the unrealized future of the past—of great movies made and seen (or hardly seen) in recent decades that weren’t properly discussed and justly acclaimed in their time.”. Since one of the critical weapons used against the best of the new is an ossified and nostalgic classicism, the reëvaluation of what’s canonical, the acknowledgment of unheralded masterworks—and of filmmakers whose careers have been cavalierly truncated by industry indifference—is indispensable to and inseparable from the thrilling recognition of the authentically new.

Deany Hendrick Cheng (@DeandrickLamar), Freelance for Barber’s Chair Digital

It’s a piece on two of my favorite films of 2017, “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name”, and about how their very different modes of storytelling speak to the different sorts of stories we tell ourselves. Objectively, I don’t know if this is my best work in terms of pure style and craft, but I do think it’s the most emblematic in terms of what I value in cinema. I think every film is, in some way, a treatise on how certain memories are remembered, and I think cinema matters partly because the best examples of it are prisms through which the human experience is refracted.

Above everything else, every movie has to begin with a good story, and the greatest stories are the ones that mirror not just life, but the ways in which life is distorted and restructured through the process of remembering. Every aspect of a film, from its screenplay on down, must add something to the film’s portrayal of remembering, and “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name” accomplish this organic unity of theme with such charm yet in such distinct ways, that they were the perfect counterpoints to each other, as well as the perfect stand-ins for cinema as a whole, for me.

Liam Conlon (@Flowtaro), Ms En Scene

My favorite piece of my own work is definitely “The Shape of Water’s” Strickland as the “Ur-American.” I’m proud of it because it required me to really take stock of all the things that Americans are taught from birth to take as given. That meant looking at our history of colonialism, imperialism, racism, anticommunism and really diving into how all Americans, whether they’re liberal or conservative, can internalize these things unless they take the time to self-examine. Just as “Pan’s Labyrinth’s” despotic Captain Vidal was a masterful representation of Francisco Franco’s fascism, Richard Strickland represents a distinctly American kind of fascism. Writers Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor took great care in Strickland’s creation, and my piece was my own way of self-examining to make sure I never become or abide by a person like Strickland ever again.

Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews), Freelance

This is tricky, but “Annihilation” is definitely my favorite piece of film criticism that I’ve written. My writing style is a combination of criticism and gifs, and sometimes the words are better than the gifs, and the gifs are better than the words. With “Annihilation,” I thought the balance was perfect . My favorite portion: “Lena is just an idea, part of an equation that’s been erased from a chalkboard and rewritten with a different solution. The shimmer is part of her, even down to the DNA” is up there as one of my best. It was also a struggle to write because that film had more wild theories than the Aliens in Roswell. Also, the amount of research I had to do, combining Plato’s Ideal Forms, Darwin, the Bible, and Nietzsche, was absurd. However, it did make it easier to find matching gifs. The result made for my most studious, yet lighthearted read.

Alonso Duralde (@ADuralde), The Wrap

I’m the worst judge of my own material; there’s almost nothing I’ve ever written that I don’t want to pick at and re-edit, no matter how much time has passed. But since, for me, the hardest part of film criticism is adequately praising a movie you truly love, then by default my best review would probably be of one of my favorite films of all time, Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.”

David Ehrlich (@davidehrlich), IndieWire

I can’t summon the strength to re-read it, but I remember thinking that my piece on grief and “Personal Shopper” was emblematic of how I hope to thread individual perspective into arts criticism.

Shelley Farmer (@ShelleyBFarmer), Freelance for RogerEbert.com and Publicist at Film Forum

My favorite piece is a very recent one: For this year’s Women Writers Week on Roger Ebert, I wrote about “Phantom Thread”, “Jane Eyre,” and twisted power dynamics in hetero romance . I loved that it allowed me to dig deep into my personal fixations (19th century literature, gender, romance as power struggle), but – more importantly – it was exciting to be part of a series that highlighted the breadth of criticism by women writers.

Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil), Freelance for The Film Experience, This Had Oscar Buzz Podcast

No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage.Mandatory Credit: Photo by Denver And Delilah Prods./Ko/REX/Shutterstock (5882868n)Charlize Theron, Jason ReitmanYoung Adult - 2011Director: Jason ReitmanDenver And Delilah ProductionsUSAOn/Off Set

My answer to this would be kind of a cheat, as my favorite work that I do is my weekly column about movie music called Soundtracking that I write over at The Film Experience. Soundtracks and needle drops have been a personal fascination, so the opportunity to explore the deeper meaning and context of a film’s song choices have been a real labor of love. Because of the demands and time constraints of what we do, it can be easy to spend our all of our energy on assignments and chasing freelance opportunities rather than devoting time to a pet project – but I’ve found indulging my own uncommon fascination to be invaluable in developing my point of view. And serve as a constant check-in with my passion. Pushed for a single entry that I would choose as the best, I would choose the piece I wrote on “Young Adult”‘s use of “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub for how it posits a single song as the key to unlocking both character and narrative.

Candice Frederick (@ReelTalker), Freelance for Shondaland, Harper’s Bazaar

“ Mother ” written for Vice. It’s one of my favorites because it conveys how visceral my experience was watching the movie. It’s truly stifling, uncomfortable, and frantic–and that’s what my review explains in detail. I wanted to have a conversation with the reader about specific aspects of the film that support the thesis, so I did.

