Poll: How critical of a movie critic are you?

[Rob J in WNY]

Hello, everyone.

I have found that I can generally watch the vast marjoity of movies and be at least moderately entertained by them. By classification, I guess I'm not that harsh of a movie critic, however, there are themes and stories which do stand out distinctly for me, and add greatly to my positively critiquing a film. I greatly enjoy smart, witty dialog (Fight Club, American Psycho), excellent screenwriting (No Country for Old Men, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and deeply personal stories (The Shawshank Redemption, Almost Famous). Of course, I'll publicly rave about a Blu-ray movie's technical PQ/AQ aspects (Star Trek 2009, Baraka, The Police: Certifiable concert BD).

I particularly enjoy sci-fi and action flicks which put my home theater to the test, as well as movies aimed toward children, as I have a preschooler who also loves to watch movies. Peruse my BD collection page and you'll see a wide genre of titles.

By and large, I can watch any movie at least once, and enjoy enough the great majority. For this poll, I voted #2: Enjoy the majority of movies.

Okay, enough about me. How about you? What types of movies or movie elements invoke your enjoyment of a film, or harsh criticism? Feel free to discuss your opinions and vote in the poll.

[tiger roach]

I consider myself not very critical. I can appreciate guilty pleasures like, to pick an example off the top of my head, the Die Hard movies.

I'm not one of those guys that watches a movie on constant alert for continuity glitches, and I don't get all fussy if something maybe isn't totally "believable."

OTOH I can also appreciate movies that have "artistic merit," or at least I would like to think so.

I just wanna have fun.

<edit> now that the poll is up, it is hard to define in terms of what percentage of the movies out I like... hmm... in that sense I would have to say I am pretty critical, because I just like the ones I like.

[Rob J in WNY]

tiger roach,

I totally agree. Although I can certainly appreciate wrapping up any loose ends on a movie, I am not often concerned with plot holes and other mistakes, unless glaring.

And though I appreciate a high degree of "realism" in movies where it is called for, I love "escaping" and suspending disbelief in movies such as Crank. Now that is one audio/visual thrill ride of a film!

As of this writing, the only VHS/DVD/Blu-ray purchase I enjoyed less than average is Blazing Saddles (very good PQ on this title, though). It just is not as funny to me now as it was twenty years ago. No worries, though. I found a happy recipient for my BD of it.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Option #2.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by tiger roach

I consider myself not very critical. I can appreciate guilty pleasures like, to pick an example off the top of my head, the Die Hard movies.

I'm not one of those guys that watches a movie on constant alert for continuity glitches, and I don't get all fussy if something maybe isn't totally "believable."

OTOH I can also appreciate movies that have "artistic merit," or at least I would like to think so.

I just wanna have fun.

Ditto for me. Tiger, you saved me a ton of typing, thanks.

[CZAR]

Option #2 is the closet for me that u have listed! Elvis is gonna pick option 5 watch! haha! Got Em!!

[Diesel]

I'm probably option 2. I enjoy the majority of movies that I actually sit down and watch, but definitely not all of them.

A movie doesn't have to be pure Oscar gold (or any award) for me to enjoy it. It just has to be that, simply enjoyable for me (no that doesn't mean it has to be a happy movie). If I can get into the story the movie is trying to tell and have a fun time watching (or rewatching especially) the movie, I will like it.

I'm generally not very critical.

[TheForce8686]

I am the anti-critic. Movies are entertainment first and foremost and that is how I view them. I don't like to be critical as they are made exactly like they are supposed to be made. It isn't up to me say wether a director did or didn't do it the right way. If I am entertained then I am happy and don't stick to one certain genre.

[thecroshow]

All depends on the movie. If a movie takes itself seriously, I'm more likely to be critical. I'm critical of Avatar because it's a big budget, Cameron's life-work, etc. Example: (Avatar spoilers)

[Show spoiler]I enjoyed the visuals, the world captivated me and I believed it existed. My enjoyment was hindered by the shallow script and performances overall. I didn't feel a connection with the characters, when something dramatic happened, I felt very little or nothing. Let's take LOTR for example, Gandalf the Grey was played so well, was so well-cast that when he "died" in the first film I was brought to tears (knowing full well what happened because of the books). Worthington, Weaver (and the girl) played their roles just fine, but the film lacked that connection for me, when Weaver's character died I felt absolutely nothing. When the natives were getting killed, again..felt nothing. This is part of why I wouldn't consider placing Avatar in any "Top 10" list of 2009.

