With Phil, it's a weakness for spy novels, movies, and TV shows. Or dark indy movies. But mine is a bit different and something I am embarrassed to admit. If any book, or movie, or TV show gets good reviews, I am likely to see/read it. So I have no favorite genres really when I go to a movie. If it gets above an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, I will probably turn up. This has led us to see a lot of movies that are inappropriate to our age or personality. Likewise, no matter how much I may like Juliet Binoche and Clive Owens, their latest movie has reviews so poor, I cannot see it.I am predisposed not to like it.
Phil will no longer see Super Hero types of films. But when I see one gets a good review, I really want to see it--thinking I will find something there worth my time.
So instead of my prejudice being novels about cops, or movies about pirates, or TV shows about newspapers, mine is: I WILL SEE ANYTHING THAT CRITICS HAVE PRAISED. And probably nothing they haven't. UGH, me.
23 comments:
I'm swayed by Good Reviews for a book, CD, or movie. But I'm more inclined to experience one of these if someone on your blog recommends it. I'm still a fan of MARVEL super-hero movies, spy novels and movies (I want to see A MOST WANTED MAN), and science fiction.
It depends on the reviewer, Patti. If 80% of Rotten Tomatoes loves it and I have no clue who the reviewers are, it is not going to get me to see it necessarily.
It's more what I am prejudiced against than for. There are certain actors I will absolutely not pay money to see, no matter what the reviews - Tom (Malignant Dwarf) Cruise, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Kate Hudson, Katherine Heigl, etc. The list is growing.
I'm also not going to pay to see Seth Rogen/Jonah Hill/Judd Apatow "manchild" movies, any rom/coms, cheesy horror remakes of things that were mediocre the first time around (THE OMEN).
Give me a small, intelligent indie made for more mature adults and I'm more likely to be there.
And stay off my lawn!
Jeff M.
Hmmm.... I would say if it's a traditional style crime novel, I'll go for it.
Patti, why do you suppose that is? I'm genuinely curious...I'm not quite The Opposite, but I don't depend too much on what passes for critique or even reviews too often (the pile of idiots aggregated for most Rotten Tomatoes entries, for example)...though I will take in what a good reviewer or critic has to say, without being willing to agree with even a good case made (if I see something else about it). I certainly don't have anyone whom I see as a Nemesis, anything they hate I'll like, as some apparently do. Catholic tastes are all to the good, and at least you get to see some stuff outside the comfort zone your way...but I suspect you miss a lot of subtle and/or non-crowd-pleasing work (and perhaps get saddled with entirely too much facile/shallow work that might stroke the manques).
As far as books go, I already mentioned that I am biased against bestsellers that "everyone" is reading, when "everyone" means people who only read 1-4 books a year.
It's hard to say what I look for, other than favorite authors. I like a lot of YA books (and have before they became the in thing), still read more mysteries than any other genre (though my percentage is way down) and I'm always looking for new short story collections, whether "straight" fiction or genre.
In mysteries I don't read many cozies. If it is cutesy it isn't for me, in general, though I do like humor. I don't want excessively dark serial killer books - Denise Mina and the like may be excellent writers but not what I want.
Jeff M.
Wow, Patti. You seem enslaved to the media. You're a market researcher's dream come true. Sometimes I've watched a movie precisely because it has been slammed. And guess what? Sometimes I found a lot that was rewarding. THE FALL is a perfect example of missing out on a fascinating if not altogether brilliant movie, if you paid attention only to good reviews. There were very few raves.
When it comes to reading weakness books I cannot resist the old-fashioned puzzle detective novel. My tastes are very eclectic with movies. I guess my weakness is any horror movie that incorporates the occult or supernatural. There are very few of those these days. Too much violent gore and torture porn these days which I avoid. So I spend an awful lot of time looking for oldies.
