How Do You Choose Which Film to See?

Rottentomatoes.com. It takes account of reviews all across the country, and generates a score, which shows what % of reviews are positive. Takes it even a step further with "cream of the crop," which seperates some of the bigger, well known reviewers into it's own score.

I always read reviews 3 places -- New York Times, New Yorker, and Onion (AV Club). Between the three of them I usually get a good idea of what I'll think of the movie (haven't been surprised yet).

Because my ex-husband never wanted to go out, we would rent movies every Friday and watch them while I ironed. I almost never rent movies. Can not remember the last time I did.

I generally pick which movie I want to see by the director or the star. If neither is known to me, then I chose to watch it because the subject matter is interesting. Actually, the above sentence needed to be flipped over, because the subject matter is generally more important than the star or the director.

Of course, my stars are Helen Mirren and Tilda Swinton or Ian McKellen.

I ignore web review services like Rotten Tomatoes. I don't care if 85% of the reviewers say a film is great because those services miss the nuances of the reviews. I care more about a critic I am familiar with then someone I have never heard of. It is possible that Joe Blow in Dubuque is the most prescient critic in America and has the best taste, but, until I read his reviews, then see the movies for myself, how do I know to have faith in him? We all know people who recommend restaurants to us that we avoid like the plague because those people are either rotten cooks or are such fussy eaters that we know better than to accept their restaurant choices. If a critic has proved him/herself to me, I will consider what (s)he has to say.

I don't go to the movies anymore. I wait until they come out on cable, so by the time I get to see them, I've heard enough about them to have a pretty good idea of what I want to see. The challenge is not hearing too much about them. Don't want to know enough to ruin it for me.

I'll also look for some movies based on the director or an actor.

Sometimes I read the little blurb that appears on my cable system and take a chance. Win a few; lose a few.

I pay attention to reviews with great skepticism. How long a film plays locally counts. Word of mouth sometimes helps. Overly hyped films rarely live up to the buzz. Often, I just play a hunch, or check out a film because the cast has appeared in various films I've liked.

Word of mouth, watching, or hearing what was said on, a couple of good film shows on TV, reviews in a couple of places I trust.

edgarblythe- I agree that I often look with a jaundiced eye at a review. Who knows if the reviewer has the same taste that I do? That is why I like to scan the MRQE. I will get an idea, from a quick glance, from many reviewers, as to the general quality level of a film.

As I have mentioned before, I am not (as you know) from the majority movie going demographic. Therefore, films geared to the twenty-somethings rarely hold any interest for me.

For instance, unless a "coming of age" film has superb actors, and excellent script and direction, I will usually pass it by. I can no longer relate to those types of movies. I also cannot deal with some of those silly movies that the young appear to favor.

I enjoy a more sophisticated sense of humor. Ditto for the gross, obvious horror movies. Although I love horror movies, especially psychological horror, I will not see one of those inane slasher flicks.

I approach most films with the jaundiced eye of one too often duped into spending good money and precious time on garbage.

A combination for me.
I went to see Stranger than Fiction ast night and loved it.
Mainly I love Emma Thompson and totally fancy Will Farrel, then I learned a bit of the storyline and it seemed appealing.

So mainly actor quality, good storyline/type of film, if friends say its good.


Im looking forward to Perfume, only know one actor in it(Dustin Hoffman)so semi appealing and the storyline(victorian murders)sounds fantastic.

I usually hear someone talk about a film, I see/read a preview, or my husband tells me he wants to see a movie.
In the first two cases, I go if what I heard/saw/read caught my interest, in the second case I usually go in any case.

Saying that, I don't even remember the last movie I saw in the cinema or on DVD.

Watch Ebert and Roeper every week and like the guest reviewers, especially Kevin Smith and A. O. Scott of the New York Times. Check into RottenTomatoes.com to see what the consensus of critical opinion is, ask friends and relatives if they've seen any good movie lately (actually, I'm afraid, the least reliable except for Mom (not action adventure, generally!), maybe my Nephew and about two of my friends). I also will follow the A2K member's comments on films which is why I started the new film thread.

I can rely on my most admired directors and writers, but the actors generally don't inspire me to see a film because even the best can end up on the clunker.

Phoenix -- Most people who are coming of age are too young to appreciate coming of age films.

Many reasons put together.
A very good or very bad trailer will lure me into watching a movie or avoiding it.
Some directors are a must; some actors, a turn off.
Word of mouth, but I don't trust that many people.
Sometimes, when in doubt, I see the imdb ratings: will pay attention only if they're very low (below 5.0) or very high (over 8.0).
And sometimes, I'll go to the multiplex and see the picture that does not look all that bad (it also happens that I decide not to see a movie).

If your area has active and popular second run theatres, as the greater Boston area does, a good indication of the worth of a film is how long it is shown in second run. Interestingly, the so-called block busters seldom run more than two weeks in second run while the art house releases linger, as do the indies.

My son bought me the boxed DVD set of the second season of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Last year, he bought me season one. I am in my glory. Although the shows are far less sophisticated than the stuff that they show on TV today, they are still delicious!!!

Trailers, largely, if I'm not just going to wait for it to come on cable. I can usually tell from the trailer if a movie's up my alley or not. (Usually they're not.) (Sometimes they are, but they're no good. Such is life. It still gets me into the AC in the summer.)

A friend recently gave me a DVD of a film as a present and while we were talking about, a third woman came up and said how much she loved it. So, that is another way of selecting pictures to see.

Picking movies.
How I pick movies to see.
I rely on word of mouth, heresay, and expecially critics. Hold off!
Good critics like Anthony Lane and David Denby in The New Yorker,

CRITICS??? A good critic starts by announceing his biases, his loathing
for a particular actor. etc. These critics are different from reviewers in that they have to meet deadlines, can't go too deep into the sbjcect I may find a critic that I rarely agree with. Then, I know that if he likes it, I probably won't.
Do I ever choose what I want to see? Yes, yes.
All the critics seem to commend The Departed.
I saw, but didn't like Martin Scorcese's The Departed. Who were the characters I was supposed sympathize with? If none of them were, then what's the point of the movie.

If a sports journalist from England, came to USA and, having seen only twelve football games in his life began an assessment of a particularly close, important football game, would you listen to him or to a guy or gal who had seen hundreds of games. That's how I feel about critics.

Still wan't to see The Queen, Stranger Than Fiction, and several others.