Yes, this definitely counts as criticism! I think the best critics are the ones who can tell you specifically how and why something is great. As an example, Jam

Yes, this definitely counts as criticism! I think the best critics are the ones who can tell you specifically how and why something is great. As an example, James Wood's book "How Fiction Works" is basically a compendium of paragraphs and sentences Wood thinks are wonderful, which he cracks open to inspect and explain. It's really impressive whenever a critic can pull this off; I often struggle to get beyond "OMG [THING X] IS GREAT."