In this special post, I share my imperfect process for selecting which movies to watch. These are not always the ones that make it onto the blog. Those are the top films from the ones I pick to see. That is determined on the merits of the films from its acting to its cinematography and all points in between. Films have to earn a spot on this blog.
The process:
It largely depends on how I discover the movie to begin with. That might adjust the process. With that in mind, these are the steps I take/sources I review and consider when evaluating a movie and deciding to watch or not. I may or may not do all of these steps and the order might vary too, but generally, I follow these steps in approximately this order. This does not take into consideration recommendations from friends. Use your own judgement to decide how much that weighs for you to decide if you want to watch it or not.
- IMDb page
a. Summary
b. Director
c. Cast
d. Writer(s)
e. Genre
f. Year
g. Length - Wikipedia page
a. Summary
b. Critical Reception
c. Cultural Significance
d. Any interesting facts about the movie-making process (i.e. Clerks or El Mariachi) - Critical reviews
a. Siskel and Ebert (depends on the age of the movie – could be an Ebert and Roeper review too)
b. If no Siskel and Ebert available, I might turn to:
i. Leonard Maltin
ii. Variety
iii. New York Times - Pauline Kael (depending on the age of the movie)
iv. Washington Post - Tom Shales (depending on the age of the movie)
v. Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson (on their podcast UnSpooled or one of Amy’s separate reviews for a paper) - Trailer (some movies have multiple trailers, so if you are not satisfied after one, try another. Often they cut multiple versions for different markets or different release dates. One trailer might feature a scene that catches your eye that was not featured in a previous one. Beware: sometimes trailers are cut before a film is done with editing, so occasionally, you see a scene in a trailer that is not actually in the movie.
- Icheckmovies – to see how many lists it is in
a. If it is only in a few, are they ones I care a lot about?
All of these steps put together give me a crystal-clear image of whether or not I should like the movie or not. From there, it depends on how much time I have, my interest in that particular moment, and it even could depend on the time of day or weather (some movies are best watched at night or on a cloudy/rainy day)
Factors that weigh heaviest on me (usually, but not always)
- Cast (is it someone or multiple people I really like) – if it is an “All-Star” cast (all the top-billed stars and (sometimes) even a few of the lesser-billed character actors are people I like), that usually wins me over unless it got terrible reviews or I do not like the director or genre.
- Director I like but with a cast I am less familiar with (it can be fun to be introduced to a cast of unknowns when you know they are in the capable hands of a favorite director)
- Plot – does it even sound like something I will enjoy or does it sound too cliché or predictable?
- Number of icheckmovie lists it is in (how culturally significant is the movie?)
- Critical review + trailer (this does take into account actors and soundtrack too)
- Beware, sometimes trailers can be deceiving. They can feature scenes not used in the movie and/or be cut in a way that mischaracterizes the movie. Do not base the decision fully on the trailer. i.e. Clay Pigeons was like that for me. I was expecting a comedy, but got a drama with some dark humor instead.
On occasion, I will watch a movie based on its filming location (if it is actually set there and not filmed somewhere and pretending to be somewhere else). It can be fun to travel to a place (especially one you have not been) without having to pack a bag or board a plane. Y Tu Mama Tambien (Mexico) and Copenhagen (Denmark) jump to mind.
I should also mention that above all, availability is key. I may find a movie I love to watch, but it is not available on streaming or at the library. In that case, I keep going until I find one that is available and write down the rest to look for later. If I really want to watch it and it is not on a streaming service I have or at the library, it usually is available to rent on Apple or Youtube. If it is an older movie that falls between the cracks between recency and cultural relevance or it is non-American film, try the Criterion Channel streaming service or Amazon Prime. NOTE: these streaming services have fees associated with them.
I am curious, what is your process for selecting movies to watch? What are some successes or failures you had with it?
Reeling Reviews 