Ehwmatt wrote:I'm relatively open to both kinds of movies, but if I'm watching a movie alone, I'd much rather watch a "movie movie" than watch a comedy like Hangover by myself. But I also love high octane action flicks or horror/slasher flicks and will often watch those alone as well.
Me too, sort of. My film collection probably ranges closer to the action flick section than the serious movie....but I've got a couple of those also, and I'm pretty discriminating on what action movies I like. As far as the serious films go, I might watch one if someone I know raves over it, but while I might appreciate it, most of the time I want something else watching a movie. Maybe it's the escapism, and while I'll appreciate some films for how they are directed/scripted/acted, it's not what I seek out in a movie most of the time. For example, someone suggested I see Changeling recently. I appreciate it for what it is (and it's a good film), but I'm not going to buy it nor do I have much interest in seeing it again.
Just with my sense of humor, most comedies don't work for me. Most people would be falling over laughing, and I MIGHT crack a smile every now and then--more often than not, I'm stone-faced trying to figure out why this is supposed to be funny. Of course, there are exceptions.
I tend to vary my movie-watching by "good film" vs "bad film". For instance, I love Raiders of the Lost Ark, but hate National Treasure, even though they are basically the same general plotl. I like The Rock, but don't care much for Transformers, even though they are the same director. I like Die Hard, but don't care for Sudden Death (Van Damme film), even though they are the same plot with minor variations.
Never cared for the Horror/Slasher flick. The theory of new gruesome bloody deaths to kill your characters one by one never appealed to me. Vampires I can deal with, and generally think the 1st Exorcist movie was pretty good (but the book was much better and less "Hollywood horror-ized"). I thought the first Final Destination had a wonderful premise and could have been really good, but of course it went down the slasher path instead of intelligent movie.
My usual thing for picking a movie is either like the actor, or like the director. I've seen (and enjoyed) enough James Cameron or Michael Mann or John Woo films to know that most of what they do is something I'll probably enjoy. I've seen enough by let's say Russell Crowe or later George Clooney to know they usually pick good films to star in. Maybe it's an actor I've always enjoyed (ie Jackie Chan), and I'm willing to try the average movie in hopes of finding the occasional great one.
How's that for complicated? Honestly though, I'm easy to please. Give me a good script, good director and good cast. If you get those three right, usually the good movie will follow. Then, it's down to personal taste.
