Stephen Lovelette

Writer, critic, cinephile.

I work in software consulting now, but film has always been prevalent. I majored in English Writing and Religious Studies at DePauw University (2012), and I launched this blog in 2013 – partly to sharpen my writing, partly to build toward Rotten Tomatoes critic status, which remains a goal.

The aim has always been clear: film criticism without politics. Just honest evaluations of a movie’s quality. I’ve mostly stuck to that.

The reason I stopped writing for a while was Selma. I watched in earnest, tried to review it and hit a wall. Every attempt at critique felt like it risked offense. The Rotten Tomatoes score was 100% amongst the critics; illustrating a broken, backwards system I could not work in.

To this day Selma scores a 99% amongst the critics. Only 4 of 313 ‘certified’ critics had the insight and courage to review it even-handedly.
There is nothing “Fresh” about Selma.

I should have kept going, because the years that followed were a platinum age of cinema—studio blockbusters and tiny indies alike reaching a level of quality that was almost impossible to keep up with. I’ve kept pace anyway. At this point, seeing films is nearly a second job, and one of my childhood goals is mostly complete: I’ve seen almost everything.

I also worked five years in the Chicago film industry, moving from PA gigs (Imperfections, Suicide Squad aerials) into the Locations Department (Operator, Chicago Med, The Exorcist, Captive State). My proudest credits: Widows and Utopia.

This blog is where all of it converges: years of watching, years of working, years of writing. Reviews that cut through noise.