James Berardinelli

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James Berardinelli (born September, 1967) is a popular online film critic. Berardinelli has over 3000 reviews listed on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes and he claims to review around 150 films per year. According to Berardinelli, ReelViews has between 70,000 and 80,000 hits per day. Berardinelli is educated, and works as an electrical engineer. He was married in 2005 to one of his longtime readers.

Berardinelli is noted for his lengthy and learned analysis of films and has kept an open mind in viewing films in all subjects. His reviews are frequently peppered with dry humor and offer extensive explanation pertaining to background information on a film. His articles are often thoroughly researched and contain many educational tidbits. Despite having no credentials or formal education in film, he is among the most respected film critics in America. Fellow film critic Roger Ebert has written very positive comments about Berardinelli[link].

Berardinelli also writes a blog called ReelThoughts in which he muses on issues of the day or whatever is on his mind. The entries are usually daily but are sporadic and made on an irregular basis to accommodate Berardinelli's schedule. The most frequent topics of his columns include DVD technology, the film industry, film piracy, and censorship. ReelThoughts sometimes touches on politics and hot button issues. The apparent inadequacies of the MPAA's rating system to properly address content in current movies is an issue that Berardinelli has addressed frequently; among his complaints, he has frequently derided the MPAA for affixing R ratings to films in which a woman's bare breasts are shown tastefully.

Criticism

Berardinelli's style of writing has been criticized by the opposite spectrum of film reviewing, with opponents claiming that his engineering background is an impediment to substantial commentary on film as a legitimate art form. This argument is countered by his supporters, who in turn claim Berardinelli's logical and rational approach to movies provide a more accessible point of entry into said analysis. Berardinelli is noted for a preference for "harrowing" or thematically complex films, and mostly considers cinema to be a narrative medium akin to the foundations of literature. Roger Ebert has championed this approach; other critics find it does a disservice to the concept of visual abstraction as an art form of its own, while respecting his position as one of the net's better known reviewers. Berardinelli's favorite directors include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock.

External links

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