The fingerprints of critic-hating editor Peter Bart are all over a strange little piece bylined by Pamela McClintock in Weekly Variety. Headlined “critics get in summer spirit,” it argues that because movie critics are being bought out and fired left and right, those remaining “seem to be getting more in touch with the public.” McClintock cites as evidence the sky-high approval ratings for current blockbusters “Iron Man,” “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E” — though she’s doesn’t specify where the numbers come from. I’m guessing it’s Rotten Tomatoes, which is more and more heavily weighted toward Internet critics, who are increasing in number even as us print types diminish in number. Leaving that issue aside, it’s an easily disproven canard that critics “turn up their noses at populist fare,” as McClintock puts it. The second Spider-Man movie racked up an approval rating right up there with “The Dark Knight,” and, just last summer, Pixar’s “Ratatouille” had comparable numbers to “WALL-E.” Most critics — at least not the snobs, who are relatively few in number — don’t reflexibly dislike populist movies, they dislike bad populist movies. I doubt many of my colleagues had an inkling “Speed Racer” — widely expected to be one of the summer’s big grossers — would tank when they gave it a thumbs down.