1. Do Keep An Open Mind
"Expand your horizons." "You never know unless you try it." "Free samples." All of these phrases especially the last one, encourage everyone to try something new. This is a valuable lesson when it comes to choosing a film. I used to watch dumb comedies and the only expectation I had for every movie was for it to have a hot girl in it and for some loser guy to end up getting that girl. Then I tried something new. I tried watching movies that had been revered and praised by critics and audiences. It opened my eyes to a whole new experience. I had no idea that cinema could be so... meaningful. And on the opposite spectrum, it felt like I had wasted valuable time on horrible movies. So I tried to gobble up all the movies Joblo and RottenTomatoes said were worth watching. Of course, that didn't mean I stopped watching terrible movies. I've seen "G.I. Joe" and all three "Transformers" in theaters and I've gotta say I didn't hate all of them. Sometimes, we just need to be entertained. So when you're choosing a movie, remember it's entertainment. If we wanted moral messages, meditations on death, or beautiful imagery, we'd listen to sermons, read Hemingway, look at art, or play video games. Film is a particular medium and it has various demands of the audience. While certain directors demand your entire attention down to the finest detail, other directors want you to sit back and enjoy the explosions. With Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg, two great box office draws, Michael Bay resurrected my completely dead interest in his films. Hell, after Wahlberg got confirmed for the lead in "Transformers 4" you'll probably see me in line at the theater. Maybe even on opening night. So keep an open mind and try watching a movie you normally wouldn't. You might like it. It's easy to take certain actions when selecting a movie to watch, but breaking old habits is hard to do. It's easy to check Facebook for your friends' latest reviews on the new Vince Vaughn movie. It's a lot harder to tell yourself that Vince Vaughn has pretty much played the same character from "Swingers" to great success in his movies and that none of those subsequent movies have been as good as "Swingers." It's even harder to stop wanting to watch Vaughn spit out rapid fire banter with the rest of the Frat Pack. On the flip side there are about as many don'ts as there are do's, maybe more. But we'll stick to 10.
10. Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover
This may negate Do #8, but let me clarify. Don't
completely judge a book by its cover. Sometimes great things just have crappy packaging. Have you seen the poster to "Glengary Glen Ross." It looks dumb. And generic. But is the movie? Hell no. It's a fantastic movie that put David Mamet on the map and thousands of salesmen YouTube Alec Baldwin's single scene in that movie to learn the art of selling. "Groundhog Day." On the poster, Bill Murray is trapped inside of an alarm clock. Yeah. I'd pass on that too. But again, great movie. Don't choose a movie solely based on how it appears in commercials or however producers market the film. If there's an attractive star or starlet in the film, then you're going to see a lot of their face and selective body parts to get you to watch the movie, which leads us to our next don't...