maingon

do you listen to critic's? do you even care what they say and think?

marty888

Well, in a way I "listen" to critics, but it's more like discovering how their tastes and mine coincide or clash.

For example, Jami Bernard (NY Daily News) generally hates movies I like - so her bad review for something that interested me might send me rushing off to the see the movie.

I often disagree with Ebert with his negative reviews, but almost always I will like a movie he reviews favorably, especially if he's flying in the face of the consensus. For example, he loved Brian DePalma's Femme Fatale which critics (and yes, most audiences) hated - and I loved it also.

Jay G.

No, I usually read them.

DoubleDownAgain

I wouldn't say I care one way or another. But I di usually agree with Ebert's reviews as well. But if it's a film I want to see I will go regardless of any bad reviews. But if it's a film I'm not sure on and it gets trashed then i will probably wait for it on DVD.

joeydaninja

Movie reviewers are like us, DVDtalk posters, except they are being paid. Lucky bastards!

mifuneral

I sometimes read Ebert for new films, though I've usually decided if I wanna see the movie before he gets his review up.

If I'm unsure about a dvd purchase I'll check to see if DVDtalk or DVDfile has a review. I don't always get a movie with a good review, but I try to get a feel for the movie based on what the reviewer says.

RichC2

I usually read them for entertainment purposes.

Take for instance:

http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/eber...20THE%20WORLDS

Ebert and Roeper's review of War of the Worlds, the last minute is comic gold.

Goat3001

Usually, yes. There are only a few movies for me recently that are critic proof (Star Wars, Batman, Willy Wonka). I will see these movies regardless of what critics say. However, since I have neither the time nor money to watch every movie out there I do need to pick and choose. Reading critic reviews and hearing word of mouth are a good way to choose what is worth seeing and what isn't.

maingon

i dont most of the time all these movies I liked but most critics didnt like

doesnt mean much to me, theres lots of movies that i really liked that most critics hated.
The Longest Yard 30%
Sahara 39%
National Treasure 42%
Be cool 30%
Crused 13%
Spanglish 51%
Ladder 49 44%

all got low scores at rotten tomatos

darqleo

I usually use reviews as a rough guide. If there's a movie I totally want to see, but it's getting hammered by critics or everyday people who have seen it, I'll pass and at least wait for a future DVD rental (or in extreme cases, just pass altogether). I don't have the time and money to watch everything that comes out, just to form my own opinion, as if the film is cr*p, I don't want to support it because they'll end up making a sequel or more of the same and not putting time, money and energy into other projects I would want to see instead.

ianholm

I tend not to read too many reviews because I think it's hard to keep spoilers out of them. I like rottentomatoes since you can get a quick consensus of a film and work from there.

island007

I don't give two about critic's movie reviews.
I do listen to praise/hate from everyday people who have seen the movie.

Josh H

No. I'm pretty good at picking what movies I'll like, and if I'm on the fence I just go by overall perceptions rather than reading details of reviews.

For instance I'll check the thread here and gauge whether most like it or not and check rotten tomatoes to see what the overall rating of it is and make my decision that way.

MrE

Not unless I've seen the movie. I hate spoilers.

Big Worms

I hate critics reviews. I have never bothered with them and I never will.

Kal-El

I read them from time to time but never let them influence whether I'll see the movie or not.

devilshalo

NO

I don't really care what any critics have to say that would influence my movie going.

slop101

A few critics here and there, no, not at all.

But taking in most reviewers, like RT does, yes, that influences me - but usually when I'm still on the fence regarding a movie and an RT score of under 50% will definitely keep me from seeing the movie. This works quite well and is usually quite accurate, as there are more bad movies out there than good ones.

Randy Miller III

Absolutely not. Especially those hacks that review DVDs.

clemente

Exactly why I stopped reading movie reviews some years ago before I watched the movie. Movie reviewers often give away little tidbits or little moments in the movies that aren't part of the climax, but often provide the meat of the movie. Discovering these moments is what movies are about, they provide the body of the film.

Do I read reviews...not until I've seen the movie or if I don't plan on seeing it. I do rely on reviews (positive ones) for smaller independant fare that I wouldn't otherwise be aware of. (My Summer of Love, Kontroll, Me, You And Everyone We Know, stuff that even in a major city like Chicago isn't advertised.)

Shannon Nutt

My reading of reviews is a little odd...well, perhaps not. I'll look at the star ratings about those films I'm on the borderline about seeing. But I WON'T read reviews until after I've seen the film. One of the reasons is I may love (or hate) the movie so much that I want to write up a review for DVD Talk - and I DON'T want to be accused of stealing another reviewer's ideas or reaction, even though you're bound to parallel something written in another review somewhere. The second reason is, of course, that far too many reviewers tell you everything that happens in the movie EXCEPT for the last 15 minutes or so and then think they have done their job by not giving away the ending...I've gone out of my way as a reviewer only to give enough of the premise away in my reviews that is necessary to review the movie - no more. That's why a lot of my reviews are a ton shorter than some of the more "verbose" DVD TALK reviewers, but I hope readers go into my reviews knowing that I'm not going to spoil the fun (or in the case of THE HULK, the dread...sorry, had to get in one more shot!) of seeing a film for the first time.

Mr. Cinema

I use rotten tomatoes as a guide. Ebert would be the only critic I read. But, lately I'm finding him to be too hypocritical in some reviews. For instance, action movie A gets praised for just simply being a dumb summer popcorn movie. Whereas action movie B gets slammed for just simply being a dumb summer popcorn movie.

Richard Malloy

Most "movie critics" are just entertainment beat reporters that get drafted into the job (I believe Gene Siskel started out in the Real Estate section). Generally worthless. If this is what we mean by "critics", then no I don't bother reading them.

But folks like Rosenbaum, Hoberman, Sarris, Taylor and the like are absolutely worth reading. Plus freaky contrarians like Armond White. Writers like these get free reign, lots of column space, and a readership that's very knowledgeable about film.

On the other hand, your daily newspaper "critics" are generally limited to reviewing mainstream crap and the occasional middle-brow fare or theatrical run of a classic, and are given about 5 paragraphs to sum up. I suppose Ebert's the most well-known of these, and he's certainly a cut above the usual, but not particularly worth reading.

Dr. DVD

This may sound weird, but it depends on the time of year with me. If it's summertime where there's pretty much a new movie every weekend, I tend not to read any of the reviews until after I have seen the movie so I can form my own opinion, as I think summer movies are supposed to be fun first and foremost, and critics seem to have a problem grasping that fact.

However, if a movie is released in mid September to late December, I tend to weight reviews heavier then than in the summer. I especially listen to them closely in March and April, as that is a time period where a lot of crap gets dumped, and I seldom go see anything during that time period unless it seems to be above average with people. (Prime examples: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the Dawn of the Dead re-make).

Comic book movies are something I always try to catch in the theater. While they are not all great ones, as a geek I am smart enough to realize that I will probably never again live in an era where so many adaptations will be hitting the screen, so I might as well take advantage.

mikewendt

9 times out of 10 I never read, watch, or listen to a single review. I'd rather go into a movie blind and make my own mind up... Then after I see movie I'll go see what everyone else thought about it.