// JavaScript Document
question = new Array
question[0]="To the public at large, what purpose does a professional film critic serve?"
question[1]="What is your process in approaching a review?"
question[2]="What was your first published review?"
question[3]="What's the most common question you're asked when someone discovers you're a film critic? "
question[4]="Are movies better because of film critics?"
question[5]="Do you like to discuss a movie with other critics immediately after a screening or before writing a review?"
question[6]="Do you like to discuss a movie with other critics immediately after a screening or before writing a review?"
question[7]="Do you like to discuss a movie with other critics immediately after a screening or before writing a review?"
question[8]="If I weren't a film critic, I'd be a…"
question[9]="In the age of digital media and blogging, where is film criticism going and where should it go?"
question[10]="Is there a genre or era you have a particular affinity for?"
question[11]="Is there a genre or era you have a particular affinity for?"
question[12]="Is there a genre or era you have a particular affinity for?"
question[13]="Is there a genre or era you have a particular affinity for?"
question[14]="Is there a genre or era you have a particular affinity for?"
question[15]="Name a film you think everybody should see."
question[16]="Name a film you think everybody should see."
question[17]="Name a film you think everybody should see."
question[18]="Name a film you think everybody should see."
question[19]="Name the worst sequel ever."
question[20]="To the public at large, what purpose does a professional film critic serve?"
question[21]="To the public at large, what purpose does a professional film critic serve?"
question[22]="To the public at large, what purpose does a professional film critic serve?"
question[23]="What advice do you have for aspiring film critics"
question[24]="What advice do you have for aspiring film critics?"
question[25]="What advice do you have for aspiring film critics?"
question[26]="What advice do you have for aspiring film critics?"
question[27]="What is your process in approaching a review?"
question[28]="What is your process in approaching a review?"
question[29]="What movie are you embarrassed to admit you love?"
question[30]="What movie are you embarrassed to admit you love?"
question[31]="What movie are you embarrassed to admit you love?"
question[32]="What movie are you embarrassed to admit you love?"
question[33]="What movie would you have liked to review had you been a critic upon its initial release?"
question[34]="What movie would you have liked to review had you been a critic upon its initial release?"
question[35]="What movie would you have liked to review had you been a critic upon its initial release?"
question[36]="What movie would you have liked to review had you been a critic upon its initial release?"
question[37]="What other film critics, past or present, do you admire?"
question[38]="What was your first meaningful moviegoing experience?"
question[39]="What was your first meaningful moviegoing experience?"
question[40]="What was your first meaningful moviegoing experience?"
question[41]="What was your first published review?"
question[42]="What's the best part of being a film critic and the worst part of being a film critic?"
question[43]="What's the biggest misconception people have about film critics?"
question[44]="What's the biggest misconception people have about film critics?"
question[45]="What's the most common question you're asked when someone discovers you're a film critic?"
question[46]="What's the most common question you're asked when someone discovers you're a film critic?"
question[47]="What's the most controversial review you've ever written?"
question[48]="What's the most controversial review you've written?"
question[49]="What's the most controversial review you've written?"
question[50]="What's the most controversial review you've written?"
question[51]="What's the worst film you've ever seen?"
answer = new Array
answer[0]="A film critic offers a point of view that illuminates a film for the reader, and hopefully offers a way of seeing the film that maybe hadn't been considered. Above all, it should be a piece of writing that's a pleasure to read. Otherwise, what's the point?"
answer[1]="To not only talk about the film in its context as an artwork that spring from a past and speaks to the present, but also to get to the very pertinent questions a reader might have: Is this film worth my time, money and effort?"
answer[2]="Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved from Drowning upon its first US release in 1968. It was for the University of Chicago arts paper, and where I wanted to write it about very earnestly no one else had any interest, so I got my chance."
answer[3]="What's the best movie ever made? (ready answers for parties: Rules of the Game or The Searchers or Intolerance or Sunrise)"
answer[4]="Overall, yes. Plenty of junk will always get made in spite of us, but if you count the films that relied on our support to see daylight ('Brazil' being a key example), it's a stunning lot. Critics, and critics organizations in particular, have made a difference."
answer[5]="For the most part I don't mind discussing a film with fellow critics after a screening; it can help codify your thoughts, to have to defend or articulate your feelings in a more conversational setting. But there are certain that, for whatever reason, I definitely don't want to talk about it a lot."
answer[6]="With the exception of a few trusted individuals whom I've been known to bounce ideas off from time to time, I try to remain fairly tight-lipped about a film until after I've written my review. I want my response to be my own."