Luiz Gustavo (@luizgvt), Cronico de Cinema

Well, I recently wrote a piece for Gazeta do Povo, a major outlet at Paraná state in Brazil, about Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” (it is not on their site, but they were kind enough to let me replicate on my own website ). I don’t know the extent of the powers of Google Translator from Portugese to english, so you have to rely on my own account: is a text in which I was able to articulate de cinematographic references in the work of Mr. Del Toro, as well his thematic obsessions, the genre bending and social critique. All of this topics were analyzed in a fluid prose. On top of that, it was really fun to write!

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The 10 Greatest Movies of All Time, According to Roger Ebert

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Perhaps the most respected and well-known movie critic of all time, Roger Ebert is a key figure in cinema history . His widely read reviews were poignant and incisive yet sometimes divisive and ever so entertaining; often, his opinion was the one that could decide the fate of a movie.

In the days before the internet, audiences looked to the newspapers for his take on the latest films. That was the magic of Ebert: bringing film criticism to the mainstream. From 1967 until his death in 2013, Ebert wrote for The Chicago Sun-Times and became the first critic to receive a Pulitzer Prize for his film criticism. Now, Ebert's opinion matters just as much, or perhaps even more than it did during his heyday. These movies are the best, in Ebert's not-so-humble opinion , and any dedicated cinephile would add his top ten to their watchlist .

"If I must make a list of the Ten Greatest Films of All Time, my first vow is to make the list for myself, not for anybody else." - Roger Ebert.

1 'Casablanca' (1942)

Director: michael curtiz.

Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund looking at each other in Casablanca

An iconic movie on multiple levels, Casablanc a features Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, a pair of former lovers reuniting in the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca. Fighting their lingering feelings, Rick must help Ilsa's husband, a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape so he can continue his fight against the Nazis during World War II.

Casablanca is not only a top-rated movie on Ebert's list but is currently number three on the American Film Institute's top 100 movies over 100 years. Ebert dotes upon the film, indicating, "Stylistically, the film is not so much brilliant as absolutely sound, rock-solid in its use of Hollywood studio craftsmanship." Casablanca earned its due as Best Picture in 1944 and has continued to be highly regarded by critics and cinephiles.

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2 'Citizen Kane' (1941)

Director: orson welles.

Charles Foster Kane giving a speech in Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is a movie that continues to age like fine wine, retaining its status as one of the best movies of all time, currently number one on AFI's list of the best American movies ever . Directed by Orson Welles , this movie tells the story of a group of reporters desperate to decode the final words of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane (Welles), infamously based on real-life magnate William Randolph Hearst.

In a wild original story of the Hollywood dream, Ebert wonderfully points out, "It is one of the miracles of cinema that in 1941 a first-time director; a cynical, hard-drinking writer; an innovative cinematographer, and a group of New York stage and radio actors were given the keys to a studio and total control, and made a masterpiece." Highly influential from nearly every technical and narrative perspective, Citizen Kane stands out as one of the greatest movies ever made , a timeless tale of all-consuming greed and the tragedy of the American Dream.

Citizen Kane

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3 'Floating Weeds' (1959)

Director: yasujirō ozu.

Sumiko looking intently off camera in Floating Weeds

An excellent international feature film, Floating Weeds flies mostly under the radar when it comes to mainstream attention. The 1959 drama tells the story of a man who returns to the small town where he left his son and attempts to make up for the missed years while the child remains under the assumption the man is his uncle.

Ebert recognized that many viewers had probably never seen or heard of the film or director Yasujirô Ozu . Speaking highly of this feature, Ebert said, " Ozu fashioned his style by himself and never changed it, and to see his films is to be inside a completely alternative cinematic language." Indeed, Floating Weeds is visually stunning , with highly contrasting colors painting a beautiful picture of what is, essentially, a tender tale of reconciliation and moving on .

4 'Gates of Heaven' (1978)

Director: errol morris.

A woman looking at a dog she's lifting in the documentary Gates of Heaven

Referring to director Errol Morris , Ebert said, "He has made a film about life and death, pride and shame, deception and betrayal, and the stubborn quirkiness of human nature." A renowned documentarian, Morris' oeuvre explores knowledge itself, concerned as much with the people possessing it as it is with the highly specific nature of expertise. His ticket to mainstream recognition was Gates of Heaven , a documentary about a pet mortician and the animals he's buried in a California pet cemetery.

No matter if it's a documentary or a feature film, sharp, story-driven movies always caught Ebert's eye . Gates of Heaven is a curious piece of filmmaking, walking a fine line between satire and heartfelt honesty. The result is a film about human nature itself and the power of some unexplained, unbreakable bonds. While it took a different direction than other narratives reviewed by the legendary critic, Gates of Heaven speaks to pet owners and their experiences .

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5 'La Dolce Vita' (1960)

Director: federico fellini.

Marcello and Sylvia about to kiss in 'La Dolce Vita'

An Oscar-winning Italian masterpiece, La Dolce Vita is a romanticized tale of a week's worth of stories for a tabloid journalist living in Rome. It secured one golden statute for Best Costume Design, yielded three other nominations, and now stands as one of its country's greatest cinematic achievements. The film stars Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg and is directed by Federico Fellini .

Like any good film study, Ebert's review and praise encourage viewers to look beyond the surface popularity or scandal of the film's release and understand what it's trying to say. As he discussed rewatching the film almost once a decade, Ebert explained how his vantage point in life shifted his view of the film, concluding, "There may be no such thing as the sweet life. But it is necessary to find that out for yourself." Filled with iconic imagery and thought-provoking themes, La Dolce Vita is a timeless and riveting film about life itself , which will surely mean something different for every person, depending on where and, most importantly, when they watch it.

