Worse than any fake movie critic ever could be

Hey, remember five years ago, when Sony got busted for inventing a movie critic named Dave Manning, just so the company could use the phony critic's rave reviews in ads for their movies, like Rob Schneider's "The Animal"? That was embarrassing, no doubt.

But while watching an ad for "The Good Shepherd" recently, I remembered a trend that I find far worse: Using Larry King's quotes in movie ads.

For the record, I have nothing against the guy. I just want movie companies to stop showcasing his rave reviews.

For starters, Larry King likes everything -- seemingly even more movies than Ain't It Cool News and Rolling Stone's Peter Travers combined. One key difference is that, even if King actually hates the movie, he could just be buttering A-listers up so he could interview them on his show.

In adition, -- hmm... how should I phrase this? -- LARRY KING IS NOT A FREAKIN' MOVIE CRITIC!!!

Really, what other talk show hosts' quotes routinely appear in movie ads? There are at least 20 other hosts' opinions I'd rather hear over King's, including some who no longer are on the air or breathing it. Wouldn't you think Oprah, in all of her Winfreynetic glory, would get more movie ad mentions than the man who suspenders [sic] disbelief? Arguably Gayle King's got more media cred than Larry King.

And even when ads for an awful movie reference a rave review from a tasteless critic from a small newspaper in the middle of nowhere, that opinion's coming from someone whose primary job it is to gauge movies' quality.

At least Dave Manning reviewed movies for a (fake) living.