Which magazines have the most knowledgeable film critics? Introducing a metric.

By developing and maintaining Cinetrii I’ve been able to amass a rather unique data set. Rows upon rows of film connections, quotes and URL’s that are waiting to be mined for insights (granted, said rows are subject to a lot of noise). So this morning I decided to look into the reviewers who diligently draw the parallels and make the inferences that my thematic search engine depends on. Are some more knowledgeable than others? I made a metric based on inverse popularity of the films mentioned by the critics. Given a film n and a critic r I defined a context score α:

context

Where Cr,n is the set of films the critic has mentioned, votesm denotes the number of IMDb votes and v is an upper threshold for votes. I set v = 300000, i.e. films with over 300000 votes do not add to the context score. The context score rewards reviewers making many and obscure connections.
The mean context score for a reviewed film is then:

mcontext

My knowledge metric for a reviewer measures the deviation from the mean:

knowledge

I’ve chosen this metric to control for the fact that different publications review different films. Thus I didn’t want to reward those concerned only with something like obscure indie or horror films.

So how do reviewers stack up? I do not have data on individual journalists, only their respective publications. I’ve limited my sample of reviewed films to 1307 released during the last five years (2012 and onwards), and to publications that have reviewed at least 20 of those films. In total, 79662 distinct connections were made to other films from the 1307 reviewed.

The top spot goes to Reverse Shot, a film magazine funded by the american National Endowment for the Arts. Unsurprisingly, their writers are incredibly knowledgeable of film history. When assessing the “submarine suspense genre” effort Black Sea, film critic Nick Pinkerton foregoes the comparison to Das Boot or The Hunt for Red October and makes less likely reference points:

Almost as soon as the anamorphic lens was added to the filmmaker’s toolkit it was put to use describing the interiors of submersibles in films like Richard Fleischer’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Sam Fuller’s Hell and High Water (both 1954). Black Sea, accordingly, is composed for widescreen by DP Christopher Ross (for what is apparently his first film on such a scale), though the intention to sustain smothering atmosphere is dissipated by fretful cutting.

As his obsessive Ahab side takes over, Black Sea reveals a thematic debt to John Huston (and his literary antecedents), a director whose filmography is filled with men doomed by their reach exceeding their grasp—not only his Moby Dick (1956) but also films from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) to The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

The Treasure of Sierra Madre
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

A near top spot goes to National Review with film critic Armond White. White’s opinions are often wildly different from other critics and he has been accused of being a contrarian (his unwavering defense of Adam Sandler comedies comes to mind). He defends the much maligned The Great Wall:

It is no coincidence that Damon’s bulked-up and full-faced appearance here recalls Brando (as both Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty and the mercenary William Walker in Gillo Pontecorvo’s anti-imperialist epic Burn!). In recent presumptuous political movies, Damon has lost the conscientiousness he first embodied as the contrite cavalryman of Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), but he shows faint memories of it here. Hollywood itself has become less scrupulous and offensively self-righteous. In these days when so-called resistance, from D.C. to the streets, uses dishonorable methods, The Great Wall offers a conscientious reminder of artistic principle, the respite of an aesthetically powerful comic book.

Nevertheless, he has vast film knowledge and one can’t accuse him of writing boring reviews. Read how he connects Spielberg’s adaption of The BFG to a 1940’s documentary on Woodrow Wilson by way of Barack Obama:

Sometimes hooded, BFG holds onto his dream-blowing trumpet/staff like an Old Testament prophet. He has Spielberg’s smile, but, when he’s excited, his large ears flap like fish gills. Those ears also suggest Spielberg’s cinematic idol David Lean (just as the Close Encounters alien suggested Jean Renoir), but BFG mostly resembles our current president, the phantom figure behind Spielberg–Kushner’s Lincoln. BFG’s Big Daddy Obama ears hear all. He’s a figure of liberal dreams who provides citizens their own dreams. The BFG is the most extravagant send-off Hollywood has ever given an American president. Explore the metaphor: A transition from a sleeping boy imbibing dreams from BFG’s trumpet to an English landscape shaped like the boy’s body is a political transfiguration. Spielberg’s Obama idolatry becomes mythic symbology. This deification goes beyond anything in Lincoln. It even surpasses Darryl F. Zanuck’s effort to idolize Woodrow Wilson in the 1944 Wilson (a movie as forgotten as Spielberg’s Lincoln is already forgotten).

