Movies: In General, What Consistently Influences You To Watch Specific Movies?

[Trap Jesus]

I'm sure everyone has been able to relate to everything on this list at one point, but I'm talking about consistent influences.

Let me know if I forgot anything big and I'll add it in.

Click to read more...

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

while it obviously doesn't apply to new movies, I really enjoy reading Roger Ebert's reviews. He's able to articulate how films do and do not work, as well as why they do or do not succeed at emotional reactions, and how they are important relative to others, in a very clear and convincing fashion. I'm slowly working my way through his list of Great Movies and it's interesting to watch the film, think about it for a few minutes, then head to his review and read what he thought of it.

 

[Trap Jesus]

while it obviously doesn't apply to new movies, I really enjoy reading Roger Ebert's reviews. He's able to articulate how films do and do not work, as well as why they do or do not succeed at emotional reactions, and how they are important relative to others, in a very clear and convincing fashion. I'm slowly working my way through his list of Great Movies and it's interesting to watch the film, think about it for a few minutes, then head to his review and read what he thought of it.

I really enjoy looking/watching different reviewers, and while I do value their opinions, I find that it usually doesn't influence my decision to see a movie all that much. I think I do it more after I watch a movie to see what they have to say about it.

 

[Shareefruck]

I think I mostly do it by relying on word of mouth from people who I think seem to have really discerning/credible/tasteful opinions, and who don't have attitudes or biases that I don't share. That doesn't really all fall neatly under one critics/friends/family bucket, but definitely more critics and people on the Internet than IRL friends/family.

I also tend to be really skeptical of direct recommendations (even from people whose tastes I respect) because there's a bit too much "I don't think this is great, but you might like this" and "It isn't Shakespeare, but I'm recommending it because I thought it was moderately enjoyable" to that (which is why I tend to prefer when people are uncompromisingly snobby and critical). I tend to feel more comfortable exclusively seeking out their top lists instead.

Whether or not I love the director is a close second. I never watch anything because of the cast, but I'll usually avoid and subconsciously dismiss movies if I dislike parts of the cast. Sometimes the trailer is a factor too, but more for getting a feel of whether or not I'll like the aesthetic/acting/dialogue, more than anything to do with being pulled in by the premise (it's really just for identifying red flags). The premise is more of a "push you over the top" factor than a motivating factor, I find. Don't really care at all about historical significance or influence either, so I find the process of trying to parse that out from people's opinions challenging as well. And obviously financial success isn't a factor at all.

But if something gets a lot of inescapable buzz and seems really easy to consume, I'll usually end up watching it, even though I almost always end up immediately regretting it and hating it.

 

[Osprey]

I voted for on-screen talent, genre and connection. For the most part, if a film appeals to me enough on one or more of those factors, I'll watch it regardless of the rest of the factors. For example, I'll watch anything with Arnie in it, even if I've never heard of the director and the reviews are awful. I'll also watch every Star Wars and Alien film just because of the franchise. It's very important to note, though, that I'm not saying that I would pay to watch all such films. I just mean that I'll put it on my virtual list to watch eventually. When it comes to going to see films in the theater, the reviews do matter, simply because tickets are so expensive, but I rarely see films in the theater any more, so that didn't seem important enough for me to vote for.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Critical reputation for me, historical significance as well.

Might want to add industry awards (Oscars, Golden Globes, Palmes d'Or etc.) as an option.

 

[Dick Sledge]

Recently for me, especially since I've been watching more TV series and less movies, it definitely is the talent. On and off screen that will get me more interested.

 

[The Nuge]

My biggest one is probably the on screen talent (eg I was pumped for Inglorious Basterds when I saw it had Bruhl and Schweiger). Then probably word of mouth. Really, the only thing that has no impact on me is trailers, and that’s because I refuse to watch them. They just spoil too many things.

 

[kihei]

I gravitate to non-English language, international film, and I try to see everything that comes to Toronto (or on-line) that looks even mildly interesting. I guess my early influences--French New Wave; auteur theory; a whole host of iconic European directors from the '60s; critics Dwight Macdonald and Paulene Kael--helped shape my sensibility to the extent that my movie selection approach these days is pretty much on automatic pilot. For Hollywood films, it's mostly whatever catches my fancy at the time--could be anything.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Genre for me

 

[End on a Hinote]

I have a thing for films where the main premise involves the main characters job. I know it sounds odd, but whether the plot is about a cop, journalist, doctor/nurse, etc. As someone who works for a living I have a thing for movies about peoples line of work and their dedication to get the job done whatever it may be.

 

[Osprey]

I have a thing for films where the main premise involves the main characters job. I know it sounds odd, but whether the plot is about a cop, journalist, doctor/nurse, etc. As someone who works for a living I have a thing for movies about peoples line of work and their dedication to get the job done whatever it may be.

I have a similar thing for films set in small spaces. Films like Lifeboat and 12 Angry Men fascinate me with how they can be so compelling despite the limitations of space, angles, cast and so on. It's like the craft of filmmaking boiled down to its essence: the writing. There's nothing (no cinematography, special effects, etc.) to distract from the characters and their dialogue, so they have to be good. I really gravitate to films like that, partly because they tend to be good and partly because I'm very curious to see how a gifted filmmaker turns a boring premise (ex. 9 people on a life raft talking for 90 minutes) into something very watchable. I didn't vote for the premise option because the poll asked "in general," but this one particular premise does really hook me.

 

[King 88]

Genre and what I heard about others. After that I usually check the trailer and then watch it. I dont care at all about critics or awards.

 

[izlez]

#1. Directors. I feel like if I like one of a director's movies, there is a good chance I will like others. So there's a few names I'm a fan of that I will keep an eye out for new movies. This is by far the biggest thing to actually get me out to a theater.

#2. Award nominations. I do typically like the type of movies that get nominated for Oscars, and I've started a new trend of trying to watch as many as possible to have an opinion on the oscars.

#3. IMDB scores. High ratings can indicate something that flew under my radar, so I'll check out a trailer and see if it interests me.

 

[Roo Returns]

-Genres for stuff I grew up on (I'm an 80s/90s kid so sci fi, action, martial arts, buddy team ups, off kilter comedies)

-Once I got to HS, certain directors like Tarrantino/Jarmusch and then later people like Danny Boyle/Matthew Vaughn/Kathryn Bigelow/Guillermo del Torro/Dennis Villeneaux/Duncan Jones/David Lynch/etc.

-Friends reccomend indie films or films based on plots, stuff I'm interested in

-I will follow certain actors or actresses to see how they develop. It's almost like fantasy hockey minus the Coris

 

[John Price]

Usually if it's a good superhero movie I'll watch but I noticed some sequels to noted franchises are pretty meh. Take for instance Thor. I don't think I've seen Thor 2 or Thor Ragnarock.

I also avoided watching Black Panther for a while even though there was positive reviews all over. Eventually, I was like, I better see this movie, but I usually don't succumb to public pressure like that. I mean, there are hundreds of dramas that have won Oscars that people keep saying are good yet I haven't seen (see Spotlight, the Oscar winner this year whatever that movie was called, etc)

People also said good things about Iron Man yet I went 10 years without seeing it.

To sum up

- Super Hero movie
- Not a sequel to a franchise