re: "Hated hated hated hated hated this movie." Ebert's review turns 20

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I'm chime in to defend Ebert. He did like some B grade movies, he liked some great movies and missed the boat on others. Undoubtedly many people will think some of his reviews were wrong in retrospect but I really don't think that matters or is the point of being a critic.

He gave the reader his point of view. You understood why he did or didn't like a movie and that helped you to make decisions about whether to see the movie.

Given the diverse tastes of many people around here they would no doubt be accused of being mean spirited, hacks, or paid off by anonymous internet posters but I think that's just the nature of having strong opinions and a perspective when you work in the public eye. Ebert really left behind a great legacy of loving and thinking about film and I think fans of movies tend to appreciate that he was authentic and generally very good at his job.

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