This Week on Criticwire: Weighing In on Critical Habits

Weekend Reel Reads: Origins of Cameras and Characters: The past week's collection of film-related stories included the tale of the greatest screenplay never produced and a meticulous analysis of the tracking shots of Paul Thomas Anderson.

The Criticwire Survey: Underrated Hitchcock: "Frenzy" was a popular response, but the rest of this week's survey reads like a mandatory Hitch viewing list.

'The Comedy' Director Calls Out Critics For "Insulting and Irresponsible" Reviews: Director Rick Alverson continues his artistic crusade to eradicate condemnation of behavior as a filmmaking convention.

Editor Dismisses Film Critic, Claiming Movies "Robbed America of its Manliness": Apparently, some publications were uncomfortable with "Snow White and the Huntsman" for...different reasons.

Listen to a Criticwire Panel Discussion on the State of Film Criticism in the Digital Age: Reproduced for your listening pleasure, an hour-long talk featuring some New York-based critics you might just be familiar with.

Actually, Pauline Kael Did Occasionally Watch Films More Than Once: The legendary Kael tidbit might not be as comprehensive as we may have previously believed.

From the Wire: The 'Hitchcock' Fact-Check: Perhaps some biopics aren't meant to be checked against history, but Ben Kenigsberg has assembled a collection of slight inaccuracies with the latest film about Alfred Hitchcock.

VODetails: 'The Fitzgerald Family Christmas': Reviews for Edward Burns' latest are somewhat mixed, but the addition of Connie Britton might have just put it over the top.

Criticwire Picks: 'Rust and Bone,' 'Bad 25' and 'Central Park Five' Top a Crowded Holiday Weekend: In which we note the critics who gave thanks for multiple docs reaching public consumption this week.

Elvis Mitchell Literally Laughs at the Idea of Being a Full-Time Critic Again: If you hosted a popular radio show and curated at a nationally-recognized museum, maybe you wouldn't have time to be a critic either.

From the Wire: A "Fun in the Foyer" Furor: One critic thinks that PR spoils might be overtaking the London screening circuit, and his assertions may not be restricted to Europe alone.

Matt Answers Every Criticwire Survey Question: After months of collecting everyone else's answers, Matt takes the opportunity to give his responses to the various questions, including a fascinating prequel idea.

Listen to Matt on the Cinephiliacs Podcast: An hour-and-a-half discussion of film criticism featuring a heavy dose of the Shyamalan "documentary?" Count me in!

This Week in Year-End Movie Catch-Up: As the end of the voting period looms in just a couple of weeks, Matt takes some time to round out his list of 2012 viewings.