Do you ever find it hard to watch movies?

Despite my interest and knowledge of the film world increasing hugely over the past few years, I seem to have become much worse at viewing films. Since I first started logging films (2010), each year has seen a consistent decrease in the amount of films viewed.

I sometimes find the sheer amount of films I have to watch daunting and I will often spend hours searching for something to watch and subsequently watching nothing at all. It should be easy to take things one at a time but I can't help but think of the broader picture and just how much I actually have to watch.

Does anyone else sometimes find it really difficult picking a film to watch? Have you found any solutions to this problem?

I feel the exact same way! One idea is to put a time on how long you get to pick a movie, I myself can easily spend 15 minutes on it.... One thing I do is that I pick a movie and then post it in the "what movie are you going to watch tonight" thread, and then when I'm ready to watch it, I simply stick to that movie. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does, and that's quite nice.

I know that feeling all too well. This one-movie-per-day thing really keep me going as of now though, but before that it was hell. Sometimes I would spend 30-40 minutes deciding what movie to watch, and when I finally started one I sometimes turned it off after 20 minutes or so because it didn't hold my interest or because I wasn't in the mood for that given genre I had chosen.

But yeah, back then it kind of worked for me if I tried to find a movie in less than 10 minutes and then go post an update in 'movies you are watching tonight' thread. Then I felt more obligatory to watch it and it worked a lot of the time...

I often struggle with it, but I find it easier if I'm watching movies for a reason - like a MoFo HOF or a MoFo Countdown. Since that greatly reduces the options and makes deciding easier.

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Yep, I get bored with my DVD collection. Sometimes it's good to go through a period of reading books or watching a TV series boxset, basically take a break from films and you will renew your interest.

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I never struggle with picking a movie. I either browse a section at my library, grabbing anything that looks moderately interesting, or I watch a number of films from a favorite actor or director or genre. That way I find hidden gems and forgettable duds. But at least it's interesting.

I hardly ever have this problem. I've never counted but I doubt I watch more than 125-150 new movies a year; the rest of the time I just watch the movies I already own. If I want to watch something new I either check something out from the library, flip through the lists on here and pick something that sounds interesting, or pick up a movie from a director and/or actor I like.

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You will find that if you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see.
Iroh

Quick question.. Do you have a good ratio in terms of watching great vs. horrible movies? I imagine if the next 4-5 movies you watch are 4-5 stars, you'll be conditioned. The older I get, the more I try to study, educate myself, so the viewing experiences are usually great.

Use this room.. Besides reading all the posts, looking at someone's Top 10 that is similar to yours, there might be a film not there, and you can see what they've watched. Some of my favorites have been as a result of people here, through conversation, and knowing your tastes better.

Having said that, when I first got into film, I use to blindly pick films, pick anything and not wanna know a thing about it. Just watch, so prejudices, nothing. Sometimes I got duds, but I got some great ones too. I average about one movie a day, or pretty close.

Take your favorite films, and see everything that director did (I like to start chronologically).. Actors too, but I find this a weaker indication.

And to make the experience better, I'd cut off all distractions. I love watching films alone (now), and that's the only way to go. I turn off my phone, and everything else. I don't do anything too late (or too early) so fatigue isn't a factor. Try to be clear-headed. I used to like smoking a few puffs in the past, but never now. I try to watch it all in one sitting, except a pause to take a leak.

If you're a fan of Cannes, Sundance, etc.., check out their favorite lists. I like to be critical of lists, but most are really good.

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Best solution for me is to stop being so "picky" and just watch films more spontaneously even if you think "they will suck" - you turn out to be wrong quite often and find new films you really like.

I'm with Miss Vicky...


Since joining MoFo I've noticed my count has gone down, yet, I tend to refresh a lot when there's a countdown on.


The other thing, is with me anyways, since joining MoFo, I tend to watch more new films which makes it harder to see more films per day.


But, in retrospect, I still watch a ton of movies daily. I have no live broadcast anymore as I binned my TV license, which means my only viewing is DVD and movies only.

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Another trick of mine:

Don't always read review sites before watching movies - it'll cause your opinions to be pre-biased too much toward the consensus - watch the movie first, then check out review sites to see just how much your opinions differ.

I get distracted too easily, even if I'm enjoying the movie ...

So true!

I never read reviews of movies whether on this site or elsewhere before i've seen them. Even if the reviewer goes out of their way to avoid spoilers, there's still the risk of being influenced by their overall feel of the film.

I actually spent 2 hours last night search the web for a movie to watch. Then ended up leaving it because it was to late.

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mm like watching online but gambling and looking on mm other forums as well so miss some mm

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love is good

I'm not alone! So with Rodent that makes two of us who don't have TV service. My only viewing is DVD too. But I do get old TV shows and documentaries from the library.

I'm not sure what my ratio of great vs horrible movies are? I do review each of them as I watch them on my review thread. I would personally get tired of watching only 4-5 star movies, I like to see some bad ones too.

Good for you, I know you watched a film I mentioned the other day, Caged, very cool that you seen it. I have watched other MoFo recommendations too and find some good films that way!

I'm trying to do that right now with Samuel Fuller, Billy Wider and Jim Jarmusch.

I used to be an avid cinema-goer, and would probably catch 3 to 4 movies a month. But, now being disabled, my cinema-going has dwindled to maybe 3 or 4 a year. Because of my health, I've had to change certain things in my lifestyle and therefore it's usually late at night or early in the morning when I catch movies without distractions.

I usually tape them off HBO/Cinemax or TCM (Turner Classic Movies). I buy DVDs if they are movies I really want to see (example: I recently bought the first two Taken movies on a double-DVD). I'll watch anything: new or old, it doesn't matter to me as long as the subject matter/story appeals to me. Plus, the actors appearing in the film helps. And, like several people here, I'll check out their Top Ten List, or even better, look at their "Rate the Last Movie You Saw" and if it's one I haven't seen but have been wondering about, I'll try to check it out. But I rarely pay attention to critics or outside ratings like that.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

Along with that, I've had success with creating my own theme for the month. This February and March are to see everything I can from the previous year, and in the past when i watched more movies, I would throw into the mix repeat viewings of films from the recent past. One month I might dedicate to first-time viewings of old movies, the next rewatches of old movies, the next I'd catch up on an actor or a director.

One year I actually wrote down a list of films to watch for that month and it worked well, though I've not done it since.

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