Move Reviews Suck
 

I just watched Die Hard: With a Vengeance. I enjoyed it now more than I did 17 years ago when it was first released. However upon looking at Rotten Tomatoes, Die Hard 3 scored a 50% while its crappy PG-13 sequel (quartet?) scored over 80%. Either these reviewers are on crack, or movie critics are about as useful as wearing white gloves in a Ketchup factory.

I think you nailed it with reviewers sucking. I never trust pro reviews of any movie that comes out. They are mostly crap and hold no weight for me. I go by what my friends say if they have seen it and by what the reviews say that are solid fact and never their "opinion" on if it's good or not.

With individual reviewers, you need to have an idea what sort of movies they do, and don't, like as the same movie can get anything from 2 to 5 stars depending who the critic/reviewer is.

Bit surprised at the RT, though, as that would have been over a wide range of people.

Huh ?

Rt shouldn't be used that way.

I look at RT but then there are those few reviewers that I respect and trust more like Anthony Lane, Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, AO Scott and Magnola Dargis.

Of course, I finally decide if the film is good or not but reading the reviews later is entertaining and helps you see things from a different perspective.

Indeed, it's good to find certain critics that share your same taste in movies. Having that said, I feel there is a noticeable stigma of giving certain films a bad review simply because it is "artsy" or caters to grass-eaters like Sparafucil. For example, Moonrise Kingdom received nearly flawless reviews, and that movie was ****ing horrible.

There are about 350 variables that mean that individual movie reviews are one of the most subjective things on the planet. Also, there is no such thing as a professional reviewer, half the time they don't even have a journalistic qualification.

I only pay attention to aggregated scores with a large pool of scores.

I do believe though that there is a certain higher order way to see films.

You might say Moonrise Kingdom, assuming I have seen it, I might call bullshit and say you just didn't understand it.

At the same time reading for example Roger Ebert's or Anthony Lane's criticism, I might disagree or agree but still understand their view of it.

I think that leads to developing a better mindset to appreciate film.

If I can maybe explain myself better.

If we disagree on a film, I think that only a higher level of criticism can be accepted, ie. Just saying a film is boring is not gonna cut it.

I bought a DVD of it years ago and it seems the UK release had scenes missing and dubbed parts.

The Die Hard franchise is one of the many things GOOD to emerge from the 80's. I onyl read reviews be it games or movies just to see what people think, I dont use them to sway my opinion on whether I should buy or not.I do what I want and always have.

Film critics are unpopular for two reasons:

Unlike more elitist specialized fields in the sciences, music and film are popular mediums enjoyed by everyone. We like to think we can form our own opinions about what we enjoy without relying on experts. And it distresses us when experts voice judgments contrary to our own.

No one actually reads movie reviews. Be honest: when was the last time you read a movie review in its entirety? We mostly skim reviews to judge whether a movie is worth watching. Review aggregators like RT have exacerbated this problem. Yet, most reviews from established critics are actually entertaining in their own right and reveal a great deal about cinema that we didn't previously know.

There are thousands of new films released each year. We'll see only a tiny, tiny, fraction of those. And of the ones we do see, we will promptly forget most. We have only a vague memory of the ones we've seen years ago. And who knows if they were any good? It's irritating to admit, but we need critics to sift through all the crap and explain why certain films are noteworthy and worth remembering.

My comment was more so tongue in cheek. I didn't mean to pick on you fucille. Having that said there is a certain numbing effect that occurs from seeing and being forced to criticize a certain medium. I absolutely love Led Zeppelin, but if I heard any of their songs or covers over and over again I'd eventually start to hate the genre, and probably music in general.

I do.

I don't even skim reviews to judge if the film is worth watching, I also usually read them after I watch the film, most of the times anyway.

Ah, your consistent argument of - "we like to think we can form our own opinions," with the addage I always expect of you - " without relying on experts." Then theres the part where you say that no one reads reviews, ah yes, the sheeple probably cannot even read, much less understand a movie review. Yes, only those as wise and intelligent as you should be making opinions and reading things...

You are such a self-parody, how anyone could possibly take you seriously is beyond me.

As for movie reviews, they are completely and utterly worthless. No matter the genre, subject content, quality or otherwise, a person will either dislike or like a piece of art. No experts are needed.

Typical NeoAnti narcissism. Unwilling to consider the possibility that you don't in fact know everything about cinema, and there are experts out there who can provide better perspectives.

Film reviews aren't half as worthless as your self-important, rambling posts. Now if you aren't going to contribute anything constructive to this thread, I suggest you run off and cry to the mods about your feelings being hurt.

Why is it whenever there is a thread that has a argument, you are there spearheading the opposition ? Do you have nothing better to do then to troll forums and start up heated arguments ? You know just because you have a thought on something or a strong versed opinion doesnt mean you have to share it all the time.

If I posted every time I wanted to about something I didnt like or agree with I would be either banned or a Senior Emperor ( post wise ) just because you have a thought doesnt mean you have to express it.

How could anyone take YOU seriously. You're a joke and your opinions are ridiculous. Now, have I offended your religious/cultural values? Perhaps I'm being racist? Go ahead, hit that Notify button.

BTW, I do read movie reviews.

I'm going to hit you with a heavy concept here, so I ask that you try and follow to the best of your ability. This is a "forum." A forum is, "[a] medium for open discussion or voicing of ideas, such as a newspaper, a radio or television program, or a website." http://www.thefreedictionary.com/forum If you can not handle this concept then maybe its best for you to visit other, less engaging, websites.

Are you seriously trying to suggest that film reviewers have some kind of expert eye? Now I know you've finally lost it.

They are just journalists. Most of them are doing it to get a leg up to a better portion of the publication they work for.

All they can do is explain the plot and list the cast effectively. Anything other than that is highly subjective opinion.

Reason #1

If you think you are more knowledgeable about film or somehow your judgment is as valid as those with doctorates in art history, literature, or film studies then your hubris is even greater than I imagined.

Reason #2

We're not talking about garden-variety hacks who get paid to crank out a review for their local circuit rider. Have you even read so much as a sentence by David Denby, Pauline Kael, or Bazin? I'm guessing not since their work typically appeared in lefty rags like the Guardian that you shun.

Huh ? Of course it's down to opinion but only at a high level. The basic aesthetics of the film are always the same.

Of course they have an expert eye, have you ever read a proper review by a proper writer ?

Do you really think that people who practically spend their whole life/whole workday dedicated to appreciating the art-form don't have a better opinion that normal people ?

Do you even know how to distinguish between a good review and a bad one ?

For example I gladly accept Anthony Lane's negative review of Drive, even though I don't agree, the review is so good and level of writing is so excellent that it helped me understand his view of the film completely.

The first step in appreciating film, music etc better is to learn that there might be people you can actually learn from, that's how you develop an opinion.