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6 'Notorious' (1946)

Director: alfred hitchcock.

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as T. R. Devlin and Alicia Huberman about to kiss in the film Notorious

Adding another iconic director to the greatest of all time, Notorious was Alfred Hitchcock's ticket to Ebert's heart. A drama starring Hollywood royalty Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, the movie follows T.R. Devlin, who recruits the daughter of a convicted German criminal, Alicia, to act as a spy. When she becomes involved with a Nazi hiding in Brazil, their dangerous scheme threatens to slip out of their hands.

Notorious is among Hitchcock's greatest movies , a sleek and stylish spy noir elevated by the electrifying chemistry between Grant and Bergman. Ebert's review revels in Hitchcock's ability "to pluck the strings of human emotion—to play the audience." Among Hitchcock's large, famous filmography , Notorious stands out as one of his most alluring and purely rewatchable efforts, a masterclass in filmmaking that excels at nearly every conceivable level.

Notorious (1946)

7 'raging bull' (1980), director: martin scorsese.

A bruised Jake La Motta on the ring in the film Raging Bull.

The film that perhaps knocked Taxi Driver off Ebert's top ten list, Raging Bull is one of the best sports movies of all time and arguably the all-time best boxing picture. Starring as real-life boxer Jake La Motta , Robert De Niro portrays the middleweight champ's dominating, violent force inside the ring, which translated into a volatile and painful life outside of it.

Ebert commends the cinematic artwork led by director Martin Scorsese , from the black-and-white aesthetic choice to the overall production. An adaptation of La Motta's autobiography, Raging Bull earned eight Oscar nominations and two wins. It is now widely regarded as possibly Scorsese's finest, a grueling and emotionally violent portrayal of a complicated yet fascinating figure. Raging Bull is often a challenging watch , but De Niro's fierce, committed performance and Scorsese's assured direction make it a must-watch for any true cinephile.

Raging Bull

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull is a 1980 sports drama based on the rise and fall of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta as he strives for success while dealing with his inner demons and his violent temper. Robert De Niro stars as the middleweight champion, with Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, and Nicholas Colasanto in supporting roles.

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8 'The Third Man' (1949)

Director: carol reed.

A desperate man in an empty tunnel in the film The Third Man

One of IMDb's top-rated films , The Third Man is also within Ebert's choices. A gripping mystery and visually distinctive triumph, this film-noir tells the story of Holly Martins ( Joseph Cotten ) in postwar Vienna as he investigates the death of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles).

This cinematic masterpiece captured not only the heart of Ebert but new audiences for decades. In his review , Ebert details the physical cinematic experience he encountered when he saw the movie, capturing the importance of how the movie-going experience is still so important no matter where you are in the world. "This movie is on the altar of my love for the cinema," he said. Famous for its atmospheric and striking cinematography, The Third Man might just be the ultimate film noir and an engaging mystery that keeps enthralling nearly a century after its release.

The Third Man

9 '28 up' (1984), director: michael apted.

The three woemn sitting in a couch in the film 28 and Up.

Another documentary audiences may not be familiar with, 28 Up is a biographical piece in which director Michael Apted interviews the same group of British adults over several seven-year wait periods. With over two hours in runtime, it's a longer documentary but worth the watch to see the evolution of these subjects over almost 30 years.

28 Up is a prime example of how filmmaking can bridge time , according to his testimonial on the film. Apted's experiment was like nothing audiences or Ebert had seen at the time; indeed, it remains fascinating even today, a truly groundbreaking piece of filmmaking that challenges notions and expectations. Few films have the scope of 28 Up , a refreshing documentary that delivers something new with each rewatch.

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10 '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968)

Director: stanley kubrick.

An astronaut walking down a spaceship corridor in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Iconic, top-rated, foundational...all descriptors that apply to 2001: A Space Odyssey . Directed by Stanley Kubrick , this sci-fi film takes audiences through space and time as a spaceship, operated by two men and an AI computer named H.A.L 9000, is sent to Jupiter to understand a mysterious artifact.

The Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects, 2001: A Space Odyssey set the bar for where technology was headed in cinematic storytelling . Ebert referred to the film as "a landmark of non-narrative, poetic filmmaking, in which the connections were made by images, not dialog or plot." It's truly difficult to put 2001 's profound impact into words. Instead, the film should speak for itself, and it truly does; it's evocative, profoundly eerie, and thought-provoking, the very definition of a cinematic masterpiece.

2001: A Space Odyssey

NEXT: 9 Movies Roger Ebert Hated, But Audiences Loved

Roger Ebert

The 10 Most Famous Movie Critics of All Time

Their reviews influenced the minds of moviegoers as well as the box office

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Since the earliest days of cinema, movie critics have played a crucial role in filling seats (or not filling seats) at movie theaters. Countless movie reviews have been published over the decades, but only a select few film critics have become well-known for their work. The following famous movie critics have made a lasting mark on the film industry.

André Bazin

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

France's André Bazin was one of the earliest major film critics, having started his career in 1943. He was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine Cahiers du cinéma. More important than Bazin's reviews are his extensive writing on film theory, including essays on the importance of realism in cinema that are still widely read by film students.

