How do you decide which films to review?
 

I started a thread earlier titled Does avoiding bad movies inflate average ratings?. It's about only seeing the movies we think we'll like, and whether or not that makes us significantly more likely to dole out higher marks on most of our reviews.

Anyway, that topic got me thinking about which films I decide to review, and why, and that in turn got me thinking about how other MoFos decide which films to review.

Some MoFos post many reviews, and therefore probably review almost every film they see (time permitting), be it a rental or in the theaters. Others only post reviews once in a blue moon, either because they're busy, or because they only review films that provoke a very strong reaction (generally very positive or very negative). Others just write reviews whenever the mood strikes them.

I have not, for the majority of my time as a moviegoer, felt the need to review every film I see, especially in regards to rentals. In the past, I generally reviewed only the films I felt strongly about, and these days I generally only review films in theaters. This is tied to my desire to keep the site well-updated, of course, so my results are probably atypical.

How many of the movies you see do you review? What sorts of things prompt you to write a review? And what sorts of things (both offline and on this site) encourage or discourage you to write reviews?

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I don't think I have written a review for MoFo but I have for another site. This is only because I can't find more to say than a paragraph. I feel like my reviews are insignificant here. People are better off reading someone else's than mine. But anyway, when the mood strikes me I will write reviews. Lately I have been writing my little paragraph everytime I watch a movie...but this is at a different site.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I see what you're saying, though a few members write shorter reviews that people still seem to enjoy. Sam's reviews are usually about two paragraphs, but seem helpful to other MoFos all the same.

Still, I can understand a bit of hesitancy, given how much time some people here clearly put into their reviews. I do think there's a genuine desire for reviews of all lengths and types, however.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Had to choose last option, as the last review I rolled out was for Serenity...

Not very prolific, me.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

The film's i tend to review are ones that i don't think many people would watch, from what i can remember. However recently on Facebooks Flixster application i've been writing a varying amount from a sentence to paragraph on each film i watch.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

That's where I'm writing my reviews too!

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

My itch comes when I feel that there's too many views from one angle and not enough from another.

A lot of the time, however, if a movie has been reviewed by someone already and I pretty much agree with what they had to say, I'll pass on posting a review that more or less mimics what they have already said.

Which brings me to an idea for another thread. Pros/Cons of a film. I haven't searched it yet, but if it's not out there, I think it would be an interesting topic. A movie is posted, and one person posts the pros, the other cons. Sounds good in my head, doesn't sound so good now that I'm typing it out on the screen. :)

Anyway...moving on.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I tend to review only movies I really feel passionately about, which means movies that I like. A couple of things: they are the ones I've thought about the most and feel more comfortable writing about; I'm not much of a passionate hater, if I don't like something it's more like indifference than hatred; I'm a sporadic and not very prolific writer, it just doesn't seem that rewarding to my time to spend a lot of energy thinking about movies that didn't impress me. That said, I really respect reviewers who challenge their own aesthetic and put the same amount of effort into each movie they see. I'm just not one of them.

As for the ratio of movies seen/movies reviewed, extremely low. I watch a lot of movies and review very few.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I like reading indepth reviews, but sometimes they border on spoiling the film. So the shorter mid-length reviews are better IMO. I almost like reading a review more after I have seen the movie than before hand.
I really have very little history participating in this area. I have been toying with doing a Decade review where I stick with films from a certain decade, and actually recently started a review for Race with the Devil, So maybe in the near future I will give the 70's a try.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I didn't vote :nope: http://bestsmileys.com/writer/2.gif isn't my thing :nope: I am more of a http://bestsmileys.com/talking/5.gif anyway i haven't figgered out how to do a review with :D :o ;D alone :laugh:

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I usually do mine else where but when I do, it's more of a 'when I'm in the mood' kind of deal.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Can't you post it here as well, we may like to http://bestsmileys.com/reading/4.gif them :yup:

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Yeh? I was never a fan of the site on it's own, but it's quite fun on FaceBook.

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

There seem to be a few people writing reviews on other sites, I was wondering, along with Escape you could post them here so we all could read them tooo :yup:

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Either of the first two. I try to do my research before I watch a certain film, so most of the films I watch are films I'd want to recommend to others. And since naturally, I expect a film to be good before I watch it, if it disappoints me, I tend to react strongly.:-|

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I'd much rather read reviews then write them... but once in a while a film moves me so much that I feel the need to write something… so I had to go with the second option…

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Most of my reviews a short paragraph or a few sentences. I can post them but I know I will get negative feedback. Maybe I'll try it out anyway..

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

I'd like to read them.... :)

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

There, I posted some to try it out :)

Re: How do you decide which films to review?
 

Whenever I'm in the mood. I like to read other reviews, then write (or even read) my own. If they are too long, they seem to lose track of what they are talking about. ACIN is horrible for this. Myself too.

SO, like others have said, I like the short 2 paragraphs or so reviews. But I for some reason always write more then that.

Gummo - Keep em coming.