Let's take 2012 as another example. I knew exactly what I was getting into, an end of the world flick with nothing but explosions and cool special effects. I was more forgiving of poor performances and shallow dialogue because I didn't go to the movie to see an Oscar worthy performance by Amanda Peet (LOL).

[P@t_Mtl]

I fit into option #2. I will watch anything once more or less unless I am truly sure it's not something that fall into my taste ranger. There are certain types of movies, for example horror/slasher movies, that I know I will not like, there is just no point for me to watch them. Why should I? So I can go in the thread of those that enjoy them and thread crap? No point in doing that.

[Moefiz]

Option 2 here....


I read the review as much as I can but I make up my own mind on what I would like to see..

[Blu-Benny]

i can watch almost any movie and i don't feel the need to look for flaws in the movie.

if it was entertaining, i'll pick it up on blu, if i didn't care for it, i'll usually borrow it from a friend after a while and watch it a 2nd time and see if i have the same reaction to it.

i also don't feel the need to openly bash a movie if i didn't like it....ie: the way people bash Transformers 2 or Wolverine in EVERY SINGLE THREAD they can on this site.

[Fighter]

I enjoy guilty pleasures/popcorn films just as much as critically acclaimed films....they equal each other out for myself

[GLaDOS]

I fit into Option #2. I love movies, just not really that much.

[jadedeath]

I'd say about half, there are some art haus nonsense films that I don't care for, and there are some popular popcorn flicks that I really don't care for, it's about even for each.

Logan

[kpkelley]

I'm probably option 2. I find that I can enjoy a majority of the films produced today, even if some of that enjoyment is laughing at how awful it is.

I find that I'm much more critical of a few things:

1. Movies that don't try to tell a story, but bank in on other films' successes. Most notably those awful parodies that are more like unconnected series of sketches(most of which aren't funny to begin with). Parodies used to tell a story while mocking the films which they are paying tribute to.

2. Movies from Director's that i've hated in the past. I'll give most anybody a second chance, but Director's whose films i've hated in the past are less likely to get my money or respect. I'm looking at you Stephen Sommers, you took one of my favorite movies of the past fifteen years(The Mummy) and proceeded to kill it(The Mummy Returns).

3. Director's who are given free reign over their projects and succumb to making overly indulgent films. I've always felt that moviemaking is process fraught with disaster around every corner. I find that Director's who are challenged by difficult producers tend to think more creatively and create better films. IMO, the best example of this is Martin Scorsese and his recent films which while entertaining and at times very good are not nearly as successful as his earlier endeavors when he was opposed by financial restrictions and other difficulties.

[surfdude12]

i'm option 3: i enjoy about half the movies i watch (meaning i'll give them 3/5 stars or more), and the rest i don't enjoy (2/5 or less). that's not always the case. i may watch 10 films and enjoy all 10, but on average, that's how it works out.

if i rate all films (or even most films) with 4/5 or 5/5 stars, then why have a 5 star rating?

[CZAR]

I was close on Elvis! He chose #4! Just messin with u elvis but I know how big a critic and how critical u are of movies! Got Em!!

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by CZAR

I was close on Elvis! He chose #4! Just messin with u elvis but I know how big a critic and how critical u are of movies! Got Em!!

You know me I cant stand big hollywood explosion/special effects pictures with bad stories.

Actually I would really put myself between #3 and #4. Its not like I don't have personal favorites that are silly films as well.

[Gaius Marius]

Option #2. I'm not that picky with movies. I watch movies to be entertained, not lectured, and movies are entertainment first, art second to me. I enjoy well crafted, entertaining stories, and those tend to be my favorite movies. Occasionally I like "thinking" films (like 2001), but for the most part, I just want to suspend reality for 1.5+ hours.