Time Magazine's Richard Corliss wonders about the modern movie critic. At one time, an independent movie was made or killed by a few reviews. Now, critics are rarely ever invited to screenings. Corliss says everyone at Time but him are invited to screenings.

But Corliss also believes that around award time (as in now) the studios start to seek their attention. It is then when critics finally become useful, even if the work is kinda silly. "I'm a member of the New York group, which met Monday to choose its best. The job is simple: tear yellow-lined paper into cracker-size bits; write a name or three on one piece; wait while the names are read out and tabulated; vote again and again; finally reach a consensus in this category; and go back to square one."

The article does a great job illustrating the absurdity of being a movie critic. For example, I was unaware of the regionalism present in movie critic circles.