Okay, Armond.
Okay, Armond.

Full results below:

Magazine Knowledge (#reviews)
reverseshot.org 3.0432084443 (33)
thefilmfile.com 2.8454334735 (91)
nationalreview.com 2.8145783171 (27)
artshub.com.au 2.40219101 (21)
televisionwithoutpity.com 2.3862150972 (45)
time.com 2.1705383152 (162)
madaboutmovies.org 2.0582887367 (37)
elantepenultimomohicano.com 2.0550341964 (23)
reelingreviews.com 1.7854533425 (505)
filmint.nu 1.7323377054 (21)
salon.com 1.7322008668 (288)
variety.com 1.7119467097 (834)
qnetwork.com 1.6844481985 (191)
junkee.com 1.6824168227 (62)
newyorker.com 1.6713557135 (200)
newstatesman.com 1.6556015416 (66)
blog.cinemaautopsy.com 1.6369312781 (30)
newrepublic.com 1.6266319136 (102)
efilmcritic.com 1.5738445689 (143)
trespassmag.com 1.5429763691 (130)
counterpunch.org 1.5428360901 (25)
newcityfilm.com 1.5250623493 (140)
artforum.com 1.4827224303 (21)
cnn.com 1.4793868136 (43)
grantland.com 1.4763931842 (189)
guardian.co.uk 1.4694900286 (23)
hitfix.com 1.4595462477 (157)
ncregister.com 1.4518780298 (24)
filmcomment.com 1.4406189103 (100)
patheos.com 1.4322649553 (23)
flavorwire.com 1.4184222929 (146)
eastbayexpress.com 1.4095687559 (143)
kpbs.org 1.3817937149 (53)
hollywoodchicago.com 1.3782226247 (130)
rogerebert.com 1.3727226932 (683)
clclt.com 1.3602636238 (367)
thewrap.com 1.3522675639 (311)
louisproyect.org 1.3443516524 (37)
mountainx.com 1.3366422388 (150)
film-forward.com 1.323430482 (54)
theatlantic.com 1.3052992619 (211)
eluniversal.com.mx 1.304691143 (33)
combustiblecelluloid.com 1.3005002016 (142)
cinephiled.com 1.2958593186 (23)
thenation.com 1.2931410432 (27)
filmfreakcentral.net 1.2928664247 (98)
screenrant.com 1.2899824531 (232)
thefilmyap.com 1.2880533448 (84)
cambridgeday.com 1.2857600536 (71)
indiewire.com 1.2856209255 (233)
filmthreat.com 1.2813357039 (36)
splicedpersonality.com 1.2788359622 (20)
butacaancha.com 1.2588669322 (37)
thedissolve.com 1.2567007446 (253)
theplaylist.net 1.2484604316 (68)
tucsonweekly.com 1.2432737131 (45)
honeycuttshollywood.com 1.2420493403 (165)
thefilmexperience.net 1.2395784947 (35)
thedailybeast.com 1.2375707164 (22)
theverge.com 1.2359211705 (73)
sensacine.com 1.2356985805 (23)
tonymacklin.net 1.2325227355 (82)
pastemagazine.com 1.2314329508 (228)
bloomberg.com 1.2294623657 (33)
nj.com 1.2235133764 (419)
npr.org 1.2223788629 (50)
fwweekly.com 1.2189416146 (73)
moviemet.com 1.2186072667 (49)
hamptonroads.com 1.21541148 (20)
ocregister.com 1.2078000684 (71)
vox.com 1.204275008 (79)
moviemezzanine.com 1.1935233386 (219)
earofnewt.com 1.1884583731 (20)
dailyfilmfix.com 1.1842533976 (57)
sbs.com.au 1.1807425866 (45)
scifinow.co.uk 1.1731370116 (24)
commercialappeal.com 1.1635366045 (151)
msn.com 1.1626731232 (87)
hollywoodreporter.com 1.1581891437 (547)
nola.com 1.1581599523 (220)
slate.com 1.1297952761 (175)
denofgeek.com 1.1289350321 (34)
buzzfeed.com 1.1281501783 (85)
allmovie.com 1.1237585377 (46)
theguardian.com 1.1206997259 (232)
metro.us 1.1183068141 (242)