answer[7]="I would rather put my thoughts down in a review unencumbered by outside influence because (a) my initial reaction is what I am most interested in capturing in a review, and (b) I don't want to flirt with the possibility of absorbing someone else's insight into what I am writing."
answer[8]="I worked at restaurants and gourmet stores in grad school. At that point I assumed I was earning a degree that would resolve in a job in academia—to which waitressing or arranging wine pairings seemed like a preferable alternative. I keep my cheese tasting skills up to date, just in case."
answer[9]="Digital media are continuing to make film criticism more accessible and familiar to readers who now have the opportunity to explore decades of movie reviews, essays and books. Critics who embrace social media and digital platforms will see their audiences grow and gain insight from readers' feedback."
answer[10]="Even though they're often pretty terrible, I love reviewing horror movies. I'm a fan of the genre, and because the form invites stylization, it's often a good genre for discovering new talent. And horror movies are usually 90 minutes or less—a critic's dream!"
answer[11]="I like the 1950s, which I consider to be the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hitchcock, John Ford, Cukor, Minnelli, Preminger, Sirk, all made their best films during that decade."
answer[12]="I really like Westerns, war films (especially World War II) and films with morally conflicted heroes (or villains)."
answer[13]="I'm drawn to films that use the poetic properties of the medium to bring us closer to a genuine notion of the divine — films that treat the conundrums and contradictions of human faith and morality with the complexity and stark beauty they deserve."
answer[14]="I prefer movies that don't adhere to the rules of reality, whether we're talking David Lynch surrealism or big-budget sci"
answer[15]="Brief Encounter and The Third Man."
answer[16]="I'll cheat and name two — Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly's Singin' in the Rain and The Decalogue, Kieslowski's exquisite take on the Ten Commandments. One will make you want to dance down the street, and the other is set in Poland."
answer[17]="Jackie Chan's Project A, Part II' because it's one of the purest pieces of cinematic joy ever created, yet relatively few people, apart from Hong Kong film buffs, have ever seen it."
answer[18]="See everything ... classics, schlock, whatever ... it's the best way to learn about yourself and the movies and take a production course; acting classes, make short films, etc. to get a sense of the process ... also go to theater, art galleries, listen to music."
answer[19]="The second and third 'Matrix' movies took an exciting original idea and turned it into a dull, plodding mess – and the same artists did it, so it's not like they can blame the studio for taking their baby away from them."
answer[20]="Gatekeeper and tastemaker: Critics can alert and urge the public to see 'small' or 'art' films that can easily get lost in the theatrical market."
answer[21]="Ideally, I think film criticism should set the starting terms of a conversation between the writer, the reader, and the wider culture. Practically, it probably mostly helps ticket buyers figure out what to avoid."
answer[22]="Point the viewer in the direction of a great film they'd otherwise never consider seeing and 2) incorporate a film into a larger context that, admittedly, requires the kind of heavy lifting and cultural reflection that readers aren't much interested in anymore."
answer[23]="Watch as many films as possible in cinemas, study the masters and for those films you can't watch in a cinema, buy a region-free DVD player in order to play discs from around the world."
answer[24]="Write as much as you can, read as much as you can, and live as much as you can. Don't just watch movies; connect them to the world."
answer[25]="Read. Write. Edit. Read. Write. Edit. Read. Write. Edit. That's assuming you're already watching any and all movies you can. But remember, a film critic is a writer. So read. And write. Then please edit."
answer[26]="Learn how to write, study film, and live a full life. Without a well-rounded, socially-active life, you won't develop a sensitivity or an empathy for film characters that allows you to connect emotionally with their stories."
answer[27]="I try to construct my reviews exactly as I would construct my verbal response if you were to ask me what I thought. Though my major outlets now have specific formats that I need to fit into, so their structure determines my process nowadays."
answer[28]="I try not to make too many notes while watching the movie. I prefer to immerse myself in the experience. Then I will make some notes after seeing the film and begin to organize my thoughts."
answer[29]="I know everything about the comedy-mystery 'Clue' that doesn't work, yet it's a movie I go back and rewatch all the time. I blame Madeline Kahn."
answer[30]="Overboard. The shoe rack! Goldie Hawn's NC-17 thong swimsuits! Katherine Helmond!"
answer[31]="Big Trouble in Little China comes to mind. It may be a toss-up as to whether Sincerely Yours or Showgirls was the most unintentionally hilarious movie ever made."
answer[32]="I find myself defending films that are legendary flops. For instance, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, THE POSTMAN and ISHTAR. I figure eventually all three will have their reputations restored in the manner of HEAVEN'S GATE. But for now, the ROBIN HOOD fan club has only one member."
