criticism news roundup

Tom Roston at Moviefone wonders “Do Movie Critics Still Matter?” when non-pro “critics” can disseminate their “reviews” far and wide, and don’t have to adhere to the embargoes pros do.

Josh Tyler at CinemaBlend.com believes that the “New Poster for The Road Advertises Rolling Stone,” emphasizing one review over the movie itself.

Mark Asch at The L Magazine comes out “In Praise of James Agee” for almost singlehandedly inventing film criticism.

Christopher Beam at Slate answers the question “‘[Best] Film Ever!!!’ How Do Movie Blurbs Work?” by focusing on how studios cherry-pick quotes.

OFCSer Matthew Sorrento at FilmThreat interviews Bright Lights Film Journal editor Gary Morris, who loves the film blogosphere.

Roger Ebert decides that it’s “about time to share some of [his] thoughts about television and movie critics,” and he pulls no punches.

classics update

Classic films our members are watching:

Nathan Shumate reviews Sting of Death (1966) and Jungle Holocaust (1977)

Kevin Laforest reviews Dogville (2003)

international update

What our members outside North America are watching:

U.K.
Ali Gray reviews Bunny and the Bull
Rich Cline reviews Nativity! and Bunny and the Bull

Greece
Joseph Proimakis reviews Micmacs a Tire-Larigot [review in Greek]

Spain
MalaBesta reviews Planet 51 [review in Spanish]

Survey Says: OFCS members choose their favorite Thanksgiving-themed film

By a narrow margin, the members of the Online Film Critics Society have voted Planes, Trains and Automobiles -- John Hughes’s 1987 comedy starring Steve Martin and John Candy -- their favorite Thanksgiving-themed film.

A close second in the voting was Woody Allen’s 1986 dramedy, Hannah and Her Sisters, which opens on one family holiday dinner and culminates in another a year later.

A distant third was the 2003 indie dramedy Pieces of April, written and directed by Peter Hedges and starring Katie Holmes as an outcast daughter who invites her family for turkey dinner. The film is available to watch for free this holiday weekend at Hulu (viewable only by those in the U.S.):



Tied for fourth were Home for the Holidays (1995; dir. Jodie Foster) and The Ice Storm (1997; dir. Ang Lee).

the OFCS welcomes new member Roderick Heath

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Roderick Heath has been granted membership in the organization. Heath’s reviews appear at Ferdy on Films, etc..

Heath says:

My desire in film criticism has always been to celebrate the cinema in its diversity, to explore the pleasures and mystique of good movies, and to tackle the cultural resonance of film as both an art form and a vehicle of entertainment. I love to look for signs of creativity and commitment in even the most demeaned genres, and dig as deeply as I can into the meaning of cinema’s most important works and the methods of their creators.

The OFCS welcomes Heath as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Ali Gray

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Ali Gray has been granted membership in the organization. Gray’s reviews appear at TheShiznit.co.uk.

Gray says:

I've been writing about cinema for several years now, and TheShiznit.co.uk has existed in some form or another since 2004, but it's only recently that it's taken off and I've found likeminded writers - like those in the OFCS - to share it with. The site's M/O is pretty loose, with regular news, reviews, editorial pieces and list-type features - but everything is written from a personal point of view. I kid myself we like to write about serious film, but really, we tend to be distracted by big, shiny movies - and I suspect that's the way our readers like it too.

The OFCS welcomes Gray as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Andrew Schenker

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Andrew Schenker has been granted membership in the organization. Schenker’s reviews appear at The House Next Door, Slant Magazine, The L Magazine, and The Cine File.

The OFCS welcomes Schenker as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Edward Howard

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Edward Howard has been granted membership in the organization. Howard’s reviews appear at Only the Cinema and The House Next Door.

Howard says:

I'm a critic who writes about music, comics and movies, currently focusing mostly on film. I try to approach film from a variety of angles, and write about a wide spectrum of cinema, including foreign and independent film, avant-garde film, and classics. One of the most important values I try to maintain in my film writing is avoiding the constant emphasis on "the now," the pressure to always write about every new film that comes out, often at the expense of deeper discourse. Instead, I try to just write about whatever interests me at any given moment. I look forward to being a member of OFCS and interacting with more of my fellow film writers.

The OFCS welcomes Howard as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Mark H. Harris

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Mark H. Harris has been granted membership in the organization. Harris’s reviews appear at About.com: Horror & Suspense Movies and BlackHorrorMovies.com.

Harris says:

I shall strive to maintain the highest level of quality and professionalism possible -- or at least as much as horror movies will allow. I've been critiquing horror movies for a couple of decades but only in the past few years have I discovered that I can make some semblance of a living off of what I would do for free. God bless the Internet! I hope that the OFCS will open doors for me and lend some respectability to the nonsense that I write.

The OFCS welcomes Harris as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Kim Voynar

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Kim Voynar has been granted membership in the organization. Voynar’s reviews appear at MCN and Film Essent.

Voynar says:

After working for Cinematical since a month or so after its inception, I transitioned over to Movie City News in October 2008. I enjoy films of most genres, though I'm admittedly not crazy about cheesy rom-coms and I've only recently begun warming up to horror with a little hand-holding and guidance from horror-buff friends. I particularly enjoy foreign and independent fare, which is a good thing because I spend a good deal of time on the fest circuit. Lately, I have a serious fetish for the Danes.

I hope to be an active participant in OFCS and to serve the organization in whatever way my skills, such as they are, may be of use. When actual skills aren't needed, I'm always on hand to offer pithy remarks or scintillating conversation.

