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New releases - what do you guys use as a guide?

24.126.165.101

KKC

Was a time I'd go to Blockbuster and check out the shelves but certain life events have made that difficult. I have been a Netflix member for years and would get candidates for my queue from there while I was picking up a movie from BB.
We don't go to the movies any more for a variety of reasons, and the cheap cable I get mostly stinks, so Netflix is it and anyway pretty much all we have time for.
While I read the movie reviews in the Atlanta paper I know they don't pick up all the nice new releases on video. We like foreign films and indies as well as more standard fare, so am looking for a source of info that will tell me new releases that are also highly reviewed or recommended. What do you suggest? (I know I need to come here more often, for one thing).
We also enjoy older movies from time to time, especially the big productions from what I like to think of as the grand age of cinema, but probably because they bring to mind times when I was a youth growing up in a country that only got the big-name movies. Recent hits in our home have been "the Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Khartoum".

Edits: 11/13/08

Follow Ups:

I like to read the movie pages at... - Harmonia 13:28:54 11/14/08 (3)
...salon.com. That's where I usually head first.
Just click on movies. Some of the best writing around on film.
They cover the latest popular stuff, foreign and indies, as well as the festival circuit, where you get early buzz on the most interesting non-multi-plex fare. Stephanie Zakarek and Andrew O'Hehir between them cover it all.
Sight And Sound, the website of the famous British film mag is also an excellent source of info on film past and present.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/
I also like to read reviews from The New Yorker and LA Times, all available on line through their websites, or you can usually grab them on rottentomatoes.com or metacritic.com. I avoid a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes - a lot of their reviews are just junk as almost any schlub with a website can get listed there as a "critic". Metacritic weights reviews and is a better place to grab a quick overview of something you're interested in seeing.
Maryann Johansen - aka The Flick Filosopher - is usually a good and entertaining read on mainstream and indy fare, especially on all things geek (sci-fi and genre movies). www.flickfilospher.com
Roger Ebert is a good writer, and although he's often much too kind to current releases, he has a very good website with an excellent section on past classics and neglected films.
If you are at all interested in film history, and want to check out the greats of the past, Jim Clark has a good list on his website with great films and favored films in 30 genres:
http://jclarkmedia.com/film/bestfilms.html
I find my local major newspaper and rags like Entertainment Weekly mostly useless. I hate reviews that give films a letter grade.

Edits: 11/14/08
- RE: I like to read the movie pages at... - Daryl Zero 09:03:57 11/15/08 (1)
  At rottentomatoes, you can just go (as I usually do) to the top critics who are segregated in their own category. There are some low profile critics who do a pretty job as well.
  - It's a mix. - Harmonia 16:24:40 11/18/08 (0)
    I consider some of the top critics just middlebrows and some of the better critics are burried with the rabble.
    
    Those of us who've found the reviewers we like to read can use the site to access all the reviews we're interested in. But it can be a bit daunting for neophytes.
- Fantastic, H. Thanks immeasurably. nt - tinear 07:51:32 11/15/08 (0)
  d
here's one to check... - tunenut 11:10:53 11/14/08 (1)
the only print guide I consider valuable is the annual Time Out guide. Their website has reviews of new movies as well. They are one valuable data point. For more, I go to rottentomatoes and focus on those critics I like.
- http://www.timeout.com/film/ (Open in New Window)
- I agree Time Out is very good - PhilJ 11:32:28 11/14/08 (0)
  I often agree with their opinions. They are not afraid to go against the grain of a popular film and will praise quirky ones.
  
  thanks
  
  Phil
try MRQE or Rotton Tomatoes - PhilJ 04:32:24 11/14/08 (0)
both sites have multiple reviews

MRQE has a new release DVD section that I use weekly since Netflix does not display the good movies in a manner that is easy to find.

thanks

Phil
I'd try Roger Ebert's website or find a couple of... - mkuller 20:46:06 11/13/08 (0)
...internet sites that over time you find you can trust.
Personally, I triangulate by reading the reviews in the two local newspapers, Entertainment Weekly and the occasional ones in Newsweek.
The Entertainment Weekly website has all the current and older reviews.
Gives me a pretty good idea what the films are about.
I only pay to go see films in theaters that are 'large enough' to justify the cost. Otherwise it's a DVD rental from the local Hollywood Video. I like to be able to pick one up on an impulse, so I haven't tried Netflix, which requires too much advance planning.
The Sunday newspaper here also has a table of all the current releases graded by a pool of 40 film critics with a numerical rating.
Other than those sources, you can ask a friend.
Or keep and eye out here.

Edits: 11/13/08

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