christylemire.com 1.1085995205 (71)
vanityfair.com 1.107351238 (49)
avclub.com 1.1053768402 (637)
latimes.com 1.1042545132 (654)
popmatters.com 1.1013877326 (163)
metroactive.com 1.0997930112 (58)
awardscircuit.com 1.0988727997 (48)
reviewexpress.com 1.0961296729 (41)
thepopcornjunkie.com 1.0931006047 (25)
dailydead.com 1.0927932987 (29)
sacbee.com 1.0883355479 (40)
hollywoodintoto.com 1.0873889605 (54)
grouchoreviews.com 1.080380284 (187)
screendaily.com 1.0696257933 (140)
bkmag.com 1.0672133719 (61)
deadspin.com 1.0666638177 (37)
austinchronicle.com 1.0650694328 (455)
vulture.com 1.0525588939 (310)
bostonglobe.com 1.0478711036 (242)
chicagotribune.com 1.0470400408 (414)
kansascity.com 1.0458851132 (112)
heraldsun.com.au 1.0365695032 (23)
enfilme.com 1.0362408373 (65)
oregonlive.com 1.035413893 (263)
lylesmoviefiles.com 1.0341462351 (107)
consequenceofsound.net 1.0316961325 (169)
arkansasonline.com 1.028948285 (46)
huffingtonpost.com 1.027787006 (33)
franksreelreviews.com 1.0261585397 (21)
sevendaysvt.com 1.0152233395 (177)
chicago.suntimes.com 1.0147661985 (91)
colesmithey.com 1.0135752476 (76)
observer.com 1.0131586116 (183)
filmracket.com 1.0129534657 (154)
villagevoice.com 1.0106413125 (372)
filmblather.com 1.0064041791 (28)
theglobeandmail.com 1.0059146772 (305)
parade.com 1.0031368474 (22)
uproxx.com 1.0006952228 (76)
theartsdesk.com 0.9896875011 (93)
sfexaminer.com 0.9886707321 (115)
movieline.com 0.9870647726 (43)
examiner.com 0.9793263166 (252)
craveonline.com 0.9705495087 (154)
filmjournal.com 0.9608230889 (270)
patriotledger.com 0.959111082 (218)
reviewjournal.com 0.9580045275 (84)
cinemasight.com 0.9579346943 (81)
fatguysatthemovies.com 0.9578380997 (194)
reelfilm.com 0.9550473324 (232)
thefilmstage.com 0.9507928047 (251)
orlandoweekly.com 0.9484641952 (50)
quickflix.com.au 0.9452665672 (28)
rogersmovienation.com 0.9452313253 (321)
hollywoodandfine.com 0.9450996995 (66)
nydailynews.com 0.9448472268 (474)
themarysue.com 0.9419897422 (20)
americamagazine.org 0.9403142271 (21)
oneguysopinion.com 0.9382772328 (271)
jsonline.com 0.93675536 (113)
slantmagazine.com 0.9335706522 (321)
redeyechicago.com 0.9315104655 (261)
fourthreefilm.com 0.9287370152 (42)
filmink.com.au 0.9221270881 (131)
cleveland.com 0.9201554358 (192)
thestar.com 0.9199893298 (325)
cine-vue.com 0.9164512907 (20)
spectator.co.uk 0.9152830738 (39)
philly.com 0.9146300011 (298)
theneworleansadvocate.com 0.9109541021 (28)
smh.com.au 0.9083814304 (169)
film.com 0.9079105087 (201)
gamesradar.com 0.9078983286 (45)
playboy.com 0.905273159 (64)
cityweekly.net 0.9017660017 (35)
7mpictures.com 0.9008877106 (21)
nerdist.com 0.8989777509 (105)
laweekly.com 0.8948884123 (73)
telegraph.co.uk 0.8941723423 (38)
reelviews.net 0.8909436682 (418)
wegotthiscovered.com 0.8906948555 (359)
tvguide.com 0.8906888972 (67)
houstonpress.com 0.8903004883 (44)
empireonline.com 0.8813057224 (78)
sfgate.com 0.8802373471 (407)
mystatesman.com 0.8783162664 (23)
