New York’s Toughest Critic Loves “Hot Fuzz”

The cantankerous New York Press film critic, Armond White, is not known for gushing over the usual awards-season darlings. He regularly takes a big stinky dump on everyone from Todd Haynes to Michael Mann to Sacha Baron Cohen. But the man loves loves loves Hot Fuzz, which hits theaters Friday:

Hot Fuzz‘s concept, [director Edgar] Wright’s second collaboration with actor/writer Simon Pegg, comes at just the time that American action movies have mindlessly resigned from any social or political significance. And Hot Fuzz is the richer for jovially insisting that the deepest pleasures of action movies don’t come from explosions and chase scenes, but seeing characters realize their place in the world and acting on it – enthusiastically.

By the way, here’s a photo of me shooting the sh*t with Mr. Pegg at last week’s screening at the Walter Reade Theater. Yes, I am that tall.