Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Quote of the Day: All-Thumbs Edition

"I cringe when people say, "How could you give that movie four stars?" I reply, "What in my review did you disagree with?" Invariably, they're stuck for an answer. One thing I try to do is provide an accurate account of what you will see, and how I feel about it. I cannot speak for you. Any worthwhile review is subjective.

-Roger Ebert, writing about his approach to film criticism at his journal here.

I found this is an interesting piece because Mr. Ebert skilfully enumerates seven solid reasons behind his rating system for movies. I've been reading Roger Ebert since 1984 (watching him on TV since 1983, if I remember correctly), and though I've had my occasional quibbles with his thumbs up/thumbs down metric, I find -- more and more -- that Ebert is a bastion of sensibility, dependability and sanity in the increasingly undependable and insane world of film criticism.

More than ever, Roger Ebert is one of a kind.

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