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The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir:
Do you read reviews before seeing a movie?
Poll: Do you read reviews before seeing a movie?
Always
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
View Results (53 votes)
 

BlackFox
Half-elven


Dec 18 2014, 6:18pm

Post #1 of 18 (2162 views)
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Do you read reviews before seeing a movie? Can't Post

I seldom do. But it has become a tradition of mine to check the film's IMDb score beforehand.


malickfan
Gondor


Dec 18 2014, 6:27pm

Post #2 of 18 (2030 views)
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Always [In reply to] Can't Post

Though mainly down to curiosity, I don't tend to agree with many critics anyway, but I do like to be semi-prepared before going into a film.


Eruvandi
Tol Eressea


Dec 18 2014, 7:02pm

Post #3 of 18 (2017 views)
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Depends on the movie [In reply to] Can't Post

If it's a franchise/story that I'm familiar with and I have a pretty solid idea of what the content will be like, I really don't care what anyone else has to say about it whether the reviews be positive or negative. I'd rather form my own opinion without being influenced by anyone beforehand.

However, if I'm not familiar with the franchise/story, but the story concept itself is making me wonder if I might like it, I mainly check family-focused review sites like Plugged In or CommonSenseMedia that let me know about the content itself so I don't go to see a movie that I think will be good and then get blindsided by some kind of content that I'm uncomfortable with for whatever reason.

Long story short, I haven't read a single review for BotFA because I'm familiar with Peter Jackson now and I know how he works and what to expect from the Hobbit movies content-wise. I'll see the movie tomorrow, spoiler and review free and afterwards I'll probably only read the reviews by TORn staffers just to see their different reactions and analysis.

*submits post while singing "Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You're only a day away!"*Wink


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 18 2014, 7:19pm

Post #4 of 18 (2024 views)
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Often - I skim-read them [In reply to] Can't Post

to get the gist of whether it's worth seeing or not but I pass over pars that appear to talk about the plot.

Reviews that have spoilers in the first par - such as, "By now, everyone knows that Sirius dies in the newly-released Harry Potter book" (true story) - make me wild.


BlackFox
Half-elven


Dec 18 2014, 9:46pm

Post #5 of 18 (2004 views)
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Enjoy! [In reply to] Can't Post

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about BOFA. Smile


dubulous
Rohan

Dec 18 2014, 11:24pm

Post #6 of 18 (2002 views)
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Yes and no [In reply to] Can't Post

I usually sort of just glance at them to get an idea of how a movie has been received but I prefer not to read them through because I want to go in as uninfluenced by other people's opinions as possible, and un-spoiled too if possible. Only with movies I really, really can't wait to see (like the Hobbit and LotR movies), I usually end up getting spoiled, but I still avoid reading the reviews.


Gianna
Rohan


Dec 19 2014, 1:45am

Post #7 of 18 (1999 views)
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Sometimes. [In reply to] Can't Post

If it's a movie that has been recommended to me by someone whose judgment I trust, I usually won't bother. But if I've never heard of the film before, I ALWAYS check the rating, and if it's PG or PG-13 I have to find out why it's rated that way before I'll watch the movie. I have many issues with the looseness and vulgarity of Hollywood.

As for the Hobbit... I'm not reading the reviews on TORn or anywhere else - with difficulty - I don't want spoilers this time around. And spoilers abound. Frown


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Dec 20 2014, 7:53am

Post #8 of 18 (2008 views)
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Always. [In reply to] Can't Post

I don't actually go to many movies, and reading the reviews helps me keep up with what's going on in that important segment of our culture. I know what reviewers I agree with, and what kinds of movies I like (intelligent, serious but non-violent, not depressing). The next movie I'm really excited about after BotFA (actually more so) is Mr. Turner.


demnation
Rohan

Dec 21 2014, 10:31am

Post #9 of 18 (1970 views)
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Who has the time? [In reply to] Can't Post

They generally don't make a difference to me anyway, since I already know months in advance what I want to see and what I don't . And even if it was the worst movie ever, I was going to see BOFA because Tolkien.


grammaboodawg
Immortal


Dec 22 2014, 2:27am

Post #10 of 18 (1958 views)
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No. I've found [In reply to] Can't Post

that most often the reviewers are not fans of the genre of films, so their opinion just becomes noise in my head. And it's already crowded enough in there ;)


Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea


Dec 22 2014, 7:04am

Post #11 of 18 (1957 views)
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I almost always check the score on RT [In reply to] Can't Post

If it's quite a bit lower or higher than I expected, I'll skim review synopses, but I rarely read the whole thing until after I see the movie.


Silverlode
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 22 2014, 7:13am

Post #12 of 18 (1960 views)
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Do you find.... [In reply to] Can't Post

that the general score tends to reflect your own opinion after seeing a movie? I'm not asking about BOTFA, just curious in general. Smile


Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea


Dec 22 2014, 7:23am

Post #13 of 18 (1968 views)
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Well... [In reply to] Can't Post

It does affect my expectations. If a movie gets a lower score but I'm still determined to see it, I'll go in with lower expectations and am often pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, movies that are very highly rated sometimes do not meet my expectations and I leave disappointed. It depends a little bit on the hype, too. "Nightcrawler", for example, was highly rated but had little to no publicity in my city. My husband and I were impressed by it and felt like we "discovered" it despite the existing high ratings because people we talked to afterwards hadn't heard of it.


Loresilme
Valinor


Dec 26 2014, 2:27am

Post #14 of 18 (1935 views)
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Usually but [In reply to] Can't Post

for BOFA, I went completely spoiler free. I didn't read any reviews at all, I even stayed away from any entertainment news, just to make sure I had absolutely no hints. I'm really glad I did because I felt a very pure enjoyment of the film (well, I can't say 'enjoyed' the sad parts, but you know what I mean).

But for all other movies, I almost always read the reviews and 'scores' and yes, they do factor into whether I decide to go see it.


arithmancer
Grey Havens


Dec 28 2014, 5:45pm

Post #15 of 18 (1919 views)
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Sometimes [In reply to] Can't Post

Generally I do this when I don't feel I know much about the movie and am trying to decide whether it is worth seeing. I avoid taking my sons to "rotten" rated kids' films (because in my experience, I tend to find them intolerable...) For movies I am potentially interested in for their own sake, I read to find out a bit more about what the film is about, what it is like, whether it is funny/scary/gory, etc.


Annael
Immortal


Dec 29 2014, 5:47am

Post #16 of 18 (1923 views)
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if I'm not sure whether to see it or not // [In reply to] Can't Post

 


lionoferebor
Rohan

Dec 30 2014, 6:52pm

Post #17 of 18 (1922 views)
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Sometimes.... [In reply to] Can't Post

depends on my level of interest in the film. I read several reviews/ spoilers before seeing BOTFA. I was more interested in the details of the film, such as the death scenes, rather than people's overall opinion of the film. I know some feel reading reviews/ spoilers ruins a film, but as an avid fan of the book had I not read the spoilers before seeing the film, I probably would've been among the many of disappointed fans. This is not say I was happy with all the changes, though after three viewings I've come to accept them. After all being bitter about it is not going to change it, so might as well take it or leave it. Had I gone in blind I probably would've been very upset, however knowing spared me a great deal of disappontment.


swordwhale
Tol Eressea


Jan 6 2015, 5:07am

Post #18 of 18 (1901 views)
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I hear that... [In reply to] Can't Post

what is it with critics?

I almost never agree with them.

Here's one critic (amateur but excellent) I quite like...

http://lovepirate77.wordpress.com/

 
 

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