Judith Crist

Judith Crist was one of the first female film critics to gain widespread recognition from her reviews in the New York Herald Tribune , New York magazine, and TV Guide , as well as her appearances on NBC's The Today Show throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. She was perhaps the first female film critic whose criticism was published widely outside of "female-focused" magazines.

Roger Ebert

Arguably the most famous U.S. film critic of all time, Roger Ebert reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for nearly fifty years. With former television partner Gene Siskel, Ebert popularized the basic "thumb's up" or "thumb's down" rating system. Because of his popularity in both print and on television, a review from Ebert could often make or break a movie's box office chances. He also started his own annual film festival, Ebertfest, which often highlights overlooked movies.

As famous as he was for thoughtful, in-depth film criticism, Ebert is also remembered for his savage and often hilarious negative reviews. His review of the 1994 movie North became famous for its vicious prose, including the lines, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it."

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Pauline Kael began her career as a film critic when the editor of a San Francisco magazine overheard her talking about films with a friend in a coffee shop and offered her a job.

Later as a critic for women's magazine McCall's , Kael became famous for her in-depth analysis, as well as for weaving her personal life and experiences into her reviews. She is also known for giving negative reviews to movies that were otherwise popular favorites, such as her extremely negative assessments of It's a Wonderful Life and The Sound of Music .

In 1968, Kael became a film critic for The New Yorker , where she regularly championed films that other critics ignored or dismissed. She also gained notoriety for her since-discredited 1971 essay Raising Kane that alleged that Orson Welles wrote very little of the Citizen Kane screenplay.

Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin began his career as a movie critic before he even graduated high school. Published regularly from 1969 to 2014, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide was one of the most popular film reference guides, containing Martin's short reviews of hundreds of movies. He was also the film critic for the television show Entertainment Tonight for 28 years.

Maltin has since become one of the go-to critics for projects relating to the history of American cinema. He has hosted a variety of television programs about the history of movies.

Andrew Sarris

Longtime Village Voice film critic Andrew Sarris was a strong proponent of the "auteur theory" of cinema, which gives credit to a film's director as its primary author.

Sarris was also known for his book The American Cinema , which ranked filmmakers by their output and generated endless debate among film fans. Sarris was married to fellow Village Voice film critic Molly Haskell.

Gene Shalit

Best known for his unique look—bushy hair, mustache, and ever-present bow-tie—Gene Shalit wrote for a variety of publications before becoming the film critic for NBC's The Today Show , a role he held for 40 years (1970–2010).

Shalit was also a comedy writer who integrated puns into many of his reviews ("When it comes to oddball titles, The Men Who Stare at Goats would be hard to bleat!"). Shalit's puns, physical appearance, and overall jovial attitude have made him a popular subject of fond parody, even after he stepped out of the public eye.

Peter Travers

Longtime Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers is one of the most popular film critics of all timeespecially to Hollywood's publicity and marketing departments.

Travers has a tendency to lavish high praise on many films, which means his words are very frequently quoted on publicity materials like posters, trailers, and advertisements.

That doesn't mean Travers gives everything he sees a good review. He has written eviscerating reviews about otherwise very popular movies like A River Runs Through It , Barbershop and Jackass: Number Two . But if you do see a few quotes on a movie poster or television commercial, there's a good chance one of them originated from Travers.

François Truffaut

Unlike most film critics, France's François Truffaut didn't just review movies—he also made them. After a few years of writing famously tough reviews in the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma in the 1950s, Truffaut put his money where his mouth was and began directing movies, starting with 1959's The 400 Blows . Truffaut proved he knew what he was talking about when The 400 Blows won him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. His 1973 film, Day for Night , won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film .

As a critic, Truffaut is best known for developing the "auteur theory" of cinema. He used Alfred Hitchcock, with whom he published a book-long interview, as an example of an auteur.

Armond White

Armond White has written movie reviews for a variety of publications, including the New York Press and National Review . But rather than famous, many would refer to him as "infamous."

White is best known for giving negative reviews to otherwise nearly universally-acclaimed movies like Incredibles 2 , Get Out , Black Panther , Toy Story 3 , The Shape of Water , and The Florida Project . He is also known for giving positive reviews to otherwise negatively-received films, like The 15:17 to Paris , Justice League , and Transformers: The Last Knight . He has been labeled everything from a "contrarian" to a "troll," with many film fans calling for him to be removed as a Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes.

Yet White's against-the-grain criticism is often valuable, as it inspires thoughtful consideration of what makes his views so different from his fellow critics and moviegoers.

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The Best Movie Review YouTubers

Can't decide what to watch? Here are the best movie review YouTube channels. From new movies playing in theaters to classic films, these popular YouTube movie reviewers praise the best films and trash the worst movies of all time . What are the best movie review channels on YouTube?

When ranking the best movie review YouTubers, AngryJoeShow, Jeremy Jahns, and Chris Stuckmann are definitely in the top ten. If you're looking for funny movie reviews , trailer reactions, and film recommendations, check out theres other good YouTube film critics, like CinemaSins , RedLetterMedia, YourMovieSucksDOTorg, kermodeandmayo, and Beyond The Trailer.

Vote up the best movie reviewers on YouTube, and add your favorite film review YouTube channels missing from this list.

