How do you decide what "makes the cut?"

[Worf]

Ah ain't a gitin any younger. There's more sand in the bottom than in the top. I can't afford to waste minutes, hours or days even watching a movie or TV series that are a waste of a valuable resource.... which is time! I don't know how much I've left and I'd hate to be laying on my death bed wishing I'd not wasted my time watching (fill in the blank) last year. I don't have a hard and fast criteria... or at least I didn't but my rules are getting pretty solidified.

1. Reviews... F.L., IMDB, R.T etc...
2. Word of mouth.
3. Overwhelming interests, i.e. Marvel, WWII, military history etc...
4. Actors/Actresses I TRUST.
5. Flippage... just happen to find something that rivets me.
6. "Stop and Drop" classics.

What's your criteria... how do YOU handle the too much to watch and too little time conundrum?

Worf

 

[GHT]

Your attitude to life, and what you have left of it, should be applauded. If you have your health and strength you can overcome adversity, most things are replaceable although you will probably have to endure some hardship first. But what you can never replace, is today, or yesterday. You only have tomorows, and for me, there's more yesterdays than there are tomorrows. For that reason I always have a book in my work bag, another in the glovebox of my car, I even have a book in my old classic car.

Time is a very precious commodity, one that I have probably wasted too much of in the past, but these days I cram in as much as I can. And, I keep to a diary as much as possible because I find that forward planning is a good way of not wasting one precious second. It's strange though, as much as I enjoy life, even though I've had my share of kickings, I really don't want to live forever. Maybe Frank Sinatra got it right. On his head stone is the simple inscription: The Best Is Yet To Come.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It varies. For current stuff, I read a lot of reviews just because of work, so I usually have a pretty good idea of what's going on. I know the kind of picture that tends to irrirate me -- stories that focus on the endless whining of upper-middle-class wine-sippers I get enough of at my job, and I steer far clear of them when not at work. And so-called working-class movies made with a OMG DRUGS AND BOOZE stereotypical perspective are just as offensive.

What I do look for are interesting characterizations making interesting commentaries on the world around them. That world doesn't necessarily have to be *my* world, but whatever world it is, the characters have to react to it in a challenging way.

I'm also a sucker for a period piece -- but it's got to be done well. Nothing loses me quicker than one of those early-fifties-does-the-1920s deals that looks like a cheap costume party. If you're going to do period, make an effort, or I won't make an effort to watch.

I wll always watch an intelligent comedy over any kind of a straight drama given the choice. I like comedies that critique -- satire might close on Saturday night, but even if it does, I'll be the one person in the theatre for the last performance. It can be an old movie -- anything from "Duck Soup" to something by Sturges -- or something more recent like "Office Space" or "Sorry To Bother You," but as long as it comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable, I'm in.

All that said, though, when it's late at night, and I just want to shut down for a while, I'm perfectly willing to settle for something simple and familiar. If I flip across a rerun of "Hogan's Heroes" or something, I'll probably watch it thru simply because I don't have to think about it.

 

[belfastboy]

Ah ain't a gitin any younger. There's more sand in the bottom than in the top. I can't afford to waste minutes, hours or days even watching a movie or TV series that are a waste of a valuable resource.... which is time! I don't know how much I've left and I'd hate to be laying on my death bed wishing I'd not wasted my time watching (fill in the blank) last year. I don't have a hard and fast criteria... or at least I didn't but my rules are getting pretty solidified.

1. Reviews... F.L., IMDB, R.T etc...
2. Word of mouth.
3. Overwhelming interests, i.e. Marvel, WWII, military history etc...
4. Actors/Actresses I TRUST.
5. Flippage... just happen to find something that rivets me.
6. "Stop and Drop" classics.

What's your criteria... how do YOU handle the too much to watch and too little time conundrum?

Worf

My wife and I and our friend Erikka (who stays with us from time to time and is a movie buff as well) have a 10 minute rule. We like to take chances on obscure movies and we each have a veto that can be invoked. It can be invoked at any time but the others can request we stick it out for 10 minutes. If the veto er has not changed their mind we turn it off and look for something else. When we began to watch Ghost with Casey Affleck I invoked the veto after about 10 minutes but Erikka requested we hang in for a further 10 and we agreed. Glad I did as I ended up loving the movie. But most of the time the use of the veto is so damn obvious there are no dissenting opinions.
We don't rely much on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes as we have had major disagreements with the ratings. The other night we finally watched the Brian Wilson bio pic..."Love and Mercy". It received very poor reviews and my wife and I very much enjoyed it.....def worth two hours of our lives.

 

[Edward]

I never pay any attention to ratings (save for rare examples - Julia Birchall in the Sunday Times in the 90s was always reliably wrong about everything; I don't always agree with Mark Kermode, but his reviews are informative enough). Word of mouth.... well, to a point. I mean, I know some folks with awful taste. Mostly I just go on what appeals to me. It's rare we see anything in the cinema (maybe once or twice a month - it's gotten too expensive now otherwise). Films wise, I'll see most tings through to the end, no matter how awful (Arrival was one of those), but if it's a series I'll never watch another (I've still never seen SW Episode III, and have no need ever to see it). TV shows, I'll watch a full episode or two - if it doesn't grab me, I won't bother after that. Mostly, I'll watch one thing at a time until it's done (I much prefer box sets that way). Same with books.... though one thing I am firm on, is much as I've enjoyed the TV show, if George RR Martin can't be bothered to finish A song of Ice & Fire, I'm not going to spend time reading any of them.

