Lee Let Go

Apparently I am a day late on getting this news, but it is nonetheless shocking and mindnumbing. One, if not my favorite critic out there, Nathan Lee, has been let go by the Village Voice, effective immediately. Jim Emerson, over at Scanners, has a great piece (as always) in regards to Lee and the state of the movie critic that can be found here.

Lee's rhetorical flare and love of film always inspired me as a writer. In a time when bloggy writing (that we at least attempt to mostly get above here) is becoming preeminent, Lee was always able to give his distinct opinions with plenty of "bloggy" personality, but with all the in depth formal insights that so many writers fail to come close to. Lee's redundancy is an absolute travesty, and is another sad display in the dwindling state of film criticism.

by James Hansen