Somebody asked me to name off my favorite under-40 female critics the other night. I forget how the subject came up or why under-40 was mentioned as opposed to under-30 or under-50, but off the top of my head I said Kim Morgan, Karina Longworth, Kim Voynar, Katey Rich, and…and…and I ran out of names.

There must be at least four or five I’m not thinking of so I’m asking for names and links and quotes. If LexG or anyone of that attitude/mindset mentions looks or hotness I’m going to erase the post — fair warning.

Tossing aside the age thing my favorite brilliant/eccentric/lunar-orbit female critic is Manohla Dargis of the N.Y. Times — I dearly love her writing. My second favorite is Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday, partly because she writes well and partly because I agree with her 90% of the time. I’m a fan of Slate‘s Dana Stevens and Salon‘s Stephanie Zacharek. And…uhm, no one else is coming to mind. Who am I missing?