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From Crystal Smalls:

I was so happy to see your article on film critics. I've always felt almost ashamed to see the big hit movies after some no-name crit has given it a thumbs down, as if I'm not smart enough to appreciate what they do.

I must admit that I do enjoy some of the Sundance-type movies (just saw "Miss Pettigrew" and actually enjoyed "There Will Be Blood") but, seriously, why can't the movies EVERYONE goes nuts for get a little love from the higher-ups?

Thanks, guys! You get five stars and two thumbs up in my book.

From Sal Rowe:

Let me first start off by saying GREAT ARTICLE!!!!!!! The "Criticizing the Critics" article by Kathleen Murphy was DEAD ON ACCURATE!!!

For years I have hated 99 percent of the movie critics due to the fact they bashed movies they didn't like. In 1979, Disney came out with "The Black Hole." Now, mind you, this was not a life-changing movie, but the movie critic on Channel 9 (although I can't remember his name, he wore huge black glasses and almost an Afro for his black hair) started me down this path of hating critics. His review of this movie was just to ball up his paper and throw it behind him. Looking back on this now it's funny. But to a 9-year-old kid who just saw the movie and had an excellent time, it was traumatic to see that. Now, if I remember correctly, this movie won the Best Cinematography award in 1980.

I will name one name here, but I have had an inverse viewing agreement with Arch Campbell (Channel 4-NBC). No matter the movie ... if he hated it, I have RUSHED out to see it, and, every time I have, I've said that movie was $10 well spent. Now if he loved the movie, I would skip it and wait for it to hit cable OR Netflix. Ninety-nine percent of the time when I have seen a movie he raved about I have ALWAYS thought I wasted two hours of my life. Now he has mellowed out in his older years and that percentage is probably down to 75 now.

I always try to see every movie that gets nominated for the "best movie" and I have to say that 75 percent of the time I am sorely disappointed. I am not sure WHERE these critics get their degree in "movie reviewing," but I am sure if Kmart offered a degree it would be 1,000 times better than what any reviewer has currently.

Thank you, Kathleen, for writing a great and truthful article. You can count on me to be forwarding your article to my friends.

From William Doritty:

After reading the top 10 things she hates about movie critics, I can only conclude this Kathleen Murphy person is a dimwitted, uneducated, uncultured twit, and has no idea what she's prattling on about.

I'd go point by point, but Murphy's not bright enough to understand big words. However, the Mike Judge film "Idiocracy" comes to mind.

From Joseph Green:

I hope that was satire.

From Jack Gaines:

I liked that: a critic critiquing those who critique those who critique film, i.e. critics. Clever. Upon reading other readers' comments, however, I was amazed how many people didn't seem to get it. To some degree, I think the author should be ashamed for making fun of people who don't know she's making fun of them. Then again, no harm done, right? Personally, I feel sorry for movie critics as I prefer to simply watch and enjoy a movie the first time (and possibly the second as well). I am simply not capable of suspending disbelief and thinking critically about a story at the same time. I have the same difficulty with books. What does a critic do to escape? Anyway, great article. Oh, and I just want to go on record saying that I'm 28, happily married and have no children (you know, for anyone who needs statistical data and such).

From Gary Fineout:

While I would imagine there is a nugget of truth in your piece on film criticism, I applaud the Swiftian approach you have taken and even the shout-out for fellow film critics at the end.

It's an inspired bit of satire.

But, unfortunately for you, it would also appear that some of those posting comments on the site didn't get the joke. I'm glad, however, that I read the entire piece before reacting. Kudos to MSN for actually putting a lengthy article online and daring readers to think.

From Ryan McLarty:

That was by far one of the worst articles I have ever read in my entire life. First off, half the stuff this person had a problem with, weren't even true. Like how critics don't like superhero movies? Umm, go to Rotten Tomatoes and check out the ratings for the two superhero movies that came out this year ... I believe "Iron Man" got 92 percent fresh and "Dark Knight" got like 97 percent with considerable Oscar buzz. So, which critics are you reading? Probably the ones who didn't think "Ghost Rider" was such a good movie, maybe?

Next, she sounds like a stupid teenager who thinks he's really cool by bitching about the establishment. She talks about how old movies don't matter, and they should shut up about them. What a moron. First of all, maybe these critics who have been watching movies their whole lives just have higher standards than a loudmouth idiot who seems to think the most heavily commercialized movies are great.

I'm 23 years old, so by no means am I old, or even come close to her retarded age limit of 30. Still, I love old movies. I watch "Casablanca" and listen to the dialogue and think how talented the writers are, and how bad-ass Humphrey Bogart is, and how hot Ingrid Bergman is. Every Christmas I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and end up with a lump in my throat from the end scene. I watch Alfred Hitchcock movies like "Psycho" and "Rear Window" on the edge of my seat and in genuine suspense. I watch old epics like "The Ten Commandments" and "Spartacus" and I'm still captivated and thoroughly entertained.

Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that every person my age has the same appreciation for movies that I do. Many girls my age seem to think "The Notebook" is the greatest love story of all time. Just like many people my age think "Crash" was some sort of masterpiece. However, I pose you this question: Has a critic ever stopped a teenager from going to see the new flavor-of-the-month movie? I can recall maybe once or twice that my friends have not gone to see a movie because of what a critic has said.

Next, if you had any brains you would realize that critics are sometimes even ahead of teenagers in hip movies. I can't tell you how many great movies I probably would never have watched if it wasn't for great reviews: "Pan's Labyrinth," "Into the Wild," "There Will Be Blood," just to name a few of the more recent ones. Even "Juno," which I probably would have never gone to see in a million years but for the great reviews and Oscar nod it got.

So, in conclusion, I just want to say that I think it's very important for people to go out and make up their own minds about films, because let's face it, nobody is going to agree on everything, and I will admit that older critics are probably less inclined to like a movie like "V for Vendetta" than an 18-year-old kid. However, I for one am glad for critics, because at 10 bucks a pop for a movie these days, I'd rather not waste my money and be disappointed with movies like "Bangkok Dangerous," but rather be pleasantly surprised with a movie like "WALL-E."

So, please, in the future don't waste my time with this horrible drek. If anybody wanted to hear what idiotic, misinformed, overly righteous teenagers are thinking about these days, I'm sure they could creep some kid's Facebook or MySpace page or something. Just keep it off respectable Web pages from now on, OK? Thanks.

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