And the question is ...

It's a hoot to tell strangers what I do for a living, but sometimes I get interesting reactions. If you met a weather forecaster at a party, you wouldn't say, "geez, you guys are never right," even if that's precisely what you're thinking. It would be rude. But sometimes when I tell someone what I do, they say "eh, I never listen to the critics." Now, that's fine, but could you sugar coat it for me so I don't want to hide behind the punch bowl?
Clearly, this person has been burned one too many times by a lousy critic.
That leads me to today's post. What questions do you have about movie criticism? What do critics do or write that drives you insane? How can critics better help the public, ostensibly our main purpose? Share your thoughts, but be gentle. On the Web, there's no punch bowl for me to cower behind.