Critic’s Day

Critic’s Day: A film reviewer on being blocked, fired and sued for doing his job

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Today The Spinoff assesses the state of the professional critic in New Zealand with four pieces – two new, two older – which reflect on the challenges the form faces.  Aaron Yap is one of the most insightful film critics in New Zealand. Unfortunately his reviews have lost him friends and infuriated people. He recounts his … Read more

Critic’s Day: Duncan Greive wrote a horrible review of Open Souls. The band recorded a song about him. Years later, they talked it out

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Today The Spinoff assesses the state of the professional critic in New Zealand with four pieces – two new, two older – which reflect on the challenges the form faces.  The final piece is a reissue of an interview which  was originally published on Pantograph Punch in 2012. It features a conversation between The Spinoff editor … Read more

Critic’s Day: Peter Calder’s classic column ‘Job of others to nurture fragile flower of art’

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Today The Spinoff assesses the state of the professional critic in New Zealand with four pieces – two new, two older – which reflect on the challenges the form faces.  In 2002 a small storm erupted when the brilliant film, theatre and restaurant critic Peter Calder dared to negatively review a local production. An actor angrily accused … Read more

Critic’s Day: A professional theatre critic explains why New Zealand theatre criticism sucks

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Today The Spinoff assesses the state of the professional critic in New Zealand with four pieces – two new, two older – which reflect on the challenges the form faces. Here theatre critic Sam Brooks assesses the state of his art. “To be a critic in New Zealand is to be a kind of weed. It’s … Read more