What makes a film critic, one has to wonder. Nowadays, anyone with a blog who sees movies is called a “critic.” I really think that should be amended to use the term “blogger” or “industry columnist.” Not everyone is an actual film critic. I feel like I’m the only person in the known universe who cares about the difference but that’s because I come from a time when there was a difference; not just anyone could write about movies and be called a “critic.” Indiewire has a rundown of grades from the Toronto Film Fest and calls it a “Critics Poll”. In truth, it is a columnist/critic/blogger poll. I’m not dissing these guys at all. I’m just making the point that the line is invisible if no one notices it’s there. At any rate, you’ll find the grades of people like Anne Thompson (not a film critic), Jeff Wells (not a film critic), Peter Sciretta (not a film critic), etc. These opinions made by them are made as industry columnists and bloggers. I think it’s important to remember that (thus, the main difference between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes).
Anyway, here are their grades for some of the Toronto films.
A Serious Man
Peter Sciretta, /Film: A+
David Fear, Time Out New York: A+
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: A
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: A
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: A
Mark Olsen, LA Times: A
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: A
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood: A
Joe Leydon, Variety: A
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: A
Michael Tully, Hammer To Nail: A
Sean Means, The Salt Lake Tribune: A
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A-
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: A-
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: A-
Noel Murray, A.V. Club: A-
Peter Knegt, indieWIRE: A-
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: B+
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B-
Current Average: A-