filmschoolrejects.com 0.8771908579 (144)
christianitytoday.com 0.8758899537 (65)
nytimes.com 0.8735887774 (98)
chicagoreader.com 0.8722744086 (394)
independent.co.uk 0.8691060885 (55)
impulsegamer.com 0.8676322776 (78)
newsreview.com 0.8674896385 (196)
electricsheepmagazine.co.uk 0.867261957 (37)
ft.com 0.8639532013 (61)
technologytell.com 0.8626735821 (102)
suntimes.com 0.8596154926 (20)
miami.com 0.8536510127 (203)
theage.com.au 0.8520148936 (56)
sltrib.com 0.8504452352 (134)
susangranger.com 0.8470513541 (269)
larsenonfilm.com 0.8465372196 (120)
7dvt.com 0.8460128754 (37)
irishtimes.com 0.8406598884 (163)
thefilmpie.com 0.8377803762 (122)
sover.net 0.8371205151 (42)
whatsontv.co.uk 0.8356219985 (25)
criticsnotebook.com 0.8347744028 (31)
spiritualityandpractice.com 0.8337951282 (70)
mercurynews.com 0.831396285 (171)
washingtonpost.com 0.8313609169 (385)
stltoday.com 0.8267829475 (423)
dallasnews.com 0.8246351373 (45)
paloaltoonline.com 0.8236474327 (21)
ericdsnider.com 0.8218765434 (139)
tonymedley.com 0.8167938435 (58)
movies.com 0.808623248 (84)
dailynews.com 0.8075242007 (28)
mlive.com 0.806690626 (177)
pajiba.com 0.8057580284 (36)
theskinny.co.uk 0.8027639606 (53)
flickfilosopher.com 0.8017195844 (276)
cinepremiere.com.mx 0.8006140715 (46)
reeltalkreviews.com 0.7977534991 (81)
winnipegfreepress.com 0.7944600319 (48)
totalfilm.com 0.7943197566 (101)
rte.ie 0.7916965146 (39)
cinemixtape.com 0.7912559522 (359)
screenit.com 0.7900316392 (309)
screencrush.com 0.7881415435 (57)
beliefnet.com 0.7851510019 (96)
digitalspy.com 0.7806220814 (31)
theepochtimes.com 0.780260886 (67)
vueweekly.com 0.7741311052 (42)
freebeacon.com 0.770991855 (64)
mtv.com 0.7704817466 (49)
charlotteobserver.com 0.7687365557 (64)
comingsoon.net 0.7669895018 (160)
film.list.co.uk 0.7669062028 (126)
nymag.com 0.7607973133 (31)
cinemablend.com 0.7600450193 (245)
kaplanvskaplan.com 0.7589174755 (59)
dailyherald.com 0.7551883719 (147)
boston.com 0.7535912612 (126)
host.madison.com 0.7524895005 (60)
flicks.co.nz 0.7506043714 (119)
thephoenix.com 0.7502237458 (74)
newsday.com 0.7491358663 (391)
streamondemandathome.com 0.7483372286 (40)
moviechambers.com 0.7400342631 (76)
monstersandcritics.com 0.7378312917 (23)
theadvocate.com 0.7340839917 (24)
timeout.com 0.72970371 (130)
scene-stealers.com 0.7281158118 (67)
standard.net.au 0.7279911643 (49)
mediamikes.com 0.7277485072 (89)
ew.com 0.7276073449 (226)
richardroeper.com 0.7245637666 (20)
straight.com 0.7213906792 (78)
aarp.org 0.7202049009 (70)
themoviereport.com 0.7199845394 (33)
neilsentertainmentpicks.com 0.7163928004 (30)
abcnews.go.com 0.7119352942 (64)
filmireland.net 0.7115523494 (30)
theyoungfolks.com 0.7100528558 (148)
foxnews.com 0.7075468264 (45)
tri-cityherald.com 0.7070344892 (158)
rollingstone.com 0.7039485454 (277)
utsandiego.com 0.6992193837 (107)
toledoblade.com 0.69655787 (60)
nypost.com 0.6953789791 (483)
metrotimes.com 0.6936019417 (73)
collider.com 0.6934093976 (88)
bostonherald.com 0.6906673049 (164)
