I see a need in the past for professional critics. Not everybody could watch a movie and then give their opinions about it, so critics were needed to voice their opinion on the movie thus giving people a decision.
But in the age of the internet, am I the only one who thinks they're just god damn tiresome?
Here's an example: Even though I don't like the site very much, Rotten Tomatoes at least shows the difference between "critics'" scores and the audience's score. For one of my chlidhood favorites, The Mighty Ducks, the critics gave it a 12% and the audience gave it a 64%. I mean, really? Isn't the tyranny of the majority more reliable than a few jerks who don't even know the true meaning of Christmas?
Plus, every half-educated punk with an English degree can pull a review of the film on IMDB without getting money for it. I say we lynch them all.