Going to the movies? Who do you trust?
When I go to the movie theatre, I always check metacritic.com first. My pal Phil swears by Rotten Tomatoes for his film reviews.
These sites are “review aggregators” — they take many different reviews from across the web, assign them scores, then produce a kind of super-review. I think these can be useful for a quick temperature reading (so you can avoid, say, The Love Guru), but not everyone agrees with the practice. Nicholas Deleon over at Crunchgear, for example, thinks these sites are “dumb” when they apply this thinking to video game reviews:
I dislike the practice of aggregating review scores, be it on Metacritic, Game Rankings, Rotten Tomatoes, etc. You can’t quantify opinion to begin with, assigning a numerical value to how you feel about a game—if you can tell me the difference between an 9.0 and a 9.1 you deserve a biscuit—but then to average several opinions together and wind up with a nice, neat “metascore” is absurd.
As the Oscars approach, we plan to take a look at the effect of review aggregators — how they’ve changed the ways we make decisions about our entertainment dollars, how they impact our expectations of films, and what professional movie reviewers think of them.
What about you? How do you decide what movie to see at your local theatre? Which do you trust more — aggregate film scores or individual reviews?
[Original photo by Hryck]
January 29th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Honestly, I'm to the point where I don't trust anyone. I've been burned so many times at the box office that I just don't go anymore. The home-theatre experience has become more cost effective, better quality and more convenient that it's outweighing the "theatre experience" and seeing the movie as soon as it's out.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I tend not to use review aggregators for films, but I think they're great for videogames. I find they're most effective when you combine them with a thorough reading of individuals reviews from trusted sources. This pratice allows you to get a feeling for the general opinion of the game while delving into the nitty gritty of why people feel this way. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's more than worth it when purchasing a $60 plus piece of software.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I really only trust particular individual reviewers for movies. I also trust two very good, snarky dvd rental stores. They really curate their collection well. They get what a bricks and mortar business in culture has to do to thrive.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Rather than rely entirely on personal or aggregate overall reviews, I use movielens.org, which is a kind of social network but you can remain anonymous if you want. Like last.fm, it is a kind of "taste aggregator". Of course, it takes a bit of investment in rating a few movies before they will be suggested to you but this is a great resource before heading to the DVD shop.
January 29th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I don't watch new movies anymore…too many great old ones to watch on TCM. But I do read reviews sometimes and mostly go to imdb.com and sort by "hated it".
January 29th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I try to stay away from reviewers in general both for games and movies. The one exception would be Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation, although thats for pure entertainment rather than his opinion!
Other than that, I usually go off movies that my friend Amber recommends in her blog. She has excellent taste and I know anything she recommends will worthwhile.
January 31st, 2009 at 1:50 am
I eschew review sites when deciding what movies to watch. I choose based on the trailers/plot descriptions and who stars in it. Sometimes a friend's recommendation helps, but ultimately I choose based on what interests me.
Review sites are great for discussing and critiquing movies. I do much the same for books. I'm a voracious reader, but I don't always remember if I liked a book (or why I liked it). Writing reviews records my thoughts for the future me to rediscover.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I have to agree with Lee R… I don't usually find anything interesting in new movies. I tend to watch documentaries and TV shows on-line or from the library… saves on the price of a ticket (or a DVD), and no exorbitant concession prices. I've seen quite a lot of quality documentaries (e.g. PBS's NOVA, CBC, etc.) that you can get for free download for the price of a monthly internet connection.
As for determining what to watch, I find that Wikipedia actually provides a reliable information, if the movie is well-known. A quick plot synopsis, perhaps criticisms, and usually links to the IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes pages. I know Wikipedia may not be the most accurate guide for movies, but if the movie is well-known, you can guarantee that the collaboration of worldwide wikilovers will ensure the article has been well-researched and documented.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Agreed, Nora. To survive, small, independent video stores need an efficient system, and an active web presence. There's an independent video store in Kingston, Ontario that with its new movies, specializes in old, obscure, and classic videos. This store has embraced the web with multiple search features, links to movie review websites (e.g. IMDB), and user reviews. The store is small and has competition from Rogers Video and Blockbuster, but is consistently popular, especially with the student population.
It's the embrace of technology that makes the difference.
January 31st, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Totally agree re: Yahtzee.
I don't even play video games that often; I just love his witty observation about the trends in gaming.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I used to be a movie reviewer, and regularly had people say, "I always listen to your reviews… and then do the opposite" which is an absolutely sound strategy, I figure. Know thy reviewer. Me, I often check the New York Times and The New Yorker, and even if I occasionally disagree, I know we are in the same ballpark. I do find the compilation ratings useful as a rough measure of merit. If no-one likes something, chances are there's a reason.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I tend to use a combination of all sorts of things. I read a few reviewers that I know have similar taste to mine, visit a couple of sites that I know can help me find movies that would otherwise not get reviewed (like Twitch) and then I use aggregators to help find the occasional hidden gem that might otherwise get passed by.
Its not a perfect system, but I watch far more movies that I enjoy then I don't, so I think it is a successful one.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:23 am
honestly i consider my movie tastes a tad more sophisticated than my friends or the geeral public. I expect to be surprised, impressed and see my movie and or time as as an invesrtment. I found filmspotting. A Chicage based podcast.