There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a movie.
We have friends who always go to a Helen Mirren movie, good reviews or bad for instance. My husband is strongly influenced by trailers. Other friends look for a political content. Still others, really demand entertainment: they want to laugh if they're going to lay out $10. Another friend will see almost anything within ten minutes of her house. And I am always amazed at people around me in the theater whose decision seems to have been made on movies available at the time they turned up. Sometimes a strong partnerpal pushes the decision.
I am mostly influenced by reviews. Even if the story doesn't interest me at all, if the reviews are good I am likely to see it. Not any one reviewer but the consensus of reviews you find on rotten tomatoes or metacritic. I see an awful lot of movies--probably more than 75 a year. So that consensus figure can be pretty low for me. Anything over 70% is fair game.
What about you? What is most likely to influence your decision?
28 comments:
Patti - Interesting question (as ever). I have to say I don't see many movies, really. So if I'm going to see one, it's got to have been very well-reviewed and worth the view. So I suppose I go by reviews, too...
If left to my own devices, I'd probably see a lot of bad movies, because I'm (generally) a sucker for blockbuster types. But since 99% of the movies I see I see with Julia, I am bound by how much she can tolerate of my suggestions. So we go based on two categories:
1. Reviews, typically the rating at Rotten Tomatoes, for movies we were interested in in the first place, and
2. Recommendations from friends. This one especially applies to movies from places like NetFlix, which we may have missed the first time around, or for foreign films, etc.
I get most of my pre-movie release info from nerd websites and magazines. Julia bases hers on reviews from places like the New Yorker. Luckily we are both open-minded in what we are willing to see. We generally don't see Romantic Comedies (pretty much never, regardless of the rating), rarely see Comedy (which are usually poorly rated anyway), and even more rarely see Horror.
I go by reviews and movies from directors I like. For instance, the weekend it started I saw "The Social Network", loved it, and recommended it to a lot of people, and still think it was the best movie of last year. People kept asking why I'd want to see a movie about Facebook, since my interest in Facebook and social media in general is as close to zero as you can get. The answer was that I didn't see it as a movie about Facebook--I saw it as a David Fincher movie, and I've been a fan of his since the horribly underrated "Alien 3". Good directors make, for the most part, good movies.
I should have included directors for sure. For instance, I would probably see any movie made by Coen Brothers, Fincher, Malick, Almodovar, Scorsese and a few more.
I have few friends whose taste coincides exactly with ours. But one couple who is so fussy, I would probably go to anything they liked. And another so promiscuous it would not influence me at all.
Can't remember last time I saw a movie at a cinema. Ages ago. Nearest cinema is half an hour away, which is a big factor. Planes are when I catch up a little.
My mother seems to believe it's a law that she has to go to the movies every weekend, No Matter What. Then she complains about the movie she saw.
We go so rarely these days it has to be either what Jackie considers a Big Screen movie (Harry Potter, Avatar) or an independent movie that appeals to us based on cast, storyline, reviews, etc. (Win Win).
In Florida we catch up on the Oscar hopefuls we've missed during the year.
When we were first dating (back when electricity was new) we too went to the movies nearly every weekend, often for a double feature (you kiddies ask your parents what they were). We were a lot less picky in those days.
Jeff M.
With me it's more avoiding movies by people rather than seeing movies by them. The list gets longer every year...
Jeff M.
My first is word of mouth. If someone I know has seen and really liked a film, and if I've found in the past that our taste coincides, that's enough for me to put it on my list. Since I see few films anyway, and friends know pretty much the kinds of things I enjoy (sci-fi, special effects, etc. that works pretty well. The other criteria is things I read about on-line, especially if they have a tie to something I already know and like. The upcoming Tintin film would qualify there.
Our closest theater is a half an hour away too. But we are adverse to staying home on weekends. And I hate watching movies on TV. So what's a girl to do. Bowling-nah, too old.
A lot of what I see depends on where it is showing -- the programmer's taste, etc. At least in NY, most of the theaters (especially the small ones) have very distinct tastes.
Aside from that, I go by word of mouth more than reviews. If someone I like is involved I'll see it regardless of reviews. I don't see a lot of trailers, and if I've decided to see something I probably won't read any more about it or watch the trailer.
If I lived in NY I could probably see three movies a week. I couldn't pass up the Film Forum, the series at the various museums, Lincoln Cente even the Swedish House. Of course, the prices might bring it to a halt. I can see most movies here for $4 or $5.
$4 or $5? No way you could find even the smallest, most out of the way dump in New York for anywhere near that. We paid $5 - %6.50 in Florida. Here you're lucky to get a ticket for $7 for a weekday matinee. And that's in Brooklyn.
Jeff M.
There has to be some upside to living in Detroit.