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‘The Deliverance’ Review: Lee Daniels Directs a Demonic-Possession Movie in Which the Real Demons Are Personal (and Flamboyant)

Andra Day plays a tormented and abusive single mother fighting the devil in herself. Then the real one shows up.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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The Deliverance. Andra Day as Ebony in The Deliverance. Cr. Aaron Ricketts/Netflix © 2024

As a filmmaker, Lee Daniels tends to get slagged off on for being flamboyantly garish and over-the-top. Some of that is deserved, but the truth is that when he’s cooking on all cylinders Daniels is a gifted filmmaker. “ The Deliverance ” is the sixth feature he has directed, and I’ve been a fan of three of them: “Precious” (2009), his extraordinary tale of a stunted inner-city teenager’s escape from her domestic hell; “The Paperboy” (2012), a bold and unnerving Southern gothic noir; and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (2021), a musical-political biopic that, while flawed, did a superb job of channeling its subject’s complicated ferocity.

Reviewed online, Aug. 15, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 112 MIN.

Production: A Netflix release of a Tucker Tooley Entertainment, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Turn Left production. Producers: Lee Daniels, Tucker Tooley, Pamela Oas Williams, Jackson Nguyen, Todd Crites. Executive producers: Jackie Shenoo, Hilary Shor, Greg Renker, Gregoire Gensollen.
Crew: Director: Lee Daniels. Screenplay: David Coggeshall, Elijah Bynum. Camera: Eli Arenson. Editor: Stan Salfas. Music: Lucas Vidal.
With: Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Anthony B. Jenkins, Miss Lawrence, Demi Singleton, Tasha Smith, Omar Epps, Caleb McLaughlin.

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The Instigators review: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck pair up in the latest movie made for your dad

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck sit in the front two seats of a car.

For a streaming service associated with the bleeding edge of tech, Apple TV+ has grown surprisingly nostalgic in its curation.

Much of its recent slate feels like a throwback to the 90s heyday of mid-budget cinema, encompassing a booze-soaked postmodern noir (Sugar), a legal thriller based on an 80s paperback (Presumed Innocent), and the latest releases from Ridley Scott ( Napoleon ) and Martin Scorsese ( Killers of the Flower Moon ).

In short: Apple TV+ now specialises in content for your dad.

With its heist-gone-wrong premise and a feast of meaty character actors, The Instigators is the streamer's latest bid at reverse-engineering the kind of late-night TV movie best enjoyed in one's favourite armchair with a beer in hand.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck return to their Boston roots as Rory and Cobby, two fumbling, good-natured crooks roped into a high-stakes election night heist. Neither character exists beyond their broad strokes; Rory's ex-marine and absent father needs a payout to make things up to his kid, while Cobby's an alcoholic criminal on parole with a self-destructive streak. At least both leads appreciably inject a sagging, mid-life misery into their thinly sketched characters.

The job itself – a swift retrieval of cash from a poorly-guarded safe – could hardly be more simple, yet manages to get bungled at every turn. Throw in an aggressive idiot with a gun (a surprise turn by Jack Harlow, Gen Z's premier white boy rapper), a crooked mayor (played by Ron Perlman in a red tie) with secrets stashed away, and the two low-level criminals quickly find themselves stumbling into a city-wide manhunt.

Jack Harlow sits on a couch surrounded by three men.

The film quickly blitzes through this set-up, as if it's terrified you'll start scrolling on your phone. Characters and motivations are introduced with the passionless efficacy of a roll call, squandering the joys of spending time with a top-shelf supporting cast that includes Michael Stuhlbarg and Alfred Molina as the masterminds of the operation. Ving Rhames' fedora-wearing special agent is introduced as a mysterious figure emerging from the shadows, the film lightly insinuating that Luther has been air-dropped in from Mission: Impossible.

The Instigators eventually finds its footing as a frothy chase movie. With both sides of the law closing in, as well as the ticking timer of a gunshot wound, Rory has nowhere to turn but the office of his therapist Donna (Hong Chau; The Whale ). Chau dials back the sinister overtones of recent performances (including last month's Kinds of Kindness ), but preserves her placid, not-quite-deadpan intonation – an essential counterbalance to the incessant bickering between the leads.

Matt Damon and Hong Chau talk next to a yellow car.

In a film stuffed with bozos, Donna's intelligence becomes a running joke. The biggest laughs come from her transition from lawful neutral to chaotic good, whether she's negotiating her own hostage situation or playing rock-paper-scissors with competing factions of criminals and enforcers.

The screenplay (by Affleck and Chuck Maclean) may be funny enough to buoy its bog-standard crime drama, but the surrounding film is too hastily stitched together to generate any kind of momentum. Dialogue scenes are regularly marred by wonky shot compositions and stammered editing; the few action beats are barely more exciting, even when a horde of police cars bear down on Rory and Cobby. Curiously absent is the slick kineticism that director Doug Liman flexed several months ago in his Road House remake.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck wear worksuits and beanies in this heist scene.

Between The Instigators and the upcoming Wolves, which stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, Apple TV+ seems to be specifically heisting the cast of Ocean's Eleven.

But the intervening decades have undeniably eroded the Ocean's gang's lustre. Damon still occupies a niche in prestige dramas, but no longer retains the thrilling versatility that saw him morph into Will Hunting, Private Ryan, Tom Ripley and Jason Bourne. Few people can name a George Clooney movie from the last decade. Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt have enjoyed recent Oscar wins, but face troubling allegations .

Even at a breezy 100 minutes, The Instigators can't outrun the march of time; the dad movie is in desperate need of a fresh start.

The Instigators is streaming on Apple TV+ now.

