What is it with movie critics?

[V F]

Going to the cinema isn't particularly cheap these days, partly it's down to location but I could easily be spending £12 to see a film.

The problem is, whats crunching, chatting, texting, glowing, giving away spoilers after coming out the cinema is very irritating. People have spoken on so many forums about these problems.

Though, mostly everyones gripe these days is glowing screens and faces with bee-bop phones.

 

[semi-pro waster]

The problem is, whats crunching, chatting, texting, glowing, giving away spoilers after coming out the cinema is very irritating. People have spoken on so many forums about these problems.

Though, mostly everyones gripe these days is glowing screens and faces with bee-bop phones.

I rarely go to the cinema these days and it's got a lot to do with those reasons but also because I can buy a DVD to watch at my leisure for the same price or less than a cinema trip. If I'm going to make the effort to go then generally I'd like it to be worthwhile - maybe if I had an unlimited pass the cost and other distractions would bother me less but I couldn't guarantee that.

 

[Vonhelmet]

I don't see the point of movie critics, its all just opinion anyway.

Just see the movie for yourself and don't let anyone else tell you if you should like it or not.

The point is that not everyone has the time or money to see everything... And you shouldn't be expecting a critic to tell you whether you should like a film. If that's what you are turning to a critic for, you are missing the point. A critic will tell you why they liked a film, and what was good and bad about it, and then you can determine from that whether it's something you'll like.

 

[Flibster]

This should be shown before EVERY film.

 

[PudWud]

The point is that not everyone has the time or money to see everything... And you shouldn't be expecting a critic to tell you whether you should like a film. If that's what you are turning to a critic for, you are missing the point. A critic will tell you why they liked a film, and what was good and bad about it, and then you can determine from that whether it's something you'll like.

I recently saw a critique of Guardians of the Galaxy, where the critic described it as one of the worst movies he's seen with few to no redeeming qualities.
He essentially described it as utter tripe and not funny or worthwhile. I was told by my friends that I should go and see it, and in fact, I found it to be very funny.
I'm not missing the point, it's just that most critics don't tell you the good and bad points, they just say what their opinion is useless to me as a 'professional' review.

 

[Vonhelmet]

So you're consulting the wrong critics. Which has been my point since the first post. Do you think a critic is offering anything different to what your friends are offering when they give their opinions?

 

[PudWud]

Do you think a critic is offering anything different to what your friends are offering when they give their opinions?

No but my friends aren't paid for their opinions, and I already know my friends have similar tastes to me. That's my point, I have no use for film critics.

 

[Sunbed]

I'm not missing the point, it's just that most critics don't tell you the good and bad points, they just say what their opinion is useless to me as a 'professional' review.

I actually find the opposite with Kermode. Often I'll watch a review of his and still be thinking "so... did you like it or not?"

Can anyone tell me whether Guardians of the Galaxy is good or not? It looks terrible but I normally just blindly go with rotten tomatoe scores, which are very positive in this instance. I'm very conflicted!

 

[Vonhelmet]

No but my friends aren't paid for their opinions, and I already know my friends have similar tastes to me. That's my point, I have no use for film critics.

So let's say you could find a critic with similar tastes to you. Would they then be of use? Bearing in mind that a critic will see most films on release, while your friends will see just a handful?