Want to see a movie but at a loss for a good pick? You can't pay any attention to ads or other promotions. Ever notice that most of the exultant quotes on movie posters come from the same rotating group of punchy reviewers? You can't trust them, either.
(Ever notice that critics can describe a movie as an "action-packed roller-coaster thrill ride" but that no one calls a roller-coaster a "bloody, violent, car-chase-filled action movie?" But I digress.)
No, if you're looking for an opinion, you can turn to a friend or you can turn to a full-length movie review. And contrary to what most people will tell you, a good movie reviewer beats out a good friend any day.
Are the critics smarter than you or me? Maybe, but maybe not. They are experienced, however, and this makes them valuable. By watching every (or nearly every) movie that hits the big screen, they see and know more cinema than the average child, adult, or senior citizen does. I respect someone's opinion more when he knows what he's talking about, and I don't think I'm alone. You wouldn't believe someone who panned a particular rap album if he didn't at least listen to enough rap to understand its nuances, but you'd listen to someone with an extensive rap collection. Critics don't pay to see movies - they get paid for it - so they're likely to know modern film better than your wiseass friends.
Think about it. Even if your best friend has excellent taste in movies and never steers you wrong, he can't advise you on everything because he probably hasn't seen everything - and it's a shame if he has because you'll never get to see a movie with him at all. If the two of you listen to a critic instead, you might get to see something together once in a while.
Who but a critic can tell you about a movie before it comes out? Your friends have to wait until opening day like everyone else.
Who but a critic will sit through everything, even the newest romantic comedy to squeeze out of the mold, and tell you exactly what was right and what was wrong? Your friends might hate romance, but you still need to know if the new Meg Ryan movie is right for a second date.
Who but a critic can you always count on to have an opinion? Friends can be wishy-washy and avoid handing down a verdict on a movie (maybe they thought it was "okay," maybe they fell asleep, maybe they were busy making out with the girl from Italian class), while critics are nothing if not opinionated. A critic with nothing to say doesn't last long.
People don't pay enough attention to who's writing the reviews, or they read different reviews every time, or they refuse to disagree with a review for fear of looking stupid, or they hunt around until they find a review that agrees with what they expect out of the movie already. These are the people that can pass judgment on a film from the first 20 seconds of its trailer. Don't fall into the same traps. Here are the four steps to making intelligent use of critics instead of being used yourself:
Find a detailed critic and stick with him.
Pick a newspaper, website, or magazine that you can read regularly (The New York Times gets delivered to the dorms, after all) and that runs frequent movie reviews. Most papers have more than one reviewer, so you might have to track a couple of different writers at once, but you'll learn the difference between reviewers' styles. Look for specific criticisms in the review; you need a little bit more than "thumbs up" to judge a movie. Are there enough details that you can judge whether this movie is right for you?Pay attention to his reasons.
Just like the friend that hates action movies or the one that likes to make retching noises in the back of Julia Roberts movies, critics are all into different things, and some of them have axes to grind. A critic might care about something that you don't - like the narrative of Crossroads - and you might value something that the critic puts down - like Britney Spears dancing. Do you think this reviewer's priorities are worthwhile ones? Are his opinions justified?Look at his old reviews.
Not sure if a critic is on the money or not? Go online and look up some of his old reviews. If he attacks the very things that you loved about something from a few years ago, maybe you're going to disagree with his latest reviews, too. Don't abandon him because of this; just bear it in mind. A critic that you disagree with is just as valuable as one that you do agree with, so long as you know where you differ.Read the review again afterwards.
Read the review, see the movie, read the review again. Do you understand it better? Do you agree? Do you feel mislead? Were you reading carelessly? The critic's opinion is no better than your own, but if you don't understand what he wrote in the first place, you shouldn't bother reading it. Looking back on a review might help you judge a little better next time.Become a critic of critics the same way people like Roger Ebert become critics of movies: by experience. The more you pay attention to the critics, the more you'll know how far you can trust them, and the more accurate you'll be in picking a good movie for the night. When you're the most informed one around, you won't have to leave your choice up to the tastes and whims of your friends; instead, you'll get them to leave their choice up to you.