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‘The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe’ Review: Humongously Bad

A mix of too much lousy animation and too little wave-riding footage.

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Two animated doll-figures, one at left with brown hair and one at right with blond hair, are walking alongside a unicorn.

By Glenn Kenny

Jeff Spicoli, the surfing-obsessed truant portrayed memorably by Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982), may have been an airhead, but he had a vocabulary. Things he enjoyed were “gnarly” or “humongous.”

Today’s real-life surf luminaries don’t speak so colorfully. In “The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe,” a spectacularly inane comedy, the Association of Surfing Professionals champion Mick Fanning enthuses to an amnesiac colleague: “We used to travel the entire world together having adventures in the ocean and stuff.” Fanning’s voice does the enthusing, we should specify. For most of the picture he is portrayed by an animated doll.

In Fanning’s defense, the script is by one of the co-directors, Nick Pollet, whose partner is Vaughn Blakley. The two have a background in surf documentary, but most of this movie is not that. Rather, the dolls — with minimally articulated limbs — are made to embody Fanning and a few other real-life surf stars.

These figures (the animation makes the puppetry of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s “Team America: World Police” look like “Fantastic Mr. Fox”) enact an asinine story of how a vaccine eradicated all memory of surfing, and a mission to bring the activity back. The line “Ten years ago a sport existed, it was called surfing, and you dominated it” — emphasized with an expletive — is repeated more times than anyone would be amused to hear it.

With each new surfer discovered — at a reunion whose purpose is, in fact, to make the title film — we see a couple of minutes of actual surf footage. The climax of the movie features the dolls, many of them with faces smeared with brown goo, fighting each other with sex toys. After this, it looks as if a longer segment of surfing is in store. One’s relief then is palpable. But brief. The doll nonsense soon resumes, and then, mercifully, come the end credits.

The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this review misspelled the surname of the writer and co-director of the movie. He is Nick Pollet, not Pollett.

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Hollywood reporter critics pick the best films of 2022.

A tragicomic Irish fable about male solitude, a twisty South Korean neo-noir, a tempestuous study in abuse of power, a dreamy cannibal romance and a quietly searing remembrance of father-daughter time are among the year’s standouts.

By David Rooney , Jon Frosch , Lovia Gyarkye , Sheri Linden December 16, 2022 6:15am

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From left: 'The Inspection,' 'Armageddon Time,' 'Bones and All,' 'The Banshees of Inisherin,' 'Decision to Leave'

Jon Frosch’s Top 10

1. Tár 2. One Fine Morning 3. Armageddon Time 4. The Cathedral 5. Happening 6. Bones and All 7. The Inspection 8. Saint Omer 9. Benediction 10. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Lovia Gyarkye’s Top 10

1. Saint Omer 2. Lingui, the Sacred Bonds 3. Aftersun 4. Everything Everywhere All at Once 5. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 6. The Eternal Daughter 7. Free Chol Soo Lee 8. Decision to Leave 9. Riotsville, USA 10. Tár

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): Anaïs in Love ; Descendant ; Funny Pages ; The Inspection ; Katrina Babies ; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On ; The Menu ; Return to Seoul ; Smile ; Soft & Quiet

Sheri Linden’s Top 10

1. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2. EO 3. Tár 4. The Cathedral 5. Murina 6. Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues 7. The Eternal Daughter 8. Aftersun 9. Armageddon Time 10. Dos Estaciones

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): All That Breathes ; The Banshees of Inisherin ; Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio ; Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power ; One Fine Morning ; The Quiet Girl ; Return to Seoul ; Three Minutes: A Lengthening ; Till ; Women Talking

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The union review: mark wahlberg & halle berry's netflix movie is a far better rom-com than actioner.

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The Union Bizarrely Repeats The Same Kissing Mistake That Another 2024 Blockbuster Made

The union ending explained, the union cast & character guide.

The Union falls short compared to other spy genre films, despite Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry's excellent chemistry.
The plot is preposterous, and the action lacks intensity, making the film feel mediocre.
Despite a strong cast, the movie's simple story, underwhelming action, and lack of surprises disappoint.

Though typically a launchpad for action sequences and globe-trotting adventures, the spy genre can sometimes be used for comedic or even romantic stories. Some of the more notable examples include the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz-led Knight and Day , Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon's This Means War and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Mr. & Mrs. Smith . Unfortunately for The Union , it never quite reaches the same height as some of its genre counterparts, despite some stellar chemistry between its leads.

The Union (2024)

Led by Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, The Union primarily centers around Mike McKenna, a New Jersey construction worker who is surprised by the sudden return of his high school sweetheart, Roxanne Hall, only to quickly discover she works for the titular spy agency and is needed to help with a mission to recover a list with the true identities of undercover agents across the world. As Mike is thrown into the deep end with training to prepare for the mission, he and Roxanne confront their past relationship as they grow close again.

The Union's Plot Is Preposterous

Despite its best efforts to convince us it's smart, it's actually mind-numbingly simple.

As filmmakers look to bring subversive new takes to the spy genre, every non-franchise movie finds a way to introduce some new form of a covert agency to viewers with their own explanations for how they exist beyond public knowledge. The Kingsman franchise (of which Berry is actually a part of) is one of the more notable recent examples of one that actually works, with the concept of a collection of wealthy British nobles gathering their resources to fund espionage missions being somewhat believable.

Though the script poses the idea their effectiveness comes from them being invisible to the public, it's still not established why the fate of the world is being left in their hands.

