How To Judge A Movie Experience (And Thus The Movie)

[Chief Rum]

I read a couple things in the Last Movie You Watched thread that made me think there might be a checklist we could put together on how to judge a movie.

Doug5894 (or whatever) said if he wanted to see the movie again, it was higher than in 8. JIMG said it didn't feel as long as it was. I think those are two strong indications of how good a movie is. It still comes down to the subjectivity of each individual, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

So some questions I might ask myself after watching a movie:

Do I want to see it again...immediately?
Will I want to see it again eventually (let's say within a year or two)?
Did it seem as long as it was (or did it seem longer than it was)?
Did I see anything I didn't expect to see?
Was I surprised by any twists? Positive or negative?
Did it make me cry or get emotional?
Did I really, really want the bad guys to lose or the good guys to win?
Did I know who the bad guys and good guys were?
Was I riveted to the screen the whole time, or were there times I was saying "get on with it and go to the next scene"?
Did I see anything I never thought I would see in a movie?
Was anything the best of something I have seen that year? Ever? In that genre?

For instance, I saw Pirates last night. Let me put it through the above. I will enclose it all in a spoiler tag.

Spoiler

Do I want to see it again...immediately?

No.

Will I want to see it again eventually (let's say within a year or two)?

Yes.

Did it seem as long as it was (or did it seem longer than it was)?

It seemed shorter than it was.

Did I see anything I didn't expect to see?

Not really.

Was I surprised by any twists? Positive or negative?

Truly surprised? No. Saw it coming. Not really. I had one flight of fancy that I thought would have been cool if they did it, but I don't hold it against the filmmakers for not doing it. Spoiler desired: Bootstrap kills Davy Jones' heart and becomes captain of the Flying Dutchman, allowing Will and Elizabeth to be together.

Did it make me cry or get emotional?

No.

Did I really, really want the bad guys to lose or the good guys to win?

I did want the good guys to win, but other than Elizabeth and Will on the side of good and Beckett on the side of bad, it was hard to tell who was on what side.

Did I know who the bad guys and good guys were?

See previous question. I like a little ambiguity, but thought there might have been too muich ambiguity with some of the characters, particularly Jack Sparrow, Calypso and Davy Jones.

Was I riveted to the screen the whole time, or were there times I was saying "get on with it and go to the next scene"?

There was a couple times I had this, but it was rare. I would say less rare than in most movies

Did I see anything I never thought I would see in a movie?

Well, two tall ships fighting in a maelstrom was new, and well done I thought. Actually, the whole trip to the world's end was cool, too. And the pirate city of Shipwreck Cove, along with Singapore, both looked neat.

Was anything the best of something I have seen that year? Ever? In that genre?

It's already not the best of what I have seen this year, making the first two questions moot. Several Pirate movies are better, including the first one, so it doesn't qualify there either. Still, this is a high standard to expect anything to meet.

[st.cronin]

You forgot:

Did I see any boobies?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

You forgot:

Did I see any boobies?

That depends. Do you mean full on boobage or healthy amounts of bare globe tops and cleavage?

Seriously, the questions I came up with were just what came to me off the top of my head? I would love to see more suggestions of questions to add to the list.

Oh, and I would give Pirates III a 7/10 scale.

[Doug5984]

I think you covered most all the areas in how to grade a movie, for me the top 3 are:

Do I feel like I want to watch it again? There are some movies that as soon as they are over, I could start it right back up again and watch the entire thing over...For me those are great movies (excluding movies that I might want to watch again in a few days or weeks simply because it didn't make sense the first time).

Did it feel like a really long movie? Sometimes a short movie just feels like it drags on forever and ever and I can't wait for it to end, while other movies fly by. I much prefer the 2nd, and I think that has to do with being "into" a movie, same with a book.

What emotions did it bring out in me? I really like when a movie makes a connection, and I feel for the characters one way or another.

And of course boobies.

[bulletsponge]

i just wait for it to come on TV. the first time that is. i dont go to movies because... well there are several reasons

[BrianD]

The two main questions for me are...
1. Was the story told well?
2. Was the story worth telling?

Do a good job of telling a worthwhile story (even if it isn't an original story), and I will generally be happy. There have been movies I would rate near a 10 that I might never want to see again, and there are movies I would rate below a 5 that I would want to watch again right away. I also think that judging a movie and the movie experience are two different things.

[ISiddiqui]

I'm not sure "do I want to watch it again" is necessarily telling of a great movie. Some movies are just so incredibly powerful that you don't want to watch them again, but they just leave you feeling you saw something great.

"Schindler's List" comes to mind. I've seen it once... and I didn't want to see it again after I saw it, but it was incredibly powerful and one of the better movies I've ever seen.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I'm not sure "do I want to watch it again" is necessarily telling of a great movie. Some movies are just so incredibly powerful that you don't want to watch them again, but they just leave you feeling you saw something great.

"Schindler's List" comes to mind. I've seen it once... and I didn't want to see it again after I saw it, but it was incredibly powerful and one of the better movies I've ever seen.

After I finished reading your first paragraph, my first thought was Schindler's List too. Great movie and I wouldn't wanna watch it over and over, but enjoyed it enough to give it a 9.7 or so. Actually, I wouldn't mind watching it again... it's been about 7 years since I last saw it.

For me:

1.) How did I feel after watching it? Did I understand everything or did it make me feel empty?
2.) Will I watch it again or was once enough?
3.) Was I thinking of washing the dishes at any point during the movie?

I'm not picky when it comes to movies though, I noticed that I give out a lot of 9's so I'm easy.