Film Reviews to Help You Choose
Do you go to the cinema or do you, like me, wait until films are released on DVD so that you can watch them at home?
I probably visit the cinema only once or twice a year, usually to accompany my young nephews to watch a film that they’ve wanted to see. In the past twelve months I have only been to see two films at the cinema; Watchmen and High School Musical 3.
I’ve just been thinking about why it is I don’t go to the cinema. The main reason has got to be comfort. I would far rather wait until a film is released on DVD and then watch it, in comfort, in my own living room rather than in a crowded cinema auditorium. Although the last two times I went to the cinema it was anything but crowded. When I went to see Watchmen with my nephews we had the whole place to ourselves.
But there have been many occasions when I have paid good money to watch a film and then been plagued by a someone kicking the back of my seat and the people in front repeatedly standing up during the film. Then there are the mobile phones. Although they are supposed to be turned off people still persist in using them in the cinema. No, not for me. I’d rather wait for the DVD and then watch it in comfort with a nice cup of cocoa at home.
Selecting which film to see is another reason I prefer DVDs over the cinema. I’d far rather wait and hear what people who’ve seen a movie have to say about it after seeing it at the cinema. Like many people I rely on recommendations for my choice of films. One site that I like to use for honest film reviews is thefilmreview.com. This is quite a new film review site but it looks promising. They provide a neat voting system so that those who have seen a film can let others know if it’s worth a look.
There are just so many good, bad and indifferent films released these days none of us have the time to view them all so it’s enormously useful to have a reliable source of honest reviews that can be used to help us choose what we see.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I think the “home theater” has become so comfortable that there’s not often motivation to cough up $12 or so for a theater ticket.
In terms of choosing, you might also have a look at Jinni, with search by mood (and more) and Pandora-style recommendations from the Movie Genome.
May 2nd, 2009 at 6:43 am
I still like going to the “real movies” - I still think it’s a special experience in comparison with watching a movie at home. But… that being said I’m sure I watch a lot more movies at home than I do at the real movies.
As far as film reviews - I usually take a look at them before I see something, I hate wasting my time watching awful movies - I tend to sort of know what I like before I go so… I don’t often see movies I don’t end up liking. For example I pretty much hate all action movies - so I never see them.