With The Union , co-writers David Guggenheim ( Designated Survivor ) and Joe Barton ( The Lazarus Project ) try to come up with their own system for the titular agency being comprised of former blue-collar workers. While some characters' backstories are left to our imaginations, others are far more bluntly laid out with their agency codenames, including Jackie Earle Haley's Foreman, so named because he used to be one. Rather than feeling like a clever take on the genre, though, it frequently becomes preposterous as the movie goes on.

Roxanne and Mike make jokes regarding what the pay is for members of the organization, indicating they make the same minimum wage as actual union jobs. It begs the question of how they actually get their funding. Even further baffling is that the CIA is willing to work with The Union, given the majority have no prior military experience and are considered the underdogs of the spy world. Though the script poses the idea their effectiveness comes from them being invisible to the public, it's still not established why the fate of the world is being left in their hands.

The Union's Action Never Goes Far Enough

Despite multiple stars with plenty of genre experience, the action feels adequate at best.

One of the other major disappointments of The Union is that the action in the movie feels relatively tame. With multiple A-list stars attached to the cast, it's clear that Netflix was willing to shell out a large amount of money to produce the film, and yet it never feels like it wants to take too many risks with its set pieces. There are plenty of shootouts throughout the movie, though the direction and editing of them is largely choppy and rushed, a far cry from the more thrilling ones seen in the John Wick franchise .

The Union 's action isn't outright bad; as it's fairly competently put together.

Even worse is the fact that The Union has very few hand-to-hand fight sequences, despite having multiple genre veterans in the cast. Berry ultimately gets the majority of these scenes, and it's clear, in a good way, that she is doing all the stuntwork herself, as the fights are nicely choreographed and hard-hitting. But with Wahlberg also known as an action star, and the supporting cast — including Suicide Squad 's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Luke Cage 's Mike Colter — it's a missed opportunity they don't get more brawling sequences.

The Union 's action isn't outright bad; it's fairly competently put together. Beyond the occasional aforementioned choppy editing, director Julian Farino, better known for his work on Wahlberg's Entourage and HBO's Ballers , shows an adequate grip on shooting for the genre, with a climactic three-car chase sequence actually proving fairly thrilling. But even with some of Wahlberg's worst action movies delivering some exciting set pieces, it's disappointing The Union doesn't go further.

Wahlberg & Berry's Chemistry Nearly Keeps The Union Afloat

The real-life longtime friends play off each other well and make for a believable pairing.

In spite of the movie's narrative and action shortcomings, it's hard to deny that The Union does have some entertainment value thanks to the pairing of Wahlberg and Berry. Interestingly, while the movie marks the first onscreen pairing for the actors, they actually have a friendship going back 30 years. It's a fact that's sweetly highlighted in the movie's end credits with photos showing them not only in their respective teenage years, but also when they first met in the early days of their rising careers.

This friendship ultimately results in some very electric chemistry between Wahlberg and Berry as The Union progresses . The former may play another laid-back northeast man who gets by in life with frequent quips, but the latter acts as a great screen partner to Wahlberg, quick with a retort to his various jokes. Even as the stakes get high, and the duo get serious about some of the missteps in their past relationship, the emotions feel real between the two, and we remain intrigued by whether they end up together in the end.

Despite their best efforts, though, Wahlberg and Berry's chemistry is never quite enough to fully lift The Union from being another mediocre Netflix action offering. The story is both far too simple and predictable, the worldbuilding isn't thought out enough to be believable, and the action isn't so exciting as to fully turn one's brain off and enjoy the decently paced journey.

The Union is now streaming on Netflix. The film is 107 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, suggestive material and some strong language

The Union (2024) - Poster - Mark Wahlberg

The Union is an upcoming film that explores the intersecting lives of multiple characters as they navigate complex relationships, personal struggles, and social issues.

Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry have fantastic chemistry throughout the film.
The action is mostly well put-together.
The story is mind-numbingly simple and preposterous.
Some of the supporting cast give underwhelming performances.
The action never feels big enough for what's clearly a big-budget movie.

More From Forbes

Netflix’s best new movie arrives with a perfect 100% critic score.

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This is going to be one that slides under the radar, despite a perfect 100% score from critics, but Netflix has a new best movie at the moment, one that is not appearing on the top 10, likely given its subject matter and a lack of awareness about it.

That movie is Daughters, a documentary focused on the Date with Dad program, where daughters come to prison to see their fathers and it’s more than just a visitation, it’s a little party in an era when many prisons have stopped in-person visit altogether in favor of video or phone calls, at best.

Daughters was released on August 14, and has racked up 43 reviews, a lot more than some Netflix original movies get, and has maintained a Certified Fresh, perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.

This being not well-watched may have something to do with Netflix’s recommendation algorithm. It took about five scrolls on Netflix’s “New” section to find it, and of course Netflix doesn’t show critic scores, so there’s nothing to indicate how good it is. And I suppose most people’s recommendation algorithm does not circle to “documentaries about daughters visiting their fathers in prison.”

The Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,000: Boost Your Games For Less

It’s not a purely feel-good story. The daughters often have complicated reactions to their fathers and the film does not shy away from that. While it’s a documentary, not a fun blockbuster to watch on the weekend, it very much seems worth watching. Right now, the full top 10 movie list, where Daughters has not been found after three days is:

The Emoji Movie
Night School
Trolls: Band Together
Saving Bikini Bottom
Inside the Mind of a Dog
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

So yes, a lot more mainstream competition there, but maybe shining a light on Daughters like this may make it more watched. If it really is this good, we might expect even an Oscar nomination in the documentary category later this year, but we’ll see, it’s a bit early yet to know that. And yet with several dozen reviews in, we rarely see perfect scores like this.