Chuckles. Usually for me it's hard to find, but respected in some way critically or historically. I seem to agree with Ebert 80% or more of the time, but there are plenty of films he doesn't get around to reviewing, so . . . I pretty much agree with your collective method, too, though pithy trailers can boost my interest, too. P.s. I particularly enjoy retro nights at art houses -- wonderful to see great films on the big screen with a live audience, always.
Typically I have a question about movies. do they blow stuff up? Are there some kind of monsters or aliens? Answer yes to either of these and I might see it. answer yes to both and I will probably see it. Answer no to both and I likely will pass.
You would have to twist my arm. I much prefer watching movies at home.
For some reason, when it comes to books and music, I tend to hang too much emphasis on reviews. When it comes to movies, trailers do the trick. Additionally, writer and/or director and/or actor. Rarely will reviews sway me one way or another with movies.
I watch movies across all genres though I am partial to comedy, musical, animation, war and western, thriller and mystery, and fantasy and science fiction. I no longer see horror unless it's an old classic and worth the attack on my innards. So watching "Terminator" and "Transformers" will mean the same to me as, say, watching "Sound of Music" and "Oklahoma!" I don't have to choose. I read film reviews but they don't influence my choice. If I have to put it down to anything at all, it would be the actor and director. I am easily put off by films that come strapped with pre-marketing hype — the reason I still haven't seen "Slumdog Millionaire". I often see films that my family thinks I must be stupid enough to watch and, yes, I'm a sucker for repeats too.
Before we decide to see a movie, I check out Roger Ebert's review. And, now, there's this new kid on the block, Patti Abbott, who influences our movie choices, too.
Ebert is pretty reliable and I am looking forward to his book. But the consensus is the thing for me.
I don't get out to movies much anymore, so I'm always waiting for Netflix to acquire the latest. Like right now I'm waiting for the newest version of JANE EYRE to arrive on my doorstep on Thursday.
I watch a lot of vintage movies, moreso than any new stuff.
I am like you though, Patti, I am influenced by reviews - usually in The NY Times or The New Yorker for new stuff. (Just habit.)
For vintage, it's the movie maven blogs.
Well, I've noted it before, the problem with Rotten Tomatoes is that they poll some of the most callow reviewers in the country for their stats...if you find it reliable, all to the good. I sure don't, and whenever I read the featured reviews, I see why again.
Reviewing isn't really that quantifiable, either.
Subject matter, talent (or lack) involved, reviews from those reviewers and colleagues I trust, and accessibility all play into what I see in a theater or what I wait and see on a home screen, not ever having learned that the home screen is not for taking seriously...where the hell else was I going to see THE 400 BLOWS and FORBIDDEN GAMES or for that matter DUCK SOUP as an 11yo? (NH Public Television WNHN ran the Janus/PBS THEATER package Saturdays at 9p and I believe WCVB-5 Boston for the Marxes on weekend late nights) My folks weren't even willing to take me to see MANHATTAN, back when I still liked Allen's films...for some reason, they'd gotten out of the habit of carpooling the kids to theater on weekends, as we'd done in Connecticut...
One of the many reasons to live in NY where you still get to see some of these movies on the big screen.
We took our kids to everything-including sub-titled movies after they could read. I remember them seeing a French movie in grade school along with a Woody Allen movie.
Unsurprisingly, still possible in LA and DC (at such spots as the Smithsonian) or even Honolulu (at least,the Academy of the Arts in the early '80s, where I first saw CAT PEOPLE and some others, and in the U Hawaii campus film societies)...but as an 11yo in the Boston burbs in southern New Hampshire, no transport options aside from 'rents who resented going into the Hub.
I have no memory of my parents ever taking me to a movie as a child. When I was about six or seven, I walked the ten blocks to the nearest theater with a friend most Saturdays. Imagine doing that today. (Of course, it was only about four blocks from the elementary school I attended and walked to.
We took our kids every weekend there was anything remotely suitable.
I am not sure about my movie going calculus. There are whole bunch of movies that I have been dead set on going to only to see my interest fizzle out.
I do take heed in some regard to what critics say. That being the case this summer I decided early on that I was going to see Bridesmaids not hearing anything about it. And you know what? I really enjoyed it!
I also like hearing buzz about films and letting that carry me into the cinema.
Another thing that will get me into the cinema is the possibility of there being a Q&A with any one who is involved in the film. That makes it fun too. Well worth the price of admission.
Finally and more rare is if I get a free ticket to a preview or something. That is how I saw Friends With Benefits. No way would I have seen that film in the theater otherwise.
I was dead set on not seeing THE HELP because I had issues with the book, but I am glad I did because it is a touchstone that I needed to touch.
First consideration: Do I really, really want to see this movie?
Second consideration: Is it a movie that MUST be seen on the big screen to be appreciated, a la Lord of the Rings?
Third consideration: Do I want to risk having to shush inconsiderate jerks to see this movie?
Fourth consideration: Will it be worth the admission price plus $12 for popcorn and a soda?
I rarely get four out of four and wait until it's on Netflix.
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