Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for Variety since 1990, he is the author of Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See (Michael Wiese Productions), and was a contributing critic for Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide. As of July 2021 he has 1225 reviews collected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. He is also a founding member of Houston Film Critics Society, and a voting member of Critics Choice. Since 2001, Leydon taught film and communication studies courses at Houston Community College and the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at University of Houston.