When I get time this weekend or next week, I will definitely be giving it a watch based on the praise it’s getting, and even though Netflix does not appear to want to market it to me directly. Which is too bad, as it seems like it deserves better.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .

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Metacritic offers aggregated movie reviews from the top critics, and our own METASCORE pinpoints at a glance how each movie was reviewed. X. Games Explore Games BEST GAMES OF 2024 SO FAR ... We rank the 15 best-reviewed movies starring Hugh Jackman. movie; The Best Movies of 2024 So Far
300 Best Movies of All Time
300 Best Movies of All Time. Welcome to the 300 highest-rated best movies of all time, as reviewed and selected by Tomatometer-approved critics and Rotten Tomatoes users. 1. 99% L.A. Confidential (1997) 2. 97% The Godfather (1972) 3. 99% Casablanca (1942) 4.
Reviews
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Best Movies of All Time
Metascore. 4. The Leopard (re-release) Aug 13, 2004 • Rated PG. Set in Sicily in 1860, Luchino Visconti's spectacular 1963 adaptation of Giuseppe di Lampedusa's international bestseller is one of the cinema's greatest evocations of the past, achingly depicting the passing of an ancient order.
8 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week
Whether you're a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about. By The New York Times The newest entry in this sci-fi horror franchise, this one ...
Alien: Romulus review: This 'clever, gripping and sometimes awe ...
Since the first two films in the 1980s, the sci-fi horror series has been a very mixed bag. But this latest gets back to basics, and makes for a superbly scary monster movie.
Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the Best Films of 2021
By David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Lovia Gyarkye, Sheri Linden. December 14, 2021 6:45am. Clockwise from left: 'Drive My Car,' 'West Side Story,' 'The Power of the Dog,' 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' and ...
The 30+ Best Movie Review YouTube Channels, Ranked
When ranking the best movie review YouTubers, AngryJoeShow, Jeremy Jahns, and Chris Stuckmann are definitely in the top ten. If you're looking for funny movie reviews, trailer reactions, and film recommendations, check out theres other good YouTube film critics, like CinemaSins, RedLetterMedia, YourMovieSucksDOTorg, kermodeandmayo, and Beyond ...
Best Movies 2021
Best Movies 2021. The Best Movies category awards the best-reviewed film regardless of their release, whether they went straight to streaming or swung onto the silver screen. Spider-Man: No Way Home became the mega-cultural event that would entice moviegoers back into theaters, and it lived up to the hype for critics, as well.
IMDb: Ratings, Reviews, and Where to Watch the Best Movies & TV Shows
IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers.
List of film critics
Richard Crouse. Bosley Crowther ( The New York Times) Mike D'Angelo ( Esquire) Manohla Dargis ( The New York Times) David Denby ( The New Yorker) Alonso Duralde ( The Wrap) Roger Ebert ( Chicago Sun-Times, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper) David Edelstein ( New York Magazine, NPR 's Fresh Air, CBS Sunday Morning) Glenn Erickson ( Online Film ...
'The Deliverance': In Lee Daniels' Movie, the Demons Are Personal
Andra Day plays a tormented and abusive single mother fighting the devil in herself. Then the real one shows up. As a filmmaker, Lee Daniels tends to get slagged off on for being flamboyantly ...
'Jackpot!' Review: Awkwafina and John Cena Star in Near-Future Comedy
Streaming Guides: If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don't despair — we put together the best offerings on Netflix, Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime and Hulu to make choosing your next ...
Rotten Tomatoes: Movies
Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets
The Best Movies of 2021 Ranked by Tomatometer
Ma Belle, My Beauty76%. #226. Critics Consensus: Flawed but ultimately compelling, Ma Belle, My Beauty uses the aftermath of a polyamorous relationship to explore the intersections of love and ambition. Synopsis: Lane, Bertie and Fred once shared a polyamorous relationship in New Orleans. Lane loved Bertie, Fred loved Bertie, they had...
The Instigators review: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck pair up in the
Starring: Matt Damon, Hong Chau and Casey Affleck. When: Streaming on Apple TV+ now. Likely to make you feel: Like the dad movie needs a refresh. Much of its recent slate feels like a throwback to ...
'The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe' Review: Humongously Bad
In "The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe," a spectacularly inane comedy, the Association of Surfing Professionals champion Mick Fanning enthuses to an amnesiac colleague: "We used to ...
The Best Films of 2022
Armageddon Time. 10. Dos Estaciones. Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): All That Breathes; The Banshees of Inisherin; Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio; Lowndes County and the Road to ...
The Union Review: Mark Wahlberg & Halle Berry's Netflix Movie Is A Far
The Union falls short compared to other spy genre films, despite Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry's excellent chemistry.; The plot is preposterous, and the action lacks intensity, making the film feel mediocre. Despite a strong cast, the movie's simple story, underwhelming action, and lack of surprises disappoint.
Netflix's Best New Movie Arrives With A Perfect 100% Critic Score
Daughters was released on August 14, and has racked up 43 reviews, a lot more than some Netflix original movies get, and has maintained a Certified Fresh, perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.