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[–] 0 points 5 days ago

I ignore RT.

I hate how people treat it as the ultimate authority.

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  • [–] 72 points 1 week ago (16 children)

    I swear rotten tomatoes and IMDb fucked up movies and tv more than anyone talks about. You can’t REALLY make an review of a work of art, even if it is corporate produced tripe, with a percentage scale or */10 system, and before anyone comes at me I know it’s been done for decades but it was never a be all and end all thing, critics wrote articles about things and you might disagree with their sensibilities and go see it specifically because a particular critic didn’t like it, the opposite is also true.

    At some point though we crossed a line where no one actually reads the criticism and internalizes it, instead they just look at the number and make it either a personal attack or validation. Thats a really bad way to experience art of any kind.

    This isn’t a complete thought I feel, but I hate the reality of film and television criticism today, not because critics are worthless, because that’s just silly. If you like something Peter Travers said was dog shit go find a critic that speaks to your taste it’s not difficult and doesn’t mean your favorite movie actually sucks.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 week ago* (5 children)

    I agree they both fucked it up, but my main problem is how there seems to have been a clear shift in how they "weigh" reviews after both IMDB and RT were bought by large corporate entities (Amazon and Fandango, respectively).

    I can't help but feel like a lot of the movies coming out from those companies or their subsidiaries (...and at least some number of politically expedient allies) somehow manage to get higher overall review scores on RT and IMDB than they maybe deserve.

    For example, that shitty right-wing nationalist churchslop movie "Young Washington" got relatively high scores on RT...

    ...and IMDB...

    ...but not on Letterbox'd...

    ...which is one of the main reasons I shifted to checking Letterbox'd for reviews... but unfortunately, another day to shift to a different platform be coming soon again.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I want to be clear I don’t disagree at all you’re correct. Corporate control of art means they will go to any lengths to ensure profit.

    But also, I really kinda glossed over the overarching problem, which is that the film industry is now driven by reviews and vibes reviewed by c-suite folks that answer to shareholders and don’t give a fuck about the actual film or show or whatever

    This has always been true with the plastic arts but we’ve reached a zenith.

    I will die on the hill that art cannot be considered a financial investment. It by definition has to take risks and investment people cannot handle that

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  • [–] 18 points 1 week ago* (1 child)

    This Patrick Willems piece does a really good job of digging in to why so many streaming "blockbusters" are so shitty these days.

    Tl;dw: The streaming companies have the metrics, and are now essentially making movies that hit certain beats to satisfy what they perceive as customer requirements, rather than movies that exist for their own sake.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Toy Story is 100%

    What does that mean? Does it mean it's the best movie ever made? Nope, it just means everyone at least kinda likes it. It's Toy Story, it's a good movie. Though I wouldn't say it's the greatest movie of all time. Just a decent movie.

    The way the scoring works means that if everyone thinks a movie is better than average, the movie gets a perfect score.

    If 75% of the critics think something was the greatest movie ever, while 25% didn't like it, it's a 75% score. It might be a movie you'll think is the greatest movie ever too, but you might give it a miss to watch movie that 90% of the critics thought was just ok instead.

    So if a studio is making a movie to try to get a good score, they will make it so it doesn't offend anyone, and have it universally be considered ok. The way these sites measure movies encourages mediocrity and playing it safe.

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    [–] 39 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Is anyone else getting a little uncomfortable having their confirmation bias put in the spotlight like this?

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  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    It's a three hour movie. If you need a heuristic to justify why you saw it (or skipped it) do what is necessary.

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    [–] 30 points 1 week ago* (2 children)

    What's more important than the score is the written reviews.

    So many films with bad scores because people didn't "get it", or watched a film that wasn't "for them".

    For example, I've seen critics write reviews for the third movie in a franchise, saying they didn't understand what was happening, because they didn't watch the first two.

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    [–] 23 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    My man, If you need your tastes to be affirmed by some magical numbers, then I don't know what to tell you.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 week ago* (7 children)

    It's not about affirmation, it's about feeling connected to some parts or the human race. Mostly people who are simular to ourselves. When you meet your friends, you probably discuss things you all like. Its universal.

    We feel what we feel and we look for others to feel the same. Not affirm it, but to not feel alone in our feelings.

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    [–] 23 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Seeing it on Sunday!

    I do have an issue with the amount of stars in the movie, especially Zendaya, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

    I don't care about the historical accuracy or the racial makeup of the cast, all I care about is whether it's a movie I enjoy watching.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 week ago* (2 children)

    especially Zendaya

    She's a stellar actress and a smokeshow.

    I'm more annoyed that they included Matt Damon in the leading role. That guy's been washed for years.

    I don’t care about the historical accuracy or the racial makeup

    I do think it's very funny to be mad about Elliot Page for being transgender when I'd be more upset that he's got zero tan in a movie about rugged sea faring people just north of Egypt.

    Like so much Sword and Sandal that Hollywood produces, it's way too white. Maybe make more movies that take place in the Baltics if you want to use this many Brits, Franks, and Nords.

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    [–] 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    I have a very simple system. If the movie was made for legitimate artistic reasons, then I think it was worth the effort to make it. If the movie was made to sell tickets, I don't bother.

    I decide which artistry is legitimate.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    understandable but like, aren't 99% of movies made to make a profit?

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    [–] 19 points 1 week ago

    See also: everyone driving slower than me is an idiot, everyone driving faster than me is an asshole.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    Historically I never had the patience but I've watched a ton of movies over the past couple years (easily 300+) and initially I agreed with audience rating. Although I'm far from an insufferable cinephile and really don't care about underlying theory and whatnot, I definitely find myself agreeing more with critic rating now. Of course there's plenty of exceptions where I disagreed with both. Movies can be fun or awful for you regardless of what anyone else thinks.

