Poor Reviews

[blu-backer]

I'd have to disagree. The review should include the reviewer's opinion on the movie itself and not just the technical merits of the disc (PQ, AQ, & extras). Why? Because it helps the reader decide if the disc is worth getting for things other than PQ & AQ.

While it is a subjective opinion by the reviewer, when taken into consideration with other reviews along with the reader's tastes in movies, it just adds to the information available to make a decision.

If one disagrees with the reviewer's opinion, that's fine. It shouldn't stop you from getting the disc.

Just my $0.02.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by caliminius

So am I alone in thinking that reviews of Blu-Ray discs should NOT review the movie itself? We all have our opinions about what constitutes a good movie, but audio and video quality are much more quantifiable. It's hard to argue that video is lacking because of poor detail or extreme grain.

What brought this up was looking at the review of "Stealth" briefly this morning. The "Movie" itself got 2 stars which may be about right because it was a brainless action flick. But what bothers me is that "Independence Day" is as brainless and stupid as "Stealth" yet got 4 1/2 stars. There are sections of the ID4 review that could be pasted into the "Stealth" review and you would never know that they had originally applied to a different movie.

Here's a good example from the ID4 review (with "Stealth" substituted for the one mention of "Indepence Day"):

"It's my opinion that those that find looking over the numerous plot holes in this movie too difficult, choosing instead to heap on the criticism of this movie are completely missing the point. Films such as this one aren't meant to be highbrow art. Not everything can be (nor should it be) The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Seventh Seal, or even Alien. Sometimes, just accepting a movie for what it is rather than tearing it apart and missing out on all the fun just does a disservice to both audience and to the film. Taken as a big, ridiculous sci-fi/action extravaganza (which it is and doesn't even try to be anything else), Stealth works like a charm. Sure, some of the plot holes are big enough for the aforementioned Godzilla to walk through, but who cares? The movie is fun, loud, entertaining, and appealing. Not everyone will see it the same way I do, and so be it. I hold no grudge against them, but I believe they're missing out on one of the all-time great popcorn movies."

To me, the review should just skip to whether it's a good Blu-Ray disc in terms of video, audio and extras.

Brilliant idea. I noticed that myself. I really do not care what the reviewer thinks of the film itself, as it is relative. They should just focus on AQ, PQ, Supplements, etc. Perfect example, just watch this thread degrade into what is considered poor taste vs good taste.

[batmanfan2188]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

Why? I never have a problem understanding a movie or drawing a logical conclusion during those movies that require the viewer to do so, but on the other hand, there are times when I just want to watch a brainless flick like Rambo or Dumb and Dumber.

Yeah I agree. Some times I just want to sit and enjoy a movie like T2 or id4 just to see stuff blow up. but I am close to ignoring the review all together because when I get to work its no secret that I love movies so every one comes up to me and says hey have you seen such an such yet. "No, bad reviews". But then I go watch it because they loved and be hold I like it or even love it to. But ill see what the review has to say about batman begins and then ill decide weather to go by the reviews here or not. Not that the reviewer would care.

[Terjyn]

If you reviewed purely based on PQ&AQ that misses the point as well. No matter how bad the PQ&AQ is on a movie like The Godfather, the disc itself might be worth buying. No matter how good the PQ&AQ is on a movie like Highlander 2, it might not be worth buying.

You have to give a review of the whole package. The Movie, the extras, PQ, AQ, all of it.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

If you reviewed purely based on PQ&AQ that misses the point as well. No matter how bad the PQ&AQ is on a movie like The Godfather, the disc itself might be worth buying. No matter how good the PQ&AQ is on a movie like Highlander 2, it might not be worth buying.

You have to give a review of the whole package. The Movie, the extras, PQ, AQ, all of it.

No you miss the point . How many people already have catalog titles? If the PQ and AQ is bad then what the heck is the point in replacing the dvd?

On the other hand, if I find a dvd to be average I just may replace it if the AQ and PQ is great.

[Amel]

you cant compare stealth with id4

id4 is a classic while stealth is just pure garbage

[kuliddar]

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

I agree with what you are saying but your not getting the point. They should only review the PQ and AQ and extras for people to see if its worth upgrading the movie from dvd to blu because there are a lot of blus that look almost the same as the dvd verson so its nice to know if one of your fav movies coming out on blu got a good transfer and upgraded audio or not. I tend to disagree on the most movie reviews but I do want to know if the blu-ray verson of a movie I like is worth the extra $$$$

Again, scroll to "Video", "Audio", "Extras". I doubt we read completely all reviews. I'll take the example of Blood Diamond.

I saw the film already and loved it hence I don't need to read the "Movie" Section of it. However I read the rest since I wanted to know if it was worth, at the time, 30$. Both site and user reviews stated that the Video has some serious issues. Hence, I decided that, for the time being, I would by the DVD for 6$ (almost the price of a rental).

Now take Broken Trail . Never saw the film but heard good stuff about it, was convinced but read the review here anyways, this time the whole shazam. It reafirmed my investment in this title. And, although I'm not finished (I bought it yesterday and its over 3hours long) up to now I'm glad I bought it and the review, up to now is right on.

Originally Posted by aviman33

I dissagree. 1st, your assuming that all people are simply upgrading and not 1st time buyers. And 2nd, your assuming that PQ & AQ is not also subjective.

John

+1 John, PQ and AQ is also open to interpretation depending on your eyes and ears and your HT equipment. It's why I combine both site review and user review. It gives, usually, a pretty good idea as to what to expect.

[dadkins]

Mac vs PC
Butter vs Margarine
Ford vs Chevrolet.
Some here probably prefer Fords, while others prefer Chevrolet.

