What makes you want to watch a film?
Good topic. I'll start with what I don't do:
I don't watch trailers, they give away too much of the plot.
I don't care what critics say, especially critics today who often value movies with social pc messages over the quality of the film making.
I don't put much stock in IMDB ratings/reviews either especially for older films as they will get a 1 rating because the actress was a house wife...Or a 1940s comedy will get a bad review because there weren't any fart jokes in it.
I don't bother with the Oscars so that's not a deciding factor either.
What I do to find movies:
I join HoFs (hall of fames) here at MoFo so that I get a variety of movies that other members believe are great. Sometimes the movies they choose are great too.
I watch mainly older films and look for a favorite actor/actress (usually actress) and watch some of their filmography. Currently I'm watching movies with Susan Hayward in it. I find a wide variety of film genres and directors that way and the actor/actress film catalog can span decades.
Sometimes I choose a director or scriptwriter and watch a large sampling of their work. Douglas Sirk and Billy Wider would be my favorite for that.
I do get on a genre kick and watch movies selected that way. Currently I'm watching war submarine movies with the emphasis on the 1950s. Though I'm including
Das Boot and
Hunt for Red October in my submarine genre quest. It's a fun way to contrast and compare.
Sometimes I seek out movies because of their exotic location setting, like Africa, tropical rain forest, south pacific islands, etc.
Sometimes I will watch all the movies based on one adaptation. I believe I've seen all of the
Little Women &
Jane Eyre movies made, at least the ones I could find.