5 Simple Ways We Can Improve Our Moviegoing Experiences

2. Judge Films On Their Own Terms

The late, great Roger Ebert once said that it was foolish to pit films against each other. I agree. Films are meant to stand on their own two feet. They are stand-alone pieces of art, and they need to be judged that way. We don't pit artists' paintings against each other. We don't criticize a musician based on how his work stands up to others. Why do we have a desire to pit movies against each other? Not every film is meant to be a masterpiece to rival Citizen Kane. Some films are merely meant to be entertaining, to be a fun way to spend a couple of hours. When we compare a film like Gremlins to, say, Platoon, we do both films an injustice, trying to fit them into a mold that they were never meant to fit. How, then, are we to judge films? You can usually judge what a film is trying to do by its promotional materials. For instance, you can tell if a movie is a comedy or drama, whether it's Oscar-bait or a summer blockbuster, etc. Once you've got that down, you go to the film with your expectations based on what you learned. If you're going to see a summer flick, you go expecting to be entertained. If the film is gunning for the Oscars, you can go hoping to be amazed.