With rare exceptions, I only watch movies once.

I could never understand people who like to watch movies several times. Even two times is too much for me, but 5, 10, 20, 50 times -- it's just mind-boggling to me.

Here's my reasoning when it comes to a movie: One of the main pleasures I get is NOT knowing what's going to happen next, and having it just unfold in the moment and being pleasantly surprised to one degree or another.

Of course this applies the most perhaps to the thriller genre or the murder mystery, but it also applies to pretty much any other genre, since there's always new developments around the corner in any genre that are part of the interesting things that unfold in the story.

There have been times when I wasn't sure if I had seen a movie before, it could have been 10 or 20 years in the past (or some season of a series I really like, like Dexter or Burn Notice or Bosch, or whatever) and so I pop in the video cassette or the DVD or click on the streaming service and sit back with my figurative popcorn and my literal glass of whiskey and start watching... Then it dawns on me as the time goes along, slowly I start noticing things that are familiar -- "Oh no, I've seen this before I saw this all this stuff before, I've already been through this!" As soon as that happens I abort mission and find something else to watch that I have not seen.

To me, a good movie is like having a good meal, it gives me a sense of pleasure that I want to repeat. Spending 'all' of my time gambling for the next 'good' thing is mind-boggling to me. That's not to say that I don't like taking chances once in a while, but for the most part, my fandom is built on things that give me pleasure.

Are you by chance a gambler?

Spending 'all' of my time gambling for the next 'good' thing is mind-boggling to me. That's not to say that I don't like taking chances once in a while, but for the most part, my fandom is built on things that give me pleasure.

I've been amazingly lucky in finding good stuff to watch. I don't see that much of a difference between a series like Dexter or Lost or Burn Notice or Better Call Saul, and a movie. They are essentially hour-long movies set in serial mode lasting sometimes up to 50 hours. Anyway, I count them as "movies", and over the past 20 years I've found so many that entertain me immensely. I have slightly worse luck with actual movies, basically for every good one I find, I go through about 5 klunkers.

Are you by chance a gambler?

So it would probably be pretty hard for you to discuss/debate about films if you've only seen them once, right? Do you find that to be the case? For me, my opinions are constantly fluctuating over time; they're alive like myself. For instance, had I only seen Black Christmas (1974) once, I would still be telling people how boring and lame it is. Today it's one of my favorite slashers and a Christmas staple.

Most of the time I have a good enough memory of the movies I like to discuss them. As for a movie I changed my mind about, I guess I won't know unless I watch it more than once, but I'm not eager to re-view a movie I already didn't like the first time. Sure it's possible I might change my mind but there's little incentive to spend the time.

Hmm, that might be a mistake. If it is your policy to not watch films more than once, then you're not really in a position to change your mind.

I've watched so many movies that I cannot remember them much at all. There's just too much out there. And I have changed my mind on rewatches. There's stuff you miss the first time around. Some films are complicated, dense, and rewarding of deeper excavation.

The only movie I rewatch is Harry Potter

I could never understand people who like to watch movies several times. Even two times is too much for me, but 5, 10, 20, 50 times -- it's just mind-boggling to me.

Here's my reasoning when it comes to a movie: One of the main pleasures I get is NOT knowing what's going to happen next, and having it just unfold in the moment and being pleasantly surprised to one degree or another.

Of course this applies the most perhaps to the thriller genre or the murder mystery, but it also applies to pretty much any other genre, since there's always new developments around the corner in any genre that are part of the interesting things that unfold in the story.

There have been times when I wasn't sure if I had seen a movie before, it could have been 10 or 20 years in the past (or some season of a series I really like, like Dexter or Burn Notice or Bosch, or whatever) and so I pop in the video cassette or the DVD or click on the streaming service and sit back with my figurative popcorn and my literal glass of whiskey and start watching... Then it dawns on me as the time goes along, slowly I start noticing things that are familiar -- "Oh no, I've seen this before I saw this all this stuff before, I've already been through this!" As soon as that happens I abort mission and find something else to watch that I have not seen.

The only movie I rewatch is Harry Potter

I've heard about it but haven't played it yet