4 ms·

I'll add to this - don't read reviews. The idea that the opinion of some critic at a big newspaper has anymore weight or merit than anyone elses opinion makes

I'll add to this - don't read reviews. The idea that the opinion of some critic at a big newspaper has anymore weight or merit than anyone elses opinion makes no sense at all.

autoexec 3y ago
I think reviews can be really useful when they're at the extreme of either end of the scale. Books with a positive blurb from an author I like can sway me, even though I'm sure they're paid for that and don't always read what they recommend. I use reviews all the time for movies. I also don't put much faith in individual critics, but when the overall consensus of critics and internet randos suggests that a movie is terrible, it's probably terrible. Negative movie reviews are more helpful than positive ones. A bad film might get overwhelmingly good reviews because it's got some political value or is considered "important". Reviews for kid's movies are generally pretty honest when they're terrible, but some reviewers will inflate the scores based on how much they think it will appeal to kids so the middle ground in that genre is risky. Good horror and sci-fi movies routinely get bad reviews from people who are just put off by the genre, so when horror or sci-fi films get wide acclaim they're probably worth checking out (although again, politics can throw this off).
- KittenInABox 3y ago
  > Books with a positive blurb from an author I like can sway me, even though I'm sure they're paid for that FYI at least in fiction books, the author is rarely if ever paid to blurb a book. They're just offered an advanced copy or ebook and like it, they'll send a blurb back to the publisher.
coliveira 3y ago
Agreed. I never found any value in reading reviews before watching a movie. I may read them after if I want to see what others think, but it is rare.
globular-toast 3y ago
I use reviews because life is too short. There will be more books I don't read than books I do. However, I've found that a mere recommendation from a geek is enough to find good science fiction. I don't have to read long or professional reviews. For films I have to use reviews, though. What the general public recommend tends to be completely crap for some reason.
Tor3 3y ago
Agreed. That goes for a lot of things. Around here there's a huge film festival once a year, thousands of visitors plus the town's population will fill the streets and watch movies all day and late night. What I've found is that it's pointless to read the daily updates by critics in the newspapers. It's like they're nearly always completely disconnected from what's actually good, for most people. As I'll have to shotgun-shop tickets during the festival week it's a good idea to have some indication of what I'll choose - as these are almost always totally unknown movies (and in general no Hollywood movies). What works, for me and many others, is to simply listen to what people are telling each other while hanging around in a cafe or walking in the streets. Then pick movies from that. If they recommend a movie, get a ticket. I've watched astounding movies that way. In contrast, the critics.. meh. Most of the time. One more thing about critics.. occasionally there's a little introduction by someone before the movie starts. If that person happens to be a critic then there's only one thing to do: Plug your ears and sing "nananana" to yourself until he or she is done. EVERY critic seems to have this extreme urge to reveal crucial parts of the plot. Only the critics do this, other people don't.
timeagain 3y ago
This is a little bit more true in the world of online reviews by random strangers. But if you find a reviewer that you “know well” they can be a godsend. You know their quirks, you know what you liked and they didn’t, etc. then a new review is full of this extra information. Their review isn’t a yes/no recommendation, it is parallax you can use to better understand if you will like it or not.
theshrike79 3y ago
The trick is finding the reviewer who has the same taste as you. I used to have one in the local paper, he could rate movies as a representative of their genre, instead of comparing the latest Marvel AAA CGI fest to Fellini and being disappointed because the Marvel one wasn't as deep. Now I've got a few reviewers on Youtube I "trust" and have seen some less known movies based on their positive non-spoiler reviews.

I'll add to this - don't read reviews. The idea that the opinion of some critic at a big newspaper has anymore weight or merit than anyone elses opinion makes no sense at all.

autoexec 3y ago

I think reviews can be really useful when they're at the extreme of either end of the scale. Books with a positive blurb from an author I like can sway me, even though I'm sure they're paid for that and don't always read what they recommend. I use reviews all the time for movies. I also don't put much faith in individual critics, but when the overall consensus of critics and internet randos suggests that a movie is terrible, it's probably terrible. Negative movie reviews are more helpful than positive ones. A bad film might get overwhelmingly good reviews because it's got some political value or is considered "important". Reviews for kid's movies are generally pretty honest when they're terrible, but some reviewers will inflate the scores based on how much they think it will appeal to kids so the middle ground in that genre is risky. Good horror and sci-fi movies routinely get bad reviews from people who are just put off by the genre, so when horror or sci-fi films get wide acclaim they're probably worth checking out (although again, politics can throw this off).

KittenInABox 3y ago
> Books with a positive blurb from an author I like can sway me, even though I'm sure they're paid for that FYI at least in fiction books, the author is rarely if ever paid to blurb a book. They're just offered an advanced copy or ebook and like it, they'll send a blurb back to the publisher.

coliveira 3y ago

Agreed. I never found any value in reading reviews before watching a movie. I may read them after if I want to see what others think, but it is rare.

globular-toast 3y ago

I use reviews because life is too short. There will be more books I don't read than books I do. However, I've found that a mere recommendation from a geek is enough to find good science fiction. I don't have to read long or professional reviews. For films I have to use reviews, though. What the general public recommend tends to be completely crap for some reason.

Tor3 3y ago

Agreed. That goes for a lot of things. Around here there's a huge film festival once a year, thousands of visitors plus the town's population will fill the streets and watch movies all day and late night. What I've found is that it's pointless to read the daily updates by critics in the newspapers. It's like they're nearly always completely disconnected from what's actually good, for most people. As I'll have to shotgun-shop tickets during the festival week it's a good idea to have some indication of what I'll choose - as these are almost always totally unknown movies (and in general no Hollywood movies). What works, for me and many others, is to simply listen to what people are telling each other while hanging around in a cafe or walking in the streets. Then pick movies from that. If they recommend a movie, get a ticket. I've watched astounding movies that way. In contrast, the critics.. meh. Most of the time. One more thing about critics.. occasionally there's a little introduction by someone before the movie starts. If that person happens to be a critic then there's only one thing to do: Plug your ears and sing "nananana" to yourself until he or she is done. EVERY critic seems to have this extreme urge to reveal crucial parts of the plot. Only the critics do this, other people don't.

timeagain 3y ago

This is a little bit more true in the world of online reviews by random strangers. But if you find a reviewer that you “know well” they can be a godsend. You know their quirks, you know what you liked and they didn’t, etc. then a new review is full of this extra information. Their review isn’t a yes/no recommendation, it is parallax you can use to better understand if you will like it or not.

theshrike79 3y ago

The trick is finding the reviewer who has the same taste as you. I used to have one in the local paper, he could rate movies as a representative of their genre, instead of comparing the latest Marvel AAA CGI fest to Fellini and being disappointed because the Marvel one wasn't as deep. Now I've got a few reviewers on Youtube I "trust" and have seen some less known movies based on their positive non-spoiler reviews.