Blogs, for instance, are often more useful as insights to public opinion, as many of them (in fact, most of the sites at the Large Association of Movie Blogs) are simply reviews of films, and while I applaud their attempts at critiquing what Hollywood has to offer, the blogs themselves offer little insight outside of that of an aspiring critic. Still others are blatantly biased, and really offer little to no insight other than what is obvious from a static viewpoint. That said, there are a few insightful blogs that offer more than film reviews, such as the popular /film, which often contains well-researched looks into licensing and artwork relating to films. Furthermore, while it thinks that it is cooler than it really is, Ain't It Cool News is often a resourceful site for previews of many nerd-based film happenings (anything about Star Wars, Aliens, or by J.J. Abrams, for example.)
On the other hand, websites of newspapers dedicated to film tend to have a broader depth of information, and, though they tend to have reviews as well, these reviews are also almost always well-researched, if not always on the mark. For instance, the New York Time's section on movies chiefly looks at movie reviews by renowned critic A.O. Scott, but also looks at film's effects on the world, as well as how the world affects film. As the film world's biggest newspaper, Variety is a constant source of reliable coverage of nearly all of the film world's news. It also gives reviews of films released in theaters and film festivals, reviews that also analyze the film's marketability and reach. In my mind, however, the film world's most famous critic is also the best. Roger Ebert's website contains an incredibly extensive collection not only of movies, but editorials and insights into film festivals, the nature of films, and reflections on past film's influence. Numerous editors affiliated with his site also provide extensive commentary on all parts of the film world.
For a comprehensive listing of reviews, however, the best way to look is aggregate review sites, such as Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic. Both sites don't review films, but rather collect other reviews and create an average review based on these numbers.While Metacritic may have a larger collection of reviews to base its numbers on, Rotten Tomatoes also has information on box office numbers and interviews with people of the industry, making it a valuable site for more than the reviews. Don't make the mistake of many moviegoers (see picture) and base your decision on these aggregates, however - low scores can mean a movie is 'love-it-or-hate-it' as often as it can mean that it is poor.
Some of the provided websites stand as more encyclopedic resources. The darling of the internet movie enthusiast, IMDb is a community-run listing of movies, along with their casts, and technical aspects such as running times, languages and taglines. And, of a special note is Kids in Mind, which rates movies according to three categories - sexuality, violence, and language, and methodically details every instance of these potentially harmful effects on the youthful mind ("a husband and wife hug" is regularly counted in 'sexuality.') However, the website has another inadvertent use - the detailed descriptions of what is seen, what is heard, and what is implied allow for detailed research into controversial materials, giving readers a reliable way to critique sensationalizing reviews. These websites can be a substantial resource for a blogger to base arguments on, for market researchers to analyze audience reactions, or to gauge critical response to everything in the film world.
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