Some New Critics

Well, I won't be ashamed to tell you that I had no idea where to start in finding some new critics to follow (or really any critics at all...).  I began with a few quick Google searches to get better informed of the Critic situation on the internet and I ended up at the Critics' Choice Awards website which had a list of the BFCA and BJTA member directory.  Unfortunately, after going to a few of their websites I was greatly disappointed in their reviews of some of the new movies that have come out, like this one.  I ended up resorting back to Google, which led me to a list of the best film critics.  I started off looking though the first critic's most recent reviews and landed on this article which reviewed two movies I have seen, 'Les Miserables' and 'Django Unchained' and one I haven't, 'Amour'.  The article, "Love Hurts" reviews three films that deal with the difficulties that love ensures.  I thought that both the 'Les Miserables' and 'Django Unchained' reviews were spot on and incorporated everything that I thought while watching them into words.  The review of 'Amour' was one that I really enjoyed because it didn't give away the movie, but also explained the feel of it and it seemed like a film that I would really enjoy.  Plus, it's hard not to read it in an English accent when you know the author is English...

 Mary McNamara, who writes television reviews for Los Angeles Times, wrote a piece on the Sundance Channel's 'Restless.'  I wanted a woman's point of view for a review because I figured that I would be able to relate more.  When I was looking through McNamara's articles that she's written in order to read something about a show I've seen, I noticed that she writes about television shows that aren't necessarily mainstream or don't have a lot of publicity.  Her review for 'Restless' made the show seem very appealing to me, since she related it to shows like 'Mad Med' and 'Downton Abbey,' two shows that I have seen and very much enjoyed.  Although I think that she keeps her reviews fairly gender neutral, I think that she chooses shows that are geared more towards a female audience, which I am grateful for.  She reviews 'Restless' which has a very strong female lead and she also reviews 'Dragons: Riders of Berk,' which airs on Cartoon Network and is a show for younger viewers, who would have mothers who read criticisms.  I thought that her rendition of 'Restless' was very to-the-point and informative for a prospective viewer or for someone who wanted more information on what they just watched.

I was very interested about social media critics when Virginia Heffernan was mentioned in the assignment, so I decided to read a few of her reviews.  In 'The Social Economics of a Facebook Birthday,' Heffernan uses humor and practicality as a basis of her review for the Facebook birthday reminder feature.  She says that it's incredible useful and also uplifting when it's your birthday.  But she not only allows her opinion to be the center of her article, she allows the other side of the argument to be recognized by quoting a Slate article by David Plotz.  She discusses how his viewpoint is different and instead of bashing it, she embraces that there are two sides to be seen, and that really says something about the character of the Heffernan.  I appreciate that she is able to put both sides in her article to keep her readers informed on the issues at hand.