OldBoy

It’s crazy. For weeks now I’ve not watched a movie bc I couldn’t decide what to watch. Too many to choose and more all the time. Between digital and blus, I’m going crazy. Then other things come up and you want to watch news or go to dinner. Just so hard.

What’s your fool proof plan to just pick a f*cking movie and commit to watch it?

brainee

I answered "Just go with what I feel and f*ck the thinking" so that's probably not helpful to you

Do you do any of the monthly viewing challenges here? That's a good directing force for what to watch in a month. Or maybe you should watch more tv series instead of movies. Each episode is much shorter than a movie, and once you make the decision about what to start watching you're good to go until you get through the series.

Paul_SD

Yes. Too much choice can lead to paralysis.

Sometimes it's best to just consider watching something for the evening to be homework. Just blindly pick something off the shelf to watch and stick with it till the end.

Odds are you'll find enough in it to enjoy (after all you must have bought it for some reason that seemed appealing at the time), and you might even surprise yourself how much you enjoy it.

The other suggestion is to resort to scheduling for a while. Ever night of the week make it regular viewing of something. Fridays for horror, Saturdays for sci-fi, Sundays for classics, Mondays for mystery suspense, etc

Narrowing the choice parameters helps hone and focus desire.

Aren't we fortunate to have first world problems like this?

Nesbit

With newer stuff I generally watch it pretty close to when I buy it but still trying to whittle down my large pile of unwatched blurays from the last two years since I started collecting again. Currently at around 100 movies to watch.

Been randomly selecting 4 per night, throwing them up on a pole on twitter, and whatever wins I watch the following night at work. If anyone would like to vote, even occasionally my twitter handle is Dan__McClure.

DWilson

Gee, I feel better now, -I thought it was just me. On Friday nights I watch one Blu-ray start-to-finish, extras 'n' all (which in some instances can be the whole night). I've had to start deciding what to watch a few days ahead or I'll spend over an hour going back-and-forth. Of course I have a ridiculously large pile of "unwatched" blu-rays.

rw2516

Everybody would be happier if they shake the feeling of being obligated to watch what they own.
Why put pressure on yourself and take all the fun out of it?
When you purchase movies you receive gratification in two ways:
1. Knowledge that you own it and can enjoy it whenever the mood strikes you.
2. The pleasure that comes from watching it.
Even if you never get around to watching something you have still received something of value.
Is it worth the price of the movie for the peace of mind of just knowing that you have it? Or do you feel that you haven't received anything for your money unless you watch it?

Don't try to have your cake and eat it too. You can't have a million dollars in the bank and what a million dollars will buy.
You can't have a library of all your favorite movies and tv shows and the expectation of watching them all multiple times.

Just like the million dollars will always be there if you need it, or want to just get something, the movie/tv library will always be there when you want it.

If you don't feel like using the library, don't. Have a good time doing what you really feel like doing at that time.
When what you really feel like doing is watching something from the library, do it. That's what it's there for.

Cardsfan111

I find that anything that narrows the focus helps.

I participate in several of the monthly challenges, so that can be beneficial.

I'm also actively trying to go through the unwatched pile which is a never-ending effort. I'll pull up DVD Profiler on my laptop where I have a filter set to those titles not yet seen. Then I'll be determined to choose something from "page 1" of the listings--meaning I'm picking a title out of 75 possibilities instead of hundreds.

Other times my choice might be made for me by the time I have available. That could be 2+ hours, 90 minutes or an hour or less where I'll lean towards a TV episode or 2.

Trevor

Choosing something is often difficult for me as well, first-world problem of way too many choices.

The Challenges help me greatly in this regard. I don’t “binge” on a Challenge more than once or twice a year, but they are helpful in aiming me in a general direction.

More helpful, I have a monthly personal checklist to help me mentally justify subscriptions and collections. So each month I make sure I watch at least one Criterion disc, one thing on Netflix, something from my Vudu library, etc.

It’s all stuff I obviously enjoy, so it never feels like a chore, but I get the argument that you shouldn’t let anything you own own you.

rw2516

When you feel like watching THE TERMINATOR for the 47th time, never bump it because you feel you need/should to watching something you haven't watched yet. What you need to do is watch THE TERMINATOR for the 47th time.

mrhan

First world problems.

Fucking go out and do something else.

morriscroy

Pour lighter fluid onto the disc and set it on fire.

DJariya

OldBoy looking at his BD and Digital collection and trying to decide what to watch.

dex14

Get better medication.

Mike86

I know it’s Oldboy and people like to give him shit but I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t happen to me now and again. Definitely a first world problem but sometimes there are so many choices yet none are what you really want.

morriscroy

I encountered Oldboy's quandary back in the day, in the scenario of figuring out what to rent out at the local video rental store. Most of the time I ended up just walking out of the video store, without ever renting anything out.

In those days, I did not consider this to be an extreme problem which Oldboy is making mountains out of molehills. Other than wasting a half hour or so looking at the spines of video tape cases.

rw2516

First world problems?

Is this like when some asshole is too lazy to pick you out a gift so they give you a gift card instead. Now, I have to waste my time trying to pick out something that has value equal to the card?

Sonic

I watch movies based on my mood. I don't watch certain movies because I have to watch it due to popularity, fuck that.

There is no important movie for me to watch. I've come to realization that eventually if there is a movie that's huge in popularity, it can wait.

Before I used to be excited for big releases, not anymore especially when I own a big 4K TV.

Nesbit

At least in my case I'm watching these movies when I'm home, at work, waiting for work to come in. I either enjoy or think I'll enjoy all of the movies I have AND enjoy the system I've come up with for whittling down that pile.

I know your comment wasn't directed at me specifically and this isn't directed at you specifically but what a bunch of judgmental people we have up in here.

OldBoy

yeah, mood plays in it with me too sometimes. sometimes, want a comfort movie that i've seen, usually action and don't have to have total brain on. sometimes new stuff, but still hard to fucking choose...

mattysemo247

Maybe cut down the collection a bit making it easier to choose?

morriscroy

(More generally).

One can also ask whether one is actually a movie fan in the first place. (As basic as this may sound).

If one is having a hard time figuring out what movie to watch, one has to wonder whether they are a movie fan in the first place.

It took me a very long time to come to the realizaton that I was not a movie/tv fan at heart. In the end, I came to the realization that I was more interested in buying dvds/blurays to rip them on the computer, than watching any of the actual movies/shows on these discs.

dvd-4-life

I was having trouble finding a movie to stream today.
I like horror and seems that Netflix has 5,000 Haunted House Movies and I can't stand those kinds of movies and they are all basically cookie cutter movies with no originality.

mrhan

I love getting gift cards! I don't need someone to put thought into a gift. Let me choose my own shit.

I think your taking my comment the wrong way. I love first world problems. I have them everyday and I am so thankful for them.

OldBoy

i just have to stop thinking so much ad just fucking do it. short attention span? i dunno, but happening more lately. even Netflix movies i wind up sending back and essentially wasting that money. it sux...

morriscroy

Have you had similar behavior patterns in other hobbies + activities in your life, which are unrelated to dvd/bluray and tv shows/movies ?

For example if you were ever into reading novels (or books in general), did you find yourself having a hard time figuring out what novel/book to read ?