concreteplayground.com 0.6887891817 (113)
twitchfilm.com 0.6874064711 (20)
qctimes.com 0.6873155691 (220)
showbizjunkies.com 0.6869646002 (41)
cinemaemcena.com.br 0.6839665792 (45)
aisleseat.com 0.6815160404 (189)
guidelive.com 0.6803891057 (35)
sandiegouniontribune.com 0.6787863918 (41)
about.com 0.6781917736 (70)
wsj.com 0.6775287601 (65)
mattsmoviereviews.net 0.674675833 (93)
reason.com 0.6735148074 (103)
geeknation.com 0.6731961803 (31)
madisonmovie.org 0.6713339995 (52)
variagate.com 0.6700426966 (52)
moviecrypt.com 0.6687802333 (24)
deseretnews.com 0.665191865 (82)
darkhorizons.com 0.6613392511 (22)
moviehabit.com 0.6608938668 (163)
deadline.com 0.6594967401 (43)
cultura.elpais.com 0.6540872584 (29)
detroitnews.com 0.6508621414 (239)
csmonitor.com 0.6490095508 (171)
denverpost.com 0.6488999588 (82)
heraldnet.com 0.6432108726 (44)
sfx.co.uk 0.6429721922 (28)
undertheradarmag.com 0.6425422053 (77)
threemoviebuffs.com 0.6377978443 (46)
nzherald.co.nz 0.6299633412 (119)
commonsensemedia.org 0.6274458923 (127)
startribune.com 0.6183001007 (305)
washingtoncitypaper.com 0.6110434286 (36)
tampabay.com 0.6066753027 (164)
fanthefiremagazine.com 0.6065573665 (65)
cinexpresspr.com 0.6059347472 (28)
digitalspy.co.uk 0.6027299709 (132)
badassdigest.com 0.5988368921 (21)
seattletimes.com 0.5982261156 (108)
todayszaman.com 0.590141942 (37)
cinemalogue.com 0.5895187451 (153)
twincities.com 0.5837082517 (57)
amny.com 0.583066909 (79)
wweek.com 0.5819236237 (84)
usatoday.com 0.5808505747 (285)
bullz-eye.com 0.5764774204 (35)
news-gazette.com 0.5657829821 (36)
lawrence.com 0.5653406539 (35)
scifimoviepage.com 0.5592572656 (35)
indielondon.co.uk 0.5588613031 (25)
nationalpost.com 0.5493407593 (21)
johnhanlonreviews.com 0.5488007479 (87)
japantimes.co.jp 0.5392250736 (40)
columbusalive.com 0.5344194854 (73)
sandiegoreader.com 0.527507882 (56)
theoohtray.com 0.5248724455 (121)
nuvo.net 0.5214378136 (58)
lasvegasweekly.com 0.5181087688 (75)
markreviewsmovies.com 0.5120733797 (47)
scmp.com 0.5120025905 (73)
radiotimes.com 0.5104497923 (150)
cinema-crazed.com 0.5103995036 (114)
cinencuentro.com 0.5046019809 (22)
ny1.com 0.4998529539 (23)
reelbob.com 0.4981601096 (23)
thecoast.ca 0.4960244908 (23)
graffitiwithpunctuation.net 0.4953533409 (105)
people.com 0.4842675343 (21)
nycmovieguru.com 0.4802875802 (37)
starburstmagazine.com 0.4675816789 (31)
thetimes.co.uk 0.4657254793 (137)
americanprofile.com 0.4640250085 (34)
usmagazine.com 0.4583920326 (48)
fromthebalcony.com 0.4554262532 (36)
schmoesknow.com 0.429750959 (67)
stardem.com 0.427889569 (90)
cinemania.es 0.4262571178 (23)
azcentral.com 0.4117725925 (66)
konexion.com.mx 0.4091041149 (20)
baltimoremagazine.net 0.401766033 (40)
breitbart.com 0.4002056916 (20)
dcw50.com 0.3999750744 (24)
atlanticcityweekly.com 0.3556752158 (20)
screenwize.com 0.3555575163 (20)
flixist.com 0.3165106472 (34)
cairo360.com 0.3093178565 (21)

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