I only read reviews from critics I have faith in, With this system despite seeing perhaps 100 movies a year at a theater I see few truly lousy ones. I would never have seen EDGE OF TOMORROW if not for the good reviews and it was good.
And the vast majority of what I see are independent and foreign films that I would not define as crowd pleasers.
Hey Patti,
I go to Rotten Tomatoes, look at the summary, but then search for the reviewers I trust. (Which translates to: "seem to share similar sensibilities with me.")
I wish books had their review aggregator.
My weakness is PI, and then crime fiction, and then mystery in general.
Stephen
Hey Patti,
I go to Rotten Tomatoes, look at the summary, but then search for the reviewers I trust. (Which translates to: "seem to share similar sensibilities with me.")
I wish books had their review aggregator.
My weakness is PI, and then crime fiction, and then mystery in general.
Stephen
When it comes to books I am greatly influenced by recomendations I read on blogs by people whose opinions I have come to respect, all of you here included. If something sounds interesting even if it is outside my usual comfort zone I will give it a try.
As for the NY Times reviewers, it's more hit and miss.
Jeff M.
That's about what I do, Stephen. Metacritic may have a better system but I usually go to RT.
Many of the books I have read in the last six years, came from reviews here. For instance Ed turned me on to Elizabeth X Holding.
If a book or movie review includes the phrase "astonishing twist" or "unexpected twist," I will generally try to read/see it--although it may be years before I get to it, and by then I may have already learned what the "twist" is.
Hype is almost always a turnoff to me, so the more something is pushed by media, the less I want to see / read it. Mostly I keep my own council, informed by word of mouth recommendations by friends, either close or far.
Rule Number 1. I am the critic ;->
Rule Number 2. Will not talk about Fight Club.
Rule Number 3. Rules are meant to be broken, or followed by new rules.
I tend to gravitate to writers or directors whose work I've already liked.Other than that I go off of reviewers and recommendations off of sites like this. If a book or film peaks my interest I'll look up other reviews.
Jeff M. -Denise Mina excessively dark? I don't find that to be the case.
I won't watch anything with one of Hubbard's minions in it. I like grittier fiction and eschew cozies. I usually choose a book based on the author and stick with someone I like. If certain subject matters pop up in a new work, however, I'll read it. I can't abide any movie with what I call MTV effects--flash cuts, floating cameras, flashing lights, screwy angles, etc.
I apologize, Patti, if my all too flippant tone came off as an insult. I did not mean to belittle you. I'm looking at what I wrote again now and without my wry vocal intonation it reads as mean-spirited. That was not intended. We all have our methods in choosing what we read/view. All are valid.
Oh, I know that, John. Online conversations always sound harsher than they are meant. And I set myself up for some criticism by admitting it as a flaw--which it is.
There are crowd-pleasers and crowd-pleasers...some indy darlings, such as LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, are pretty dire by me, without reaching the kind of audiences that flocked to (the similarly dire) HANGOVER movies (well, I sat through the first one on cable, and looked at a little of 2)...though a quick check shows me that SUNSHINE did even better than I thought it did in terms of money, if still not the ridiculous money the HANGOVERs dragged in.
I'm trying to think on what I might dote on, cut slack to a mediocre work if it features...possibly if it offers characters who are more intelligent than they appear at first. The celebration of idiocy (such as in THE HANGOVER or LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE or, certainly, in entirely too many sitcoms and "reality" shows) certainly goes the other way.
The weight of people saying No, Really that EDGE OF TOMORROW is not too shabby might encourage me to give it a chance. Certainly, there hasn't been a Cruise movie in some years that I might actually pay to see, but Emily Blunt has averaged a bit better (MY SUMMER OF LOVE, probably her first, was pretty annoying...and picked up a 90% rating from the RT "critics", a somewhat more reasonable 69% from users)...
I'd say reviews make pretty much no difference to me. I probably have a slight bias opposite of the review. That is, good reviews make me less likely to see a movie and bad reviews make me slightly more likely.
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