As 2012 reaches its official halfway point, Criticwire continues to explore the fundamental critical issues that have dominated the last six months. Ratings decisions, overly instructive promotional material and the density of online critics led to some significant discussion this past week.
Is Film Criticism Dying or Evolving?: Answering a question central to the very existence of the blog, Matt posits that the field is definitely shifting, but it’s too early to declare the craft dead for good.
Spider-Man Versus Perpetual Sneak Preview Culture: Now that we’ve reached a point where nearly a fifth of the movie gets marketed prior to a theatrical release, it might be oversaturation.
Kevin Smith: ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ Hunter: What’s the highest compliment that the director can give to a film? This week’s episode of “Spoilers” has the answer.
Maybe the MPAA Isn’t So Bad After All; ‘Klown’ Gets an R: The raunchy Dutch comedy has adult content that far surpasses recent subjects of ratings controversy, yet the dreaded NC-17 was avoided.
Is ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Film Criticism: The beloved TV series is ostensibly a comedy, but the insight it provides isn’t all that far from the dictionary definition of being a “critic.”
The Fine Line Between Ambiguity and Stupidity: Summer blockbuster super-villains should theoretically have master plans that are worthy of their supernatural pedigree. So far, many a 2012 nemesis have fallen short of those expectations.
Colleagues and Admirers Remember Nora Ephron: After Ephron’s passing earlier this week, many journalists and industry members shared some of their favorite memories of the classic writer-director.
From the Wire: Bad Theaters, Good Memories: The fact that someone might have wistful feelings about a subpar movie theater got Matt thinking that nostalgia might be completely independent of location and more about the memories themselves.
Are Film Journalists Too Indie-Focused?: When mainstream offerings cover generally the same territory, it’s only natural that those who write about film would gravitate to less conventional fare. And that’s not necessarily the worst thing for the medium.
The Funniest Internet Commenter of the Week For Friday, June 29th: Hall of Fame worthy writing from this week’s winner, who definitely earns their 10/10.
Weird Pull Quote Theater: ‘Easy Money’: When they make Criticwire the movie, we’ll be sure to use some of the comments from this week as pull quotes.
VODetails: ‘360’: The star-studded ensemble from a respected director has some critics in support, but is it worth spending money to get it On Demand?
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