The OFCS welcomes Voynar as a member.

opening in North America 13 November 2009

Click film titles for OFCS member reviews:

2012
Pirate Radio
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Messenger
Women in Trouble
The End of Poverty?
Uncertainty
Dare
Oh My God
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
Four Seasons Lodge
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
The Good Soldier
The Hand of Fatima
Love Hurts

the OFCS welcomes new member Matthew Aeldun Smith

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Matthew Aeldun Smith has been granted membership in the organization. Smith’s reviews appear at One Film Beyond.

Smith says:

I began One Film Beyond in June 2008 after the prompting of friends and colleagues to create a site expressing my fascination with movies. I hope folks particularly enjoy the weekly “One Film Wonder” entries.

Favorite films are always in flux but The Third Man, Ikiru, and The Road Warrior are never far from the top. I look forward to the dialogue and feedback from the OFCS membership.

The OFCS welcomes Smith as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member John McCarthy

The OFCS is delighted to announce that John McCarthy has been granted membership in the organization. McCarthy’s reviews appear at Boxoffice, ReelTalk, Catholic Digest, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and and Mini Movie Reviews.

McCarthy says:

I have been writing full-time about film, television and media since 1991. I have written for or been on staff at Daily Variety, TV Guide, Saturday Review, The Motion Picture Guide, America, Catholic Digest, The Museum of Television & Radio (Paley Center), The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, and The British Journal of Aesthetics. Since 1999, I have been the editor of Cineman Syndicate, a service that provides newspapers and online outlets with movie and DVD reviews. In addition, I am a regular contributor to Boxoffice, ReelTalk Movie Reviews, Catholic News Service and am the media correspondent for Catholic Digest. I look forward to being an active member of the Society.

The OFCS welcomes McCarthy as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Tyler Foster

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Tyler Foster has been granted membership in the organization. Foster’s reviews appear at DVD Talk, Boxoffice, and The Following Preview.

Foster says:

I have been interested in movies since junior high, but it wasn't until high school that I took a journalism class and decided I liked writing about film. I ended up as the Arts & Entertainment Editor of my high school (Kentwood Invictus) and college papers (Green River Current) for a combined 5 years before my editor at the time told me that I should only cover local material. I moved to the campus radio station The Pulse 1330 and co-hosted a weekly program called Bullet Time for a year before the radio station closed down and I had to leave school for financial reasons. After three or four years away from film writing, I was accepted to the DVDTalk review panel in February (where I write DVD and theatrical reviews) and the Boxoffice.com staff in August (where I write features, reviews and daily news updates), and I run The Following Preview, where updates are sporadic now that I write for Boxoffice. I often read other critics and wonder if my writing will ever be as good as theirs, but in the meantime, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

The OFCS welcomes Foster as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member Marilyn Ferdinand

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Marilyn Ferdinand has been granted membership in the organization. Ferdinand’s reviews appear at Ferdy on Films, etc. and The Beachwood Reporter.

Ferdinand says:

Along with my blog partner, Roderick Heath, I maintain Ferdy on Films, etc., a film review and commentary blog dedicated to reviewing films from every corner of the globe, from silents to today's hottest films. My goals as a film critic are to be accurate, engaging, informative, and ecumenical. I like to shine a light on those "offroad" films that may be overlooked, and I increasingly cover film festivals with complete reviews. I hope my membership in OFCS will help me better my knowledge of film history and criticism, expose me to cinema in other countries I might not have access to, and provide collegial support in the development of my skills and site.

The OFCS welcomes Ferdinand as a member.

the OFCS welcomes new member William Goss

The OFCS is delighted to announce that William Goss has been granted membership in the organization. Goss’s reviews appear at eFilmCritic, Cinematical, Orlando Weekly, and Pajiba.

Goss says:

I'm relatively new to this game, having covered film steadily since 2005. I'm a fan of most any genre, or at least I'd like to think so, and, well, since we're being honest here and all, I must confess to never taking much of a liking to popcorn. I know, weird, right?

I hope that my membership in the OFCS adds credibility to my work, and that it may help me earn both the respect of colleagues and the interest of potential employers alike in this ever-changing industry of ours.

I look forward to being part of this esteemed body.

The OFCS welcomes Goss as a member.

the OFCS welcomes member Nathan Shumate

The OFCS is delighted to announce that Nathan Shumate, a former member, has been granted readmission into the organization. Shumate’s reviews appear at Cold Fusion Video Reviews.

Shumate says:

The subtitle of my site is "Sci-fi, Horror, and General Whoopass." What I cover falls largely under the heading "genre cinema," though I don't always color within those lines. I also lean more toward the seldom-seen and under-reviewed instead of those movies for which you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a review. I look forward to being a charming gadfly in the OFCS, consistently demolishing the definition of "canon." And "worthwhile," for that matter.

The OFCS welcomes Shumate back as a member.

opening in North America 06 November 2009

Click film titles for OFCS member reviews:

Disney's A Christmas Carol
Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire
The Fourth Kind
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Box
Splinterheads
That Evening Sun
Endgame
Collapse
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
You Cannot Start Without Me: Valery Gergiev - Maestro

OFCS 2009 awards schedule and categories

The Online Film Critics Society 2009 awards will operate on the following schedule:

December 23-30, 2009: first round of voting
December 31, 2009: nominees announced
January 2-5, 2010: final voting
January 6, 2010: winners announced

OFCS members will vote in the following categories:

Picture
Director
Actor
Actress
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actress
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Documentary
Animated Feature
Picture Not in the English Language
Cinematography
Original Score
Editing