How to Like Movie?

[Spooked]

Have you ever gone into a movie totally pumped and excited to see it only to feel let down and crushed upon leaving the theater? Or gone to see a film rather indifferent only to be blown away by how much you enjoyed it? What is it that makes us like a film? The obvious answer might be whether or not the movie is any good, and yet it's never that simple. I'm sure most of us have movies we personally love that most people consider duds, but we love them anyway.

I got to thinking about this topic over the weekend as we approach the opening of Edward Gareth's Godzilla. For me? I feel like I need to love this movie. I want to feel good about it, and I want it to be something I remember forever. Regardless of critical and fan reception after the fact. Just a film for me - personally - to believe in.

How do I go about cultivating that experience? How would you? Do you go in blind? Do you go in having read and studied every scrap of available detail on the film? Go with friends? By yourself?

Are there certain things we can do to make the movie experience more enjoyable for ourselves? And in turn help us enjoy the movies we see?*



* Obviously this might not be a good thing from a critical reviewers' standpoint, but for the average movie-goer who want to reclaim some movie magic from childhood...

[toddly6666]

No kidding about Godzilla when 27 or so of them have all pretty much sucked. i dont want to have to like the "cheesiness" factor to be able to appreciate them. And I also dont want to accept the "datedness, pacing problems, dullness" of the first one to like it. I just want a Godzilla film that is all-around good. Im afraid that I will have fo watch Pacific Rim right after the new one if it's disappointing.

[qb2333]

Reduce your expectations. I find that always works against me liking a movie as much as I could.

[Foggy]

How to Like Movie?

Have good taste in film.

[L-Rouge]

Oft times i personally get a kick out of good presentation, (picture and sound). Head straight for your nearest Imax or Atmos equiped cinema. Haha, yep im pretty easy going on that.

[L.J.]

I find having to many expectations and learning all I can about a movie I'm interested in ruins the experience. I like to watch a few trailers then see the movie.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

No kidding about Godzilla when 27 or so of them have all pretty much sucked. i dont want to have to like the "cheesiness" factor to be able to appreciate them. And I also dont want to accept the "datedness, pacing problems, dullness" of the first one to like it. I just want a Godzilla film that is all-around good. Im afraid that I will have fo watch Pacific Rim right after the new one if it's disappointing.

If you have to watch Pacific Rim to wash Godzilla out I feel bad for you.

I have a feeling Godzilla will be like Pacific Rim in one way we will be getting too much character story and less of what we want to see.

Edit: I do notice that you are in Hong Kong so it was probably a much better experience and you probably have a better appreciation for Pacific Rim. I just expected something different.

[Johnny Blu]

Have no intention of wanting to come to this website and being the "cool guy" or "movie critic in waiting" that bashes any and all blockbuster movies. As we have learned from these two groups, blockbuster movies simply can't be any good because they're aimed at the general public, who are too stupid to know what a good movie is supposed to be like.

[Show spoiler]

In other words, simply go to the theater and let your inner child get lost during the film. Too many times as adults, we tend to nit pick a movie as we're watching it, and that is where the overall enjoyment of the film gets missed.

[The Great Owl]

I go into every movie with an open mind and a sense of wonder. The magic of movies is that you can see things on a big screen that you do not see in real life. After 42 years of seeing movies, I'm still overjoyed at how films can bring me into fictional worlds, allow me to suspend disbelief, and allow me to forget about my real-world problems for a couple of hours.

Most movies that we see at the theater will not be classics, and, in fact, some of them will be a waste of time. The experience of seeing a truly amazing film, however, is more than worth wading through the dreck.

I love that feeling when I am blown away by the greatness of a movie, and the movie just strikes the center of my psyche in the same way that Luke Skywalker fired that perfect shot right into the Death Star. This never gets old or becomes stale, and this is why I keep returning to the cinema.

Originally Posted by Spooked

Do you go in blind? Do you go in having read and studied every scrap of available detail on the film?

I've usually read a ton of reviews before I go see any given movie or before I purchase a Blu-ray of a movie that I have not yet seen. I rarely go into a film without some grasp of the exposition and general plot structure. I guess that this comes from my childhood during the early 1980s, when I would routinely read novelizations of movies before I had a chance to see the actual movies. When I went to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983, for instance, I had already read the novelization, so I knew all of the surprises beforehand. Instead of dampening my enjoyment of the movies, however, this habit enriched my enjoyment.

While I try my best to be respectful of others on this forum, and while I go out of my way to keep my User Reviews of Blu-rays as spoiler-free as possible, I think that a lot of people are entirely too petty when it comes to avoiding spoilers. For the most part, the concept of "spoilers" strikes me as a whiny millennial generation first-world problem. As I've grown older, I've come to realize that the truly Great Movies are the ones that cannot be spoiled, even if one reads through the entire plot before seeing the film. This is why people always return time and time again to these movies, although they know what to expect during subsequent viewings.

