About
Welcome to ChristyLemire.com! If you're new to my work as a film critic or would like to get reacquainted, here's a little bit about who I am and what inspires me.
Movies have been a huge part of my life since my earliest days. Looking back, it's so clear: They've always been there for me. From the annual holiday ritual of watching "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music" when I was a little girl to repeated viewings of "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" in high school to matinees of whatever was playing at the local arthouse theater while I was at Southern Methodist University, films have provided a constant source of fascination and escape.
I suppose this was my destiny, growing up in suburban Los Angeles as the only child of a mom who loved Fellini and a dad who gravitated toward Humphrey Bogart and classic musicals. And now I have the joy of passing on this love of movies to my teenage son, Nicolas, who's my frequent plus-one and constant sounding board. Someday, he'll look back and appreciate the fact that my husband and I took him to a Sunday morning 70mm showing of "2001: A Space Odyssey" when he was in the second grade.
But for the past quarter-century, movies have been not just my passion but also my profession. For 15 years, I was the film critic for The Associated Press. These days, I have six jobs and no job, as I like to joke. Among the places you can find me:
- Talking about movies at the Breakfast All Day YouTube channel and podcast with my dear friend and co-host, Alonso Duralde.
- Writing about movies as one of the main critics at RogerEbert.com. (I also had the honor of co-hosting "Ebert Presents At the Movies," a revamped version of "Siskel and Ebert" with Roger serving as executive producer, on public television for one glorious year in 2011.)
- Talking some more about movies on both NPR stations in Los Angeles: FilmWeek on LAist 89.3 and Press Play on KCRW 89.9.
It's been an incredible privilege to cover what I love for a living. But when I share my thoughts on a movie, I feel like it's just the beginning of the conversation: I want to hear from you, so feel free to comment, and let's talk about what you love too!