Saturday, December 16, 2006

My two sons Paul and Wesley asked me if we could go and see the new movie Eragorn but I am reluctant to spend the big bucks to see this movie...because...it was hammered by the majority of the movie critics...It only received a ten percent approval rating on Rottentomatoes.... Ouch!!!...It doesn't get much worse than that...but..I wasn't particularly surprised and suspected something was up when "my sources on the street" made no mention of the film as the release day approached and I noticed the film wasn't released to the critics prior to the film's opening on Friday ...which...is almost always a bad sign....Over the years I have been critisized by friends and family members alike for reading movie critics and relying on their advise for my choice of purchasing DVD's or going to the movies....but...let's get the record straight. I don't go to a movie or not go to a movie because on anything a "particular" critic says about a film... but... I generally pay attention when the vast majority of critics either like a film or not and this approach has served me well over the years. My DVD collection which includes such films as Mrs. Brown, Princess Mononoke,Last of the Dogmen,Girl with a Pearl Earring,Dark City,Existenz,Gattica,Frailty,Quills,Waking Ned Divine,Touching the Void, and Spirited Away are all films that I probably would have never seen, let alone purchased, if I first hadn't read or watched movie reviews over the years. One may not want to over rely on the opinions of the movie critics when choosing to see this film or that but it is what they do for a living and I for one am grateful they provide a service for him or her who has ears to hear....

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on this. I was prepared to see Eragon in theaters because I could go for a bit of big FX fantasy escapism but the reviews and too-obvious "borrowings" from Star Wars have turned my gaze elsewhere. I saw The Nativity Story today, for different reasons than would have pointed me toward Eragon...

One has to develop a sense of discernment about what to do with the critics. A lot of critics that I admire knocked The Fountain but that didn't put me off because I don't rely on their judgment when it comes to those kinds of pictures. But it's hard to exactly quantify what makes one bad review insignificant but another bad review influential enough to get me to change my mind from a Yes to a No when it comes to paying theater prices.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on this. I was prepared to see Eragon in theaters because I could go for a bit of big FX fantasy escapism but the reviews and too-obvious "borrowings" from Star Wars have turned my gaze elsewhere. I saw The Nativity Story today, for different reasons than would have pointed me toward Eragon...

One has to develop a sense of discernment about what to do with the critics. A lot of critics that I admire knocked The Fountain but that didn't put me off because I don't rely on their judgment when it comes to those kinds of pictures. But it's hard to exactly quantify what makes one bad review insignificant but another bad review influential enough to get me to change my mind from a Yes to a No when it comes to paying theater prices.

Bilbo said...

I figure critics are a bit like us. They have their particular preferences and bias. I have also noticed over the years that alot of the critics appreciate artsy, avant garde, independent films which the general public don't much care for...and...they have their favorite film directors, etc. I take that all into account...I also like to read the offbeat Harry Knowles of the critic world because they generally are much more blunt, direct, and honest, than your standard movie critics....and...I appreciate their passion seemingly genuine love for films which sometimes doesn't come accross with some film critics in my opinion...and....I still like Roger Ebert, alot, and generally watch Ebert and Roper almost every week. Ebert is a class act who appears to still love films as much as when he started years ago on PBS...