The Return of the 'I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast'

The Everyone's a Critic Podcast is going back in time. Back to the time we were known as I Hate Critics. Yes, we are bringing back our original name. Why? Because it just feels right. We want to refresh the brand and with our new additions, Jeff, Amy, and M.J all working to freshen up what Bob and I have been doing for more than a decade now, it feels right to revisit the origins of the podcast. We began the show based on the idea of film fans, Bob and Josh, getting the chance to question, quarrel and converse with a person who had earned the title of professional film critic.

We began the I Hate Critics Podcast based on the premise that I got into film criticism out of a genuine love for writing about movies and the belief that I would be cool if I was a film critic. I was never cool growing up, I thought that having a cool job would make me cool by association. I was wrong. What I experienced in earning my professional title and membership in the then Broadcast Film Critics Association, now the Critics Choice Association, was proudly telling people I met that I was a film critic and being met with more hostility and derisiveness than I was fully prepared for.

"I never agree with critics." "I don't listen to the critics." Or "Critics hate everything." These are the statements that met me every time I introduced myself and was asked about my chosen profession. I genuinely thought I was going to be cool if I told people I was a film critic. Instead, I found most people eager to tell me I was wrong and that they hated the critics. Thus, I Hate Critics was born. It's a chance for film fans to confront a film critic and force him to defend his position. However, it evolved quickly as Bob, Josh, and myself became close friends. It became less about challenging me as a critic and more about sharing a mutual love of movies.

That was at the heart of changing the name to Everyone's a Critic. We wanted to create a community that was safe for all opinions. We wanted to be inclusive and that was great for a long time. We enjoyed a place of positivity and inclusion. Lately however, the tide has turned and once again, film criticism is in the crosshairs. Film Critics have been trying to defend the profession against the encroachment of so called 'influencer culture.' There is a tide of opinion that rages against Critics and is forcing critics to defend their positions. That's a good thing in many ways, critics should be challenged.

I Hate Critics new mission is just that, allowing fans a place to question critics and have them defend their place in film culture. On this show, I state my opinion, good or bad, and engage in a conversation with a pair of incredibly savvy and diverse fans who challenge me and make me not only defend my position, but explain why I feel how I do. I show my receipts for my opinion. We agree on a lot of things but we say why we agree and when we disagree it's with a care and respect for each other. This goes for the main show, I Hate Critics, and the all new spinoff podcast, I Hate Critics 1993 where my opinions on movies of the 90s is challenged by Gen-Z'er M.J and Gen-X'er Amy just as I am challenged by Bob Zerull and Jeff Lassiter on the main show.

We're building something with I Hate Critics, a place where film criticism is not a one way street. It's not a place where someone with professional credentials merely pontificates. It's a place where we make film criticism accessible to everyone and place a critics opinion in a place where fans can challenge, disagree, or expand on a topic while engaging with film criticism. I love the community that we have built and going back to the name I Hate Critics is about re-establishing the original bond we forged with listeners over the idea that criticism is accessible to everyone and I Hate Critics though glib, is really an attempt to start a conversation about film and film criticism.