Film Critics - a Useless Profession?

The best critic is yourself.The others are payed to say nice things about bad movies.

There's so much to watch nowadays, at the cinema and on TV, that you need to narrow down your options. Critics can help you find films you will enjoy, and help you avoid films you will hate. Of course, you risk living in a cultural bubble where all of your choices are made for you, but a filter of some kind is necessary.

Tarkovsky said that people should write poetry to complement films, rather than reviews. That's a nice idea, but criticism is an ancient practice that isn't about to disappear. Put simply, it's useful.

I give no weight to professional critics. Relics from a bygone era.

Yes they are a dying breed... all what they've been doing all this time is mind controlling public, they have built certain standards and biases and films come through all those filters, the same thing does education in schools, it is already proven how schools manage to stifle the free thinking, creativity and imagination in children, just look at Imdb ratings, how many people grow up adopting the same stadards and patterns of thinking of all the critics, you look around and feel like there's less and less difference between critics and regular people ou there, all of them start to think and talk the same way. People say they think for themselves, sure but the pure mind control happens to the unconscious mind, it can be extremely subtle. Only in later age after Ive been doing extensive studies on this for years I started unlearning many many things, that were simply egoic nonsense, until I started seeing films with the eyes of a child again... in those first few years of life, my perceptions were purest, and all my own, and our stastes only reflect that. The way we see and think affects the way how we feel. Strangely enough, some of the most hated films became to be the most powerful to me. everything changed.

Pretty much, literally everyone is a film critic with the internet. The only thing giving professional critics any legitimacy is Rotten Tomatoes which is just a political platform now.

I think the best you can do is find a critic that shares your taste.
If you must read or listen.

Personally I don't listen to critics. I also don't look at ratings much other than wondering why is this movie
rated so high or low. It won't influence my decision on what I watch.

There are a few people who I will listen to if they say I should watch something.
This comes with time and knowing other people's taste.

After I stopped listening to critics many years ago my movie viewing experience has gotten better.
I don't watch nearly as many movies I don't like anymore.

I find them useful
Some sites are pretty obvious hacks that are used to promote films (especially true of smaller horror/thriller indies) but overall i really enjoy lots of critical sites

I learn a lot about directorial choices, lighting methods, DVD image quality and more from critics

Ill make my own opinions but i DO find some critics helpful and interesting

I read the critics all the time

It's their job to say a movie's bad, so YOU know it must be good!

In all honesty though, Mark Kermode is a pretty good film critic.