The Critical Drinker

When I was a kid, the choice for film critics was Siskel or Ebert.  Their success led to a few other such critics, such as Leonard Maltin on Entertainment Tonight, or Michael Medved & Jeffery Lyons who followed Siskel and Ebert in Sneak Previews.  As the years went on, there were more critics, or perhaps I just became aware of more critics.  In Iowa, I remember coming across a radio psychiatrist who also reviewed movies; that was an odd combo.  In the bay area of California, there was a local radio critic who really didn't seem to like films.  All too often, I would see/hear the review after I had already seen the movie.  After years of seeing movies and hearing the reviews, I was able to determine which critics were right and which were wrong.  Generally, I more often agreed with Ebert than Siskel.

The Romans said that there's no disputing tastes.  With that in mind, the goal should be to find a critic who more often than not agrees with you.  At the moment, I have happily chosen The Critical Drinker.  The Drinker has a review channel on YouTube where he blasts or praises movies and TV shows.  I have yet to watch something that the Drinker recommended and I did not like.  The same goes for the reverse.  His tastes are in harmony with my own, which makes him the ideal critic.  Where it was maybe 80/20 with Ebert as to whether I'd actually like something he gave thumbs up, it is 100% for the Drinker.  Though he has only been in the critic business for a few years, he does offer 'Extra Shots' where he reviews older movies.  This is a real service as I don't watch nearly as many movies as I once did and often missed some of the older ones he reviews.

The Drinker is a particularly vocal critic of 'The Message' that infects many modern movies.  The message consists of critical race theory, black lives matter, LGBTQ+ themes, 3rd wave feminism, environmentalism, anti-capitalism, etc.  All too often, these are shoehorned into the story in a ham-fisted way that strips the entertainment value from the movie or TV show.  Recent movies have taken to rebooting old franchises to capture preexisting fanbases while at the same time including 'the message' in such a way as to undermine the very characters and franchises that have been rebooted.  Star Trek, Star Wars, The Matrix, James Bond, Masters of the Universe, Doctor Who, and others have all been defaced by the current batch of producers and directors.  He provides his reviews in the character of a hard drinking misanthrope.  The schtick involves some stock comments and movie clips.  Very entertaining.

Highly Recommended.