 

[Juanito]

Funny thing...the last thing I watched on normal TV was the 1988 election. It wasn't a conscious choice to stop watching after GWHB won and I have nothing against TV, but I can't fathom the concept of sitting for an hour or two in front of a TV. I guess I am wired to do, instead of watch.

There's a TV in the house, but the only thing I use it for is to watch
It's a Wonderful Life, and White Christmas on Christmas eve.

 

[Edward]

Funny thing...the last thing I watched on normal TV was the 1988 election. It wasn't a conscious choice to stop watching after GWHB won and I have nothing against TV, but I can't fathom the concept of sitting for an hour or two in front of a TV. I guess I am wired to do, instead of watch.

There's a TV in the house, but the only thing I use it for is to watch
It's a Wonderful Life, and White Christmas on Christmas eve.

Some years ago, I made a conscious effort to switch from watching whatever was on with the TV as a default time killer to instead only watching things I specifically want to see. Netflix, Prime et al have made that very easy; it's a real rarity that we watch broadcast tv at all now. The interesting thing is that I really don't miss the supposed 'water cooler moments' or the notion of watching the same thing as everyone else as 'event television'.

 

[Marcus D'Hat]

Ah ain't a gitin any younger. There's more sand in the bottom than in the top. I can't afford to waste minutes, hours or days even watching a movie or TV series that are a waste of a valuable resource.... which is time! I don't know how much I've left and I'd hate to be laying on my death bed wishing I'd not wasted my time watching (fill in the blank) last year. I don't have a hard and fast criteria... or at least I didn't but my rules are getting pretty solidified.

1. Reviews... F.L., IMDB, R.T etc...
2. Word of mouth.
3. Overwhelming interests, i.e. Marvel, WWII, military history etc...
4. Actors/Actresses I TRUST.
5. Flippage... just happen to find something that rivets me.
6. "Stop and Drop" classics.

What's your criteria... how do YOU handle the too much to watch and too little time conundrum?

Worf

Start watching day and night? I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I have the opposite problem to Worf - I have plenty of time, there's just not enough TV or cinema I like to fill it.

I'm a tough person to please these days. I rarely get through a whole movie or past episode 3 of a long-form series.

Whatever I watch must surprise and/or excite me. That's all. I accept word-of-mouth recommendations and may see an image or clip that piques my interest.

I have various streaming services available but frankly I don't often find anything which engages me. Sure, there's plenty of well made and clever product out there, but most of it doesn't surprise or excite me, so off it goes.

 

[MisterCairo]

I have decided to watch various things having heard people talk about them, many of which I have ended up enjoying (Lost, Stranger Things, Boardwalk Empire, Hell on Wheels, Sons of Anarchy, etc.), others I have not become attached to (Narcos, Sopranos, The Good Place).

We have been "introduced" to shows we've come to love through various means. My nephew's visit to the cottage brought with him Supernatural, our favourite show, and Big Bang Theory. Both had been on the air for years, and we'd never seen them.

My brother introduced us to Once Upon a Time, which became a standard as we could watch it with our girls. The odd thing I have heard reviews of, and tried on that basis. Game of Thrones and Peaky Blinders come to mind. PB is in my opinion the best show I have ever watched, though Millennium remains my favourite).

I guess my approach is, with X number of leisure hours in a day/week/month, and other interests, I am willing to try something on any basis. I stick with it if it "speaks to me", drop it if it does not.

 

[dannyk]

Pesky Blinders is an exceptional series. It gets some love from critics and it’s followers are hardcore but with the cast it has and it’s setting it should be huge! Oh well, I still have some series left. I came around late to it and I’ve just finished the third season. I love tv and film. But I normally come round late to things. Busy life and schedule and then I hear word of mouth or from the numerous movie and tv pages and fb groups I’ll give it a chance. The last two shows I actually watched as they aired were X-Files, the original run. I was a kid then and watched regularly with dad. Then Mad Men. Which I just happened to be home flipping channels stumbled upon it due to its attention to detail on the wardrobe and prop departments. Regardless of whether anyone enjoyed the actual show I know plenty who were still obsessed with the “look” of it. It caught me eye and I tuned in every time it aired to finish it. Often times that’s what wil grab me. Settings, wardrobe, prop, period pieces. I’ve seen a lot of trash but also things I’ve become obsessed with such as Mad Men and Peaky Blinders. Hell on Wheels was close but life got in the way and I actually never finished it.

 

[MisterCairo]

Hell on Wheels was close but life got in the way and I actually never finished it.

Trust me - finish it! We have the complete series on Blu-ray.

"I am NORWEGIAN"!