I’ve always been drawn to movie critics, helping movie watchers understand what makes a movie good or bad. As a boy, I grew up with At the Movies, very much resembling the movie critic GOAT, Roger Ebert. As a young adult, I enjoyed James Berardinelli’s Reelviews. As a young man, I loved the debates conducted on What the Flick?!/Breakfast All Day on Youtube.
My personal movie critic journey happened because of two films: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Social Network. I was never much of a movie guy, but that changed when I walked into LOTR at age 16. I couldn’t believe a world like that could just be made up, and I was a sucker for larger than life fantasy novels. After that, I’d start to dabble in the movie watching world, seeing a Departed here, an Enchanted there. Then David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s Shakespearean Zuckerberg story amped me up to the point that I wanted to explain in every way possible why the film was amazing. Thus the roots for movie criticism were solidified: 10 years and counting!
Hopefully I can infuse the lessons from all these great critics into my own style that invigorates you to seek the great film stories in the world today. Yes, I do this because I like it, but I also do it because I want to help you grow in your cultural knowledge through film. Nothing is better than a great time at the movies!
Cheers,
Peter Spedale
Chicago Indie Critics 