To have a Ford fan give an *opinion* of a Chevrolet will be - biased, kinda.
Same happens with a Chevrolet fan giving an *opinion* of a Ford.

So, we all need to take reviews as what they are - one person's *opinion*.

You say ______ sucked.
I watch it and think it was great!

You say ______ was great.
I watch it and think it sucked!

Neat thing, making one's own decisions, huh?
If you like something, I'm happy for you!
If I do not like it, you should allow me to not like it and be happy for me.

[blu-backer]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

No you miss the point . How many people already have catalog titles? If the PQ and AQ is bad then what the heck is the point in replacing the dvd?

On the other hand, if I find a dvd to be average I just may replace it if the AQ and PQ is great.

It sounds like you may be assuming that a lot of people already have or have seen Stealth and need only a PQ and AQ review to decide if they should get the BD. The fact is, not everyone has seen it or own the DVD, so a review of the movie itself should be helpful.

If someone has never seen the movie, does a simple review of PQ and AQ do them justice to help them decide if the movie is worth getting?

[SpaceDog]

I don't read film analysis until after I've seen any film. If I haven't seen the film I skip to the video and audio analysis. There are plenty of reviewers who I don't read film analysis from at all because I don't respect their perspective or their analysis.
There is even at least one here on that front. Of course usually I get about half way through their review and think "oh this must be so-and-so"... 100% of the time I've been right. Of course if I had started by reading the name of the reviewer...

[kuliddar]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

No you miss the point . How many people already have catalog titles? If the PQ and AQ is bad then what the heck is the point in replacing the dvd?

On the other hand, if I find a dvd to be average I just may replace it if the AQ and PQ is great.

You would be surprised at how many people have little catalogue on SDVD and growing one on BR.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=54001

Forget the poll, and look throught the posts. Obviously you will see the ones that have hundred or even thousands, but there are some that have very few catalogue on SDVD but a growing number of BR. This is a specialized site my friend hence you can only imagine that people that don't come here might have even less. Believe me not everyone has a huge catalogue.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by kuliddar

Reviews of a film itself are usually subjective. Doesn't matter who you read it from you will never have everyone agreeing. If that part of the review is not interesting for you, then just don't look at that part of the review and disregard the rating meter. Its that simple.

Some may flame me for this but honestly I don't care; but if you buy a film just for PQ and AQ then you are not a movie fan. Of course they are part of the final product...this is BR afterall, but you wouldn't see me buy a film like Ultraviolet only because of its image quality...especially at 30$ a pop.

I'm not suggesting that people should buy movies based solely on PQ or AQ. But I think most people have some concept of whether it is something they will like or not just from the preview and word of mouth. And unlike the quality of the film's content, PQ and AQ are much more concrete concepts. Yes, they are to an extent subjective; I was pissed that Highdef Digest took a half star from Ratatouille because the image was intentionally soft and I have also enjoyed how this site has taken into account the film source like on "28 Days Later".

I just don't think the movie reviews add anything since the end reaction is so subjective and personal. I made a blind buy of "The Departed" last year on DVD based of all the buzz; I watched it once and know I won't ever watch it again. On the same token, I watched Ultraviolet on DVD at my brother's house and proceed to purchase it on Blu-Ray because I enjoyed it (though I think it was during last year's BOGO blitz on Amazon).

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by kuliddar

You would be surprised at how many people have little catalogue on SDVD and growing one on BR.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=54001

Forget the poll, and look throught the posts. Obviously you will see the ones that have hundred or even thousands, but there are some that have very few catalogue on SDVD but a growing number of BR. This is a specialized site my friend hence you can only imagine that people that don't come here might have even less. Believe me not everyone has a huge catalogue.

I can relate.
I have a few SD DVDs - always just rented them.
Blu-ray is different though.
I buy Blu-ray Discs because of the PQ and AQ.
Yes, the movie has to have some redeeming value, PQ/AQ alone is not enough... but without the PQ/AQ, why buy it on Blu?

[Heart&Soul]

Sometimes I need to know what the movie is about before I decide if I'm going to rent/buy/pass it.

[95pgtproject]

Originally Posted by aviman33

I dissagree. 1st, your assuming that all people are simply upgrading and not 1st time buyers. And 2nd, your assuming that PQ & AQ is not also subjective.

John

Im not assuming anything buddy. I am saying it would be nice for those of us that are upgrading to know if its worth the double dip or not. As for the PQ and AQ being subjective it is much eaiser to judge PQ/AQ than the movie itself because of peoples different taste. So are you implying than we shouldnt have any kind of review and just blind buy everything simply because everything is subjective? Ummmmm yeah right

[JJ]

Rubbish. I love the Reviews here, especially Mr. Liebman's. I agree with him 99% of the time. I need to know about the movie if it is one I haven't seen - obviously the ones I've already seen I have my own opinion on. In fact, arguing over the internet on OPINION is quite possibly the most pointless, foolish thing ever - and one that we have to put up with way too much on these forums. Case in point, this thread - we're wasting our energies seeing as how no one is going to convince the other to change his viewpoint.

Just deal with it if you don't like the review. Move on. To put it plainly, don't *****.

/expletive

/apology

/seriously, apology

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

Im not assuming anything buddy. I am saying it would be nice for those of us that are upgrading to know if its worth the double dip or not. As for the PQ and AQ being subjective it is much eaiser to judge PQ/AQ than the movie itself because of peoples different taste. So are you implying than we shouldnt have any kind of review and just blind buy everything simply because everything is subjective? Ummmmm yeah right

Then ignore the part about the movie itself and focus on the PQ&AQ sections.

Don't tell the reviewer to throw them out because they don't matter to YOU however.

[Ice2Dragon]

Pointless thread. Been discussed over and over again.

Move on.