Saturday May 26, 2012

Do you let reviews of movies, theater, books, restaurants, etc, influence you one way or another or do you prefer to judge for yourself?

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  • 0

    kokorocloud

    Somewhat. Sometimes I read reviews because they can be entertaining, and some of them do have good insight, but typically I like to judge for myself. If most reviews for a particular thing are good across the board however, I would be more inclined towards trying it, rather than something that got bad reviews. That's still not to say that whatever got the bad review is something I wouldn't try at some point anyway.

  • 0

    Zenny11

    I very seldom read reviews.

    Reviews I found are often more about the personal likes/dislikes of the reviewer rather than objective/unbiased review. Also it often depends on the target audience that a review is written for.

    Especially when it comes to restaurants & Books I prefer to judge myself.

  • 0

    smartacus

    With movies, I prefer to judge for myself. I find most movie reviewers tend to be full of themselves (Ebert and his thumbs, for example). They pass themselves off as some great experts on movies just because they see everything at the press previews. But they are very seldom unbiased.

    Having said that, I often read reviews after I have seen the movie to see if I agree with the reviewer.

    As for restaurants, I seldom see a bad review. I assume that if the food or service at a restaurant is really bad, then magazines and newspapers probably ignore them and look for establishments that they can recommend to their readers.

  • 0

    Zenny11

    Agree with Smartacus on the restaurant reviews.

    But many reviewers for restaurants and books are PAID to review a place, so it wouldn't be good to give a bad review.

  • 0

    LostinNagoya

    No, I don't. Reviewers are human beings: they tend to be, say, 75% right, 25% wrong. So, their opinions are not accurate, it's so easy to see that.

  • 0

    skipbeat

    Read reviews for electronics such as mp3s players, cellphones, camera, and laptops whether the reviews are from the professionals, critics, opinions, or users. When reading reviews I am looking at what features do the electronic have and do the features meet or exceed the expectation of the user. The manufactures give only the specifications of the electronic. The majority of reviews either get a consensus as to what are pros and cons. From reading, one can decides if the electronic product is a good investment or not.

  • 0

    my2sense

    I google check anything I am about to watch, buy, or sink time into..... Always remember the filthy rich are harsh critics and gadget dweebs are too.... As for movies I hit the rotten tomatoes and get 50 reviews....

  • 0

    Mittsu

    Reviews help choose what to go see , read, buy etc

  • 0

    mareo2

    I try to read reviews before spend my money. In special if it is a big spending like a home apliance. About enterteinment like movies, books, music, games, etc... is more dificult, taste can be different, so an average from diferent reviews is less biased. Reviewers have their own style, I find some reviewers can give a realy different point of view and that is like extra fun if readed after for dont spoil the fun. Paraphrasing and old question: "Who review the reviewers"?

  • 0

    Monkeyz

    In defense of Ebert, he is always willing to give a movie good reviews on the basis of entertainment rather than being "art." Which is more than I can say for other movie reviewers.

    Often reviews give me more of an idea about the person who reviewed the product than the actual product. So if a restaurant has a review about how "inauthentic" a meal is, I will assume more about the person than the restaurant. (Who cares as long as the food tastes good??)

    If there are MANY reviews of something, I can get a good idea about it. If there's only one or two, I really can't trust those. Maybe unless they both say basically the same thing.

  • 0

    combinibento

    With movies, I always check with Ebert. He is not flawless but he is pretty darned good and a great writer to boot. Movies are just too expensive and time consuming these days to attend one with no information about its qualiy. Books are time consuming so I prefer to be informed about them in advance as well. Music is costly and there is so much crap out there it helps to read reviews ahead of time. Restautants, on the other hand, are generally safe bets; if it is a pricy, classly place it will likely be decent and reviews are less important.

  • 0

    Betting

    Can't remember the last time I read a review.

  • 0

    Rugbyfan

    I do read reviews of movies, but I have often found that when the reviewer says the movie stinks, I like it. Does that mean I have poor taste in movies or does it mean that everyone has there own views on what makes a good movie???

  • 0

    marushka

    For art: cinema, books, expositions etc- I don’t read review For hotels, beauty products – I do sometimes read them, but in all cases I prefer to judge myself, we are all different and tastes are different as well

  • 0

    my2sense

    no Rugbyfan... means you fancy what you fancy ; )

  • 0

    wiwaneko

    Depends who's doing the review.

  • 0

    Pukey2

    If I were to base my decisions on the reviews in Metropolis Magazine, I'd never get to watch any movie.

  • 0

    gonemad

    I read a lot of reviews for all kind of things. And of course, I judge by myself as well, though often that is only possible afterwards. For most things, there is too much choice, so the reviews help to quickly focus the selection. Whenever possible, I try to keep the same reviewer so that I can get used to his way of thinking. Checking his reviews on something I know already helps to get some confidence.

    Most reviews tend to be too positive for many reasons, so it helps to focus on the negative sides or look for things which don't get mentioned in the reviews.

  • 0

    jj1980

    Movies, games, restaurants that are reviewed in mainstream media and/or by just one person alone is always ignored by me. You are more likely to get a biased report, and who cares what one person thinks. You need like second, third opinions at least. It kinda goes along with an old saying; "One man's junk, is another man's treasure." It plays out that way because, what is bad to one, could be great to another.

    Now reviews like say...Amazon.com for any products like cameras, computers, parts, etc on amazon is something that I look at. Because you could have many reviews that could go both ways. If 20 out of 34 people say that the cannon camera is utter garbage with good facts and opinions, then that will make me think twice on that product. If multiple people are saying the same thing about something, then it could be a crucial tip.

  • 0

    DamoSuzuki

    Film Reviews: Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. Friday Afternoon. BBC Radio Five Live. Sorted.

  • 0

    Papigiulio

    I hardly read any reviews. As LostInNagoya previously mentioned, everybody has a different taste and opinion. I usually check the trailers to see if it peeks my interest or not. I used to write reviews for asian movies. 200 plus reviews until my db got effed up and I lost everything, including backup. (cries)

  • 0

    taj

    I generally find that I enjoy Don Morton's reviews more than I enjoy the movies. I trust his judgement.

    As for restaurants, I don't pay any attention to the Metropolis reviews, as I assume they are paid. I will seek out reviews when booking hotels in unknown cities or new restaurants. bento.com, I think it is, is interesting, but sometimes the restaurants are already long gone.

  • 0

    ramses68

    I'd rather ask someone I know about a movie, book, restaurant, etc. I like what I like, just because some critic, foodie, self proclaimed expert may/may not like something, doesn't mean I would listen to their opinions. Family and friends tend to have common sensibilities, therefore what they like, I probably will, and vice-versa. Although I still don't like liver! No matter who says what.

  • 0

    yabits

    Reviewing is an art unto itself, and none have done it better than Stanley Kauffman (age 94), who has been writing for The New Republic since 1958.

    Nowadays, I'll cut out and read Kauffman's reviews a year after they've been published, when the DVD is likely to be available on Netflix, or somewhere online. Had it not been for Kauffman, I might have missed some of the best movies I've ever seen. (Movies such as I've Loved You for So Long, Summer Hours, Lorna's Silence, Cherry Blossoms, and The Sweet Hereafter.)

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