If a movie if truly worth your while, then that movie will not be "spoiled" if you happen to read a couple of sentences too far into an online review.

This is not to say that I do not enjoy walking into a movie completely blind and having no idea what to expect from the first frame, but I've also never been bothered by in-depth reviews of movies that reveal specific plot points.

Originally Posted by Spooked

Go with friends? By yourself?

I see most movies by myself. There's really not a world of difference, though. Once the movie starts, you're not by yourself anymore. You're at the movies.

Even if you go see a movie with friends, you cannot converse with them while the movie is playing, so it's basically like being by yourself. Well, at least you should not be conversing with them once the movie starts in a theater.

Whether you're alone or with others, you can still immerse yourself in the vibe, and enjoy the audience reactions while inside a theater. The effect is the same.

There seems to be more stigma attached to going to the movies alone here in America. Going to the movies by one's self is commonplace in Europe and the UK, according to friends of mine who live overseas.

[klauswhereareyou]

I've gone into movies expecting to love them, and have, and I've gone into bad movies expecting to hate them and have. Sometimes I am let down by something, sometimes I am surprised. At the end of the day for me expectations don't shape how I feel about a film, but actually watching the film does. I try to watch everything I can regardless of if I dislike a particular actor, genre, director, etc...because there have been plenty of times where that was the case and I still liked a film.

[StatenMan18]

My expectations for the Avengers was ridiculously high, and I was so let down by what I saw. Now almost every movie I go into I just tell myself it's complete shit. Worked for Amazing spiderman 2 lol

Trailers nowadays show way too much and for most of the movies i see, I'll just watch the teaser if there is one. I think whatever makes us like the films we do, it's based one what we grew up with, our interests, and what we relate to the most. Just my opinions though

[GeneticMutation]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Whether you're alone or by yourself, you can still immerse yourself in the vibe, and enjoy the audience reactions while inside a theater. The effect is the same.

Isn't this the same thing?

[Show spoiler]

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by GeneticMutation

Isn't this the same thing?

Haha. Good catch!

It's been a long day.

(Either that or I just like to see who makes it all the way to the end of my posts.)

[Yojimbo68]

At the end of the day it's story that matters. I don't care if a movie's budget is 200 thousand or 200 million. Does the story work? I loved the recent big budget movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier but didn't care for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 although Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel character. Why? Story. I also think the director's vision can have an impact on the outcome.

[Spooked]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

(Either that or I just like to see who makes it all the way to the end of my posts.)

I thoroughly enjoy your posts and I truly appreciate your response. Your comments regarding spoilers were especially insightful, and growing up - I as well would read as much about a film as possible before seeing it, just because I couldn't contain my excitement. I really miss Starlog magazine and their exclusive movie-tie in issues.

Thanks Owl. You live up to your username, lol.

[singhcr]

Sometimes I am not in the mood for a movie and I find myself nitpicking things a lot. For me, if the projection quality of the movie is poor, I find myself distracted and removed from the story. (I need to re-watch Captain America 2 for that reason)

Assuming everything is good A/V wise, you just need to sit back and relax. I try not to read a lot of reviews or watch any trailers for a movie that I want to see because I don't want anything ruined or have a preconcieved notion of what the movie is supposed to be like. I will obviously notice if the movie has no story or character, but for the most part I try not to analyze stuff during the movie. However, if I am asking questions about a character's moral character or something like that, it means I am engaged and interested in what's going on. The Star Trek films really do things like that to me.

However, there are some movies that no matter how I prepare myself, I have high expectations but can easily get sucked into the film like I am a kid again. Skyfall is a good example of that as I am a huge Bond fan and I was smiling like an idiot when the title sequence started.

[jbloggs]

#1 - Don't listen to critics, they have no clue and they became critics because they couldn't find a real job

Don't go to watch Godzilla expecting see Macbeth with character building, emotions, meaningful story & a plot. Instead expect a lot of stomping, destruction, eye candy effects and a boat load of action.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by jbloggs

#1 - Don't listen to critics, they have no clue and they became critics because they couldn't find a real job



Don't go to watch Godzilla expecting see Macbeth with character building, emotions, meaningful story & a plot. Instead expect a lot of stomping, destruction, eye candy effects and a boat load of action.

Is the first point a joke or you're being serious?

[jbloggs]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Is the first point a joke or you're being serious?

It's a bit of both. Personally I never decide on watching/not watching a movie based on any critic. I'll decide for myself if I like something or not . If Critics were so good at determining what makes a great movie and what doesn't then why aren't they hired by movie makers as consultants or make a movie themselves if think they know better.

[spanky87]

This is my favorite thread title in this forum. Thanks OP.

Look at banner Michael.