How to Select What Movie to See

By Gary Orlando

With movies coming out so fast and furious these days, it is difficult to figure out which one to lay down your hard-earned dollars to see. More and more movies are going straight to video—what does that tell you? Movie studios are cranking them out faster than theaters can show them. But just because there are so many choices it does not mean they are all good; far from it. Should you see a movie at the theater and pay those exorbitant prices, or wait and rent it on your favorite medium and view it in your own home where the popcorn can have real butter on it? Luckily there are plenty of people who are just chomping at the bit to give you their opinion.

Just ten years ago you could get a review or opinion from just a few movie critics, as they were available only in newspapers, some special periodicals, and on TV. But today, boys and girls, the pool of widely available movie critics is just phenomenal! But how do you find them and learn whether your taste matches theirs? Well there are a few really good web sites dedicated to you, the consumer, to help you sort through all the movies that Hollywood puts out. And some of them have forum capabilities that allow you to read reviews from real people like yourself, and post your own opinions about movies. And let me tell you, most of the people posting opinions pull no punches, they will tell it like it is.

Not sure if that PG-13 movie is okay for your child to see? Go to one of the forums and seek the advice from other parents who have seen it, and they will tell you. These super sites also have other services, such as giving you access to early trailers for you to view long before the trailers are released to the general public. Some have links directly to Amazon and ebay, and some even sell movies directly. They can give you all sorts of information on the movie itself, such as how long it is, what it is rated, and whether it is available on DVD, or VHS only. Actor, director, and producer bio information is also there, along with pictures of the actors in the movie, as well as pictures of them in other movies or at awards shows. You can find out when and how the movie was made, where it was filmed, and read interesting trivia about things that happened on the set. Sometimes movie sites can go into real technical detail and give info such as aspect ratio, or whether a film was mastered with Dolby Digital, or re-mastered.

There is just so much information out there it really behooves any really serious movie buff to check out the wealth of information available on movie-related websites to expand on your knowledge. Besides, a little time spent on the Internet can keep you from wasting your hard earned money—not to mention two hours of your life that you can never get back.