    That being said, I think Roger Ebert's reviews usually nail it. That man was a connoisseur of weird enjoyable movies and quick to call out corporate crap.

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    [–] 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

    I never look at reviews, I just go in expecting to be disappointed and so usually am not. Even shitty movies are fun since I plan on them sucking..

    Update- saw it last night. A bit of a mess, but interesting and enjoyable. I like how it was a retelling of the story but connected it with modern themes. I enjoyed very much the diverse cast, I like performances, and appreciate various takes on the roles from performers with different backgrounds. Dialog was a bit wooden in places, especially the last line, but it was a show, not a documentary so I don’t mind a little ham-fistedness.

    The best part was the Trojan Horse portrayal. My whole life I’ve seen the cartoons of a horse rolled up to the gate, and a simple telling of how they were tricked. This put the human cost of it into perspective (the fictional human cost anyway), and the stuggle with how it unfolded by Odysseus. Made me think about it more than I ever have, and from a new perspective.

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    [–] 12 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    Disney movies like zootopia 2 are 100% but v for fucking vendetta is like 70? Wtf RT

    Read the "professional reviews" and are like "my daughter liked it so 10/10"

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  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago

    I love me some V for Vendetta, but Zootopia is also really good at what it is. It's meant to entertain children while also having some laughs for the parents, and Disney is really good at that shit.

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    [–] 9 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    I have so little incentive to go to the movies these days that any negativity, deserved or not, is just enough.

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    [–] 9 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    My partner and I walked out of The Odyssey after ten minutes and got a refund.

    WAY too loud. Excruciatingly, painfully, unnecessarily loud. And yet I still had trouble hearing some of the dialogue. We were in an AMC Dolby theater, and I don't think I'll ever go to a Dolby branded theater like that again.

    I'm not sure how to split the blame here between AMC, Dolby, or Christopher Nolan, but I'm mad at all three for the ringing in my ear that's still there several hours after we walked out.

    Can't comment on the movie itself as we barely saw any of it. Might see it at a different theater but I'll be bringing earplugs just in case, though I may want a refund there too if it's still so loud as to require earplugs.

    Nolan really not helping his reputation at being an outright sadist when it comes to sound.

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    [–] 9 points 1 week ago

    Things to do when bored: arguing about taste.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I watched it, did not care for it. To dark, there were so many points i could not see what was happening, WAY to loud, actually hurt my ears, and, i just did not enjoy it as an experience. Actors are all fine, but there were times where the writing felt clunky or out of place ngl.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago

    My partner and I actually walked out after 10 or 15 minutes because it was so painfully loud. Asked for (and received) a refund.

    Infuriating that I can't trust movie theaters to maintain reasonable volumes. I shouldn't have to bring earplugs to a movie.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago

    I love Man of Steel, needed a bit better editing (because his conflict between helping humanity or not is undermined by pretty early on by helping those offshore workers) but otherwise I think it’s a pretty good movie.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago

    I think the best approach is to find reviewers whose tastes largely align with your own. Their reviews can serve as a good reference when you’re looking for a movie you haven’t seen yet.

    There are simply too many criteria you could apply. The "Cinesiasts", for example—who like films like Citizen Kane or works by Ingmar Bergman, Aki Kaurismäki, and the like—naturally know a great deal about their field. However, that by no means means their reviews would be a good reference point for the general public, who simply want to be entertained and don’t place too much value on artistic merit or the most elaborate technical skills of filmmakers.

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  • I saw it opening night! I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call it amazing. Solid 8/10 and no complaints

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    The Odyssey trailers did not appeal to me much, so I'm confused by the praise it's getting, is it because it's actually good or normies just giving it 10/10 because it's a Nolan movie. I watched Oppenheimer in theater and realized I could have saved the cost of the ticket and watched it at home without losing much, how does this movie compare to that, I've liked most of Nolans other movies except Tenet

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    [–] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    For me it's more, "I wonder why critics / audience disagree with me?" It's an interesting thing to think about.

    I try not to expose myself to any social media surrounding a movie before I watch it. No reviews, no trailers, nothing. Then I compare my experience with others, and it's usually wildly different. It makes me wonder how much of a review is "inertia" from the environment surrounding the movie, rather than the movie itself?

    As an example, I absolutely loved the film Chappie. I thought it was a great film, but the general population AND critics absolutely blasted it. I actually agreed with some of their points in the reviews, but overall I still like that movie a lot, and I still rate it 9/10.

    If I'd seen the 30% rating beforehand, would I have even bothered watching the movie? Maybe not…

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    [–] 7 points 1 week ago*

    You forgot the “haha go woke go broke” and “fucking NPC” line. For some reason the people that take movie and game reviews too seriously are those right wing basement dwelling chuds

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago

    RT lost its credibility a long time ago and IMDB just results in the bell curve effect where most things end up at 3.5/5 which is too accurate/condensed for most people.

    You need to follow a couple or even just one film critic who makes quality reviews on their own if you want good information.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    cars 2 is the best one fight me

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    [–] 6 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    What's really crazy to me is with movies like that that get drug through the social media culture war bullshit, all the people arguing about "how they should have made the movie" never seem to realize that they don't get a choice about how anybody makes their movie. The movie-makers choose how they make their own movies, not the culture warriors or critics.

    People should really back off and shut up about it all. "They should have done this, and the ending was all wrong" and so on. We don't get a say in any of that. We just get to view the art that artists have created, and you can like it or not like it. That's it.

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    I have. I enjoyed the heck out of it, it's a retelling definitely intended for modern audiences with some things removed and additional historical context added.

    It's an excellent telling of an old story that reminds you that the Iliad was not truly glorious, and those that go to war will not come back the same.

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