answer[33]="Being John Malkovich. I'd had loved to be Charlie Kaufman's welcoming committee—he's a writer we'll remember in 50 years."
answer[34]="I would have loved to dealt with Citizen Kane when it was brand new in 1941. I wonder how I would have responded to it—and whether I would have been completely overwhelmed."
answer[35]="Bresson's Pickpocket and Au hasard Balthazar; Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. They're bold, exciting and challenging on every level; there's little fun in writing about movies that are transparently formulaic."
answer[36]="I'd like to think that I would have been one of those film critics who realized at the time that Barry Lyndon was a masterpiece when so many other people were denigrating it."
answer[37]="Raymond Durgnat, Michel Mourlet, Manny Farber, Jacques Rivette, Graham Greene (his review of Wee Willie Winkie is the single greatest piece of film criticism ever written.)"
answer[38]="Watching 'How The West Was Won' as a young boy in the original Cinerama process at the Pacific Warner Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. on the day after Kennedy was killed."
answer[39]="It was during my junior high school years. I went to see From Here to Eternity. I cried and fell in love with Monty. After that, movies have been my life."
answer[40]="I believe that first picture I ever saw was The Great Dictator, and I loved it--I was 4 in 1940--but the first picture I really connected with was Lady in the Dark in 1945."
answer[41]="ACROSS THE TRACKS, starring Ricky Schroeder and released in either 1991 or '92. It wasn't a very good film but I singled out the young actor who portrayed the central character's brother. The actor was Brad Pitt!"
answer[42]="Best part: We get to see everything. Worst part: We have to see everything."
answer[43]="One major misconception is that most critics are frustrated creatives who prefer to criticize rather than originate material. Essentially, we love movies and we're addicted to contributing to the filmmaking process, rather than simply tearing it down as some mistakenly assume."
answer[44]="I think there's a general sense that film critics don't like what the general public likes. Our job is to help distinguish between the good and bad, but to hold the general public's taste in contempt as a given cuts off the conversation."
answer[45]="What's your favorite movie ever? It's Fellini's 'Nights of Cabiria.'"
answer[46]="Question: do you pay to see movies ... Answer: Yes, emotionally."
answer[47]="In my annual Movie Guide I give negative reviews to Blade Runner and Taxi Driver. I stick to my guns on those reviews but people give me a lot of grief about them."
answer[48]="My review of the original The Boondock Saints earned me a threatening phone call from the director, Troy Duffy, and a campaign of harassment from some of his acolytes. That was interesting."
answer[49]="The Last Temptation of Christ. I got death threats including one from Pat Boone."
answer[50]="My review of 'Jaws' for The New York Times was one of the only negative reviews the movie received. Needless to say, I took a lot of heat for that."
answer[51]="Battlefield Earth"
author = new Array
author[0]="Robert Abele"
author[1]="James Rocchi"
author[2]="Myron Meisel"
author[3]="Myron Meisel"
author[4]="Wade Major"
author[5]="Brent Simon"
author[6]="Justin Chang"
author[7]="Todd Gilchrist"
author[8]="Karina Longworth"
author[9]="Justin Lowe"
author[10]="Chuck Wilson"
author[11]="Emanuel Levy"
author[12]="Jean Oppenheimer"
author[13]="Justin Chang"
author[14]="Luke Y. Thompson"
author[15]="HJ Park"
author[16]="Sheri Linden"
author[17]="Wade Major"
author[18]="Len Klady"
author[19]="Alonso Duralde"
author[20]="Emanuel Levy"
author[21]="Karina Longworth"
author[22]="Mark Keizer"
author[23]="Bob Koehler"
author[24]="James Rocchi"
author[25]="Robert Abele"
author[26]="Todd Gilchrist"
author[27]="Luke Y. Thompson"
author[28]="Stephen Farber"
author[29]="Alonso Duralde"
author[30]="Amy Nicolson"
author[31]="Kevin Thomas"
author[32]="Mark Keizer"
author[33]="Amy Nicolson"
author[34]="Leonard Maltin"
author[35]="Sheri Linden"
author[36]="Tim Grierson"
author[37]="David Ehrenstein"
author[38]="Bob Koehler"
author[39]="HJ Park"
author[40]="Kevin Thomas"
author[41]="Jean Oppenheimer"
author[42]="Christy Lemire"
author[43]="Justin Lowe"
author[44]="Tim Grierson"
author[45]="Christy Lemire"
author[46]="Len Klady"
author[47]="Leonard Maltin"
author[48]="Brent Simon"
author[49]="David Ehrenstein"
author[50]="Shephen Farber"
author[51]="Chuck Wilson"
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