memes

Incorporating both is the better perspective. Don’t let examining media critically stop you from liking what you like.

Gourmet vs Gourmand

Life's better when you can enjoy complex things for their complexity and simple things for their simplicity =)

Neither perspective is good if they are to be applied generalized. There are flawed movies I enjoy, there are supposedly perfect movies I don't enjoy. There are movies I enjoy because they challenge me and movies I don't enjoy because they don't. There are a lot of movies that I've already seen even on a first watch (looking at you, Marvel after Phase III) and dislike because of that and there are movies I watch because I've seen them before.

Often (not always, remember we try not to generalize) it comes down to what is expected, what is delivered and when there is something delivered you didn't expect, how well was the twist executed.

Having craftsmanship be a factor in one's rating of a movie is equally valid as how much you enjoyed it, as may be individual factors like historical plausibility, scientific accuracy or fidelity to the source material, if those things apply.

That's why I prefer to talk about movies instead of assign numerical ratings.

It's all about intent.

If a film is trying to be a pseudo-intellectual fuck-fest and fails to do so it should be called out on it. Shutter Island I think tries it and fails. It's like Scorsese saw Memento, thought "I can do that", but he couldn't.

If a film is just dumb fun like M3GAN, then that's OK. More than fine. The worst thing you can do there is be boring. Michael Bay made robots fighting boring. Colin Trevorrow made dinosaurs boring. If you're going to be dumb then at least be fun.

Hell, even Tron Ares is OK if you go into it expecting a two hour long music video. If you go into it expecting good acting, a script, a story, or anything other than Trent Reznor assaulting your eardrums to a light show, you're going to be disappointed.

I think people should rate things consistently, and both of those criteria in the post are fairly subjective. Like, they could both vary based on your mood.

Here's my 3-star rating system, which is less subjective:

*** I would happily watch this movie again, or I have already enjoyed it multiple times.

** It wasn't bad, but I don't see myself watching it again.

* I would refuse to watch this again, or I turned it off because I couldn't watch it once.

Of course, it's not perfect. Movies like Dear Zachary would be forced to be 2 stars. But for the most part, since star reviews are to help people decide what to watch, if the criteria is whether or not people would want to watch it a lot, I think the intentions line up with the implementation better.

I'm going to be honest, the number one way to get a good rating from me is to put a giant monster in your movie and have it fight other giant monsters OR a giant robot.

My number one complaint about movies with kaiju and/or mecha, which can prevent them from getting five stars, is that there are usually too many scenes with people talking and advancing the plot, and not enough scenes of wanton destruction where the kaiju/mecha are brawling.

i think a film's quality is multidimensional and shouldn't be reduced to a single number.

so i literally don't rate films unless all aspects of it are consistently good or bad.

Context is key. Depends on what the movie is trying to be

Right has the far better perspective. Thats the one I try to take into all movies sight unseen.

Movies made for Left tend to make themselves known within the first 15 minutes or so, and then he can come out and offer literary critique

Why can't it be both? Too many people think that nuanced movies can't be fun. It's even dumber when they think a movie must not be nuanced just because it is fun. (Like anyone who talks about super hero movies like the entire genre is one bad movie.)

It's perfectly possible to enjoy chewing gum for the brain even though one gets no nutritional value from it.

Neither? If you're going to rate every movie 5/5 then there's no point in rating movies. Just watch them and enjoy them.

thats horrifying, how do i get them out?

One is not a cinephile, and the other is a fantastic exaggeration of what a cinephile is.

I recently watched a movie that was absolutely excellent, a masterclass in telling a story without having an overt plot and use of symbolism and behavioral patterns and changes to depict a deeply human situation. Did I have fun? No, it was uncomfortable as hell as it's the story of a relationship in which both parties are bad for each other with one pushing for more and more and the other increasingly pulling back and not into it. It reminded me of many of my worst insecurities and my worst relationships, especially those with people with bpd that wasn't under control.

Movie is the Duke of Burgundy if anyone is interested, cw bugs and bdsm.

Two compelling critiques of the latest Zootopia film.

Depends what the movie was trying to accomplish.

The right.

I look at it this way, don't let some asshole tell you how you should feel. You build up bias toward it, you're going to go in with that bias. Watch a movie because you want an experience.

most cinephiles i've met take it as a personal attack when anyone simply hates the movies they adore. i don't voluntarily hang around with these people

Totally agree but I don't find stupid movies 'fun'.

There are movies that are purposefully wacky, nonsensical, not scientific or just silly and I can't enjoy them. Snowpiercer is a great example. This movie made 0 sense but it wasn't trying to be a proper sci-fi. I was about the message and it was nicely delivered.

Then you have movies that are trying to be smart and failing badly like for example Interstellar. It's a "smart" movie for not so smart people. I hate those.

And then you have purely stupid movies like all the Marverls, fast and furious and so on. Nothing makes sense but everyone pretends it does. If you are able to turn off thinking for couple hours and enjoy it - good for you. I can't.

Both of them are rating Sophie's Choice btw.

I love all the movies

I sit there with my Film & TV degree in my hand and smile and go "Oh my gosh, good job! Making movies is hard, don't I know, but you did so well! And making mistakes is ok too!"

EDIT: Gotta admit, I do hate a poorly scripted $200-million superhero movie though, cause those are just soulless cash grabs. Anything else is great though. As long as it's from the heart, I love it.