In “Birdman,” “Big Eyes” and “Top Five,” everybody’s a critic (hater)

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Everybody’s a critic these days at the movies. Or, at least, everybody’s a critic hater. For some reason, three of the top movies released in the last couple of months have prominent and pretty unflattering roles for critics — New York Times critics in particular. Did the Old Grey Lady do something to tick off Hollywood?

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Instant Gratification: “Election” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix Instant

Election-still

Pick of the Week: “Election — Tracy Flick would have turned up her nose at the messy, careless Cheryl Strayed, but after seeing Reese Witherspoon’s tour de force in “Wild,” it’s fun to go back and see her in Alexander Payne’s 1999 comedy about a driven high school student and the teacher (Matthew Broderick) determined to stop her.

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