A Sad Day in Movie History -- Terminator Salvation

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by manasecret

What you want to look at is that Average Score in small font at the top, which is sitting at 5.4/10. Closer to 3/5 than 2/5, yes. Still pretty low.

That's a terrible formula though.
3/5 = 60%. Which seems like you'd be watching someone stab Bambi for an hour and a half while you're heavily sedated.
Even a 4/5 = 80% makes it seem like you're watching Star Wars Episode 1 while being waterboarded.

This is why I don't think "professional" reviews are worth two shits in a burlap sack.

The reviews you want are people who have already seen it, who give you details on why it's good, or why it's not - and don't end it with any numerical or star system rating.

If I'm excited to see something and think it would be worth my 10 dollars, and suddenly a newspaper says it's not good because it doesn't pay enough homage to the original movie/series/book - that doesn't mean I'd personally want to see it any less. It just means that specific person didn't like it. Reviewers are people too.

[Seth]

Typh, which critics do you usually pay attention to? I'm trying to cut down my preview film searching and would like a more refined filter.

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by Seth

Typh, which critics do you usually pay attention to? I'm trying to cut down my preview film searching and would like a more refined filter.

I don't pay attention to critics. I don't read review sites or anything like that. Maybe to get the gist of a movie, but that's it.

Typically, I pick up things just through what my friends say, or what people in the various online communities I belong to say.

I find that the consumer is a much more credible resource in telling you what is and isn't a good movie, than the critics are.

[The Germanator]

I like to read movie reviews here and there for certain reasons. For example, I find a site like Rotten Tomatoes to be very useful. Even I never read a single individual review on the site, a collection of either thumbs up or thumbs down is actually quite useful to me.

For example. My interest in the new Star Trek movie, before having seen any reviews, was tepid at best. But now, the fact that it has a 95% rating means a hell of a lot to me. A 95% rating means it's probably pretty good and I actually want to see it now. If it was hovering at 50-60% I'd probably never see it, and with good reason.

Now, this isn't a perfect system. Another example: One of my favorite comedies of all time, Wet Hot American Summer has about a 20% tomato rating. Ebert's review of the film is absolutely asinine, and it's clear he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. In my mind, the film is hilarious, but I also understand how it isn't for everyone and the rating from that many critics doesn't surprise me.

Basically, if the film is directed by someone I'm fond of or if it's a subject matter I'm fond of etc., I'll see it no matter what the review. If I'm unsure going in, however, I'll rely on Rotten Tomatoes to give me the gist before I jump in to a potentially crappy movie.

[BreakABone]

I agree with Germy to an extent, I use critic reviews and general opinions when it comes to movies I'm on the fence about.

if the Dark knight had come out to reviews in the teens or whatever, I still would have gone to see it.

On the other hand, if something like Night at the Musuem 2 comes in with luke warm reviews, I may be less inclined to see it. While I enjoyed the first one, the second one seems to want to replicate that. I don't know if you can recapture the magic twice.

With that said, I don't read reviews often, and usually only after I see a movie.

[BreakABone]

Ahh finally saw this movie after avoiding it all summer, and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable either.

It was probably the worst of the Terminators, and while I understand they couldn't keep pushing back Judgement Day, the war with the robots just seems so bleh.

Anyhow, one major beef I've had with the movie, and some of you may have had the same, the first time John Connors sees the Arnold skinned robot, he just shooting at it.

It was established in 2-3 that he feels a special connection with these robots and it became like a father figure to him in 2... so the first thing he does when he sees it again is to open fire? Nice.

And was also disappointed that Marcus turned out to be exactly what they had said he was.

[Fox 6]

3 is the worst.