I never read a review before I post my own here. And the truth is,
when I then check out what critics are saying, I kvell a bit when
their opinions echo mine. (Alan's and Stormy's as much as any of the
“Cream of the Croppers”). So it's a bit flummoxing, those times when
I'm utterly and completely at odds with the consensus. Currently, this
is the case with THE TOWN. The last time I'm guessing was THE
HANGOVER. Two movies that not only didn't impress me, but which I
actively disliked. To leave a theatre thoroughly convinced you've just
seen a turkey — only to find others falling over themselves to praise
it — is disconcerting. Only a delusional egotist would dismiss, say,
a 93% RT rating. And yet film history is full of examples of films
praised (or reviled) at the time of their release, only later to be
reassessed. That's why this blog is so much fun: because so rarely do
the three of us come down on the same side. — Jeff Schultz