Poll: What type of a movie watcher are you?

[Uhura]

We get occasional movie related threads on the forums but I haven't been able to figure out what type of movie watchers we actually have here on the Escapist. This is a completely un-scientific poll on your film watching habits.

So what type of a movie watcher are you? (There is some overlap in the categories so pick one that seems the most fitting.)

1) Not interested

I don't watch many movies per year and watching movies is not my hobby. I might have a favorite film or two but I usually prefer to spend my time doing something else than watching movies.

2) Average movie watcher

I watch a moderate amount of movies per year, perhaps some blockbusters, some Oscar contenders, some seasonal classics (Christmas movies etc.) and might also re-watch old favorites. I don't really consider watching movies as my hobby, it's just a fun past time.

3) Genre obsessed

I watch films mainly in one or two specific genres. I might be a horror buff, for example. I check out films in other genres if my friends recommend them or if they sound interesting, but I'm generally not that interested in watching films outside my favorite genre.

4) Geek classic enthusiast

I've watched and enjoyed a good number of the geek classics (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters etc.) and I also might enjoy "modern geek classics", such as LotR, The Dark Knight, Avengers, Avatar, Inception etc. I'm not that interested in movies outside the "geek canon" and don't go out of my way to check out critically acclaimed classics.

5) Movie fan

Watching movies is my hobby and my taste is relatively varied. I put effort in watching the "classics" and usually check out some of the Oscar nominated films every year. Some of my favorite movies might be The Godfather, 12 Angry Men, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Vertigo, Pulp Fiction, Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane etc. Even though I have a quite varied taste, I still might be hesitant to watch really old movies/ artsy movies/ "foreign" movies.

6) Explorer

I watch a wide variety of films from art house to cult classics. I love film as an art form and I like to try out all the different flavors of film. Watching movies is definitely a hobby of mine. I'm more likely to consult the TSPDT movie list (or similar) than the IMDb Top 250, when I'm trying to find new films to watch.

http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_a-b.htm


The categories are pretty vague on purpose, so feel free to elaborate on your movie watching habits. How many movies do you watch per year (on average)? Are you an avid moviegoer? The floor is yours.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Mix of "average" and "genre obsessed". I watch a lot of movies, but care about very few. Is just something fun to do with people I like. So I end up seeing 2-3 a week. We were working our way through the Harry Potter series, but we're taking a break for some new releases, like Wolverine (her choice) and The To Do List (mine, I <3 Aubrey Plaza). She ends up picking most of the movies, and that's fine with me. As I said, I don't really care about movies too much.

The exception? Disney. That, I care about. I am reacquiring and expanding my Disney collection via Amazon's digital video service as quickly as I can. And I am eagerly looking forward to both Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks. Especially the latter. It just looks so good.

 

[Barbas]

I'd say I'm probably a mix of 2 and 4, being closer to 2. I have a few favourites that usually get brought out when my family are together, like The Big Lebowski. I think most members of my immediate family have a pretty similar taste in films, which makes going to the theatre pretty convenient. They tend to lean closer to dramas and action films, though, while I'm more drawn to the visually impressive settings of sci-fi and fantasy films, like the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogies. Occasionally we do decide to see a movie that looks completely outlandish, and that usually turns out pretty well.

 

[FalloutJack]

I have a preferance in science fiction, horror, and fantasy...so that makes me Number 3.

However, I have also checked out a number of things as per recommendation from others...so I'm also Number 5.

(Now waiting for somebody to declare that they are Number 6...)

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I'm a mix between 2 and 3, but I'm leaning more towards 2 since I really don't watch very many movies a year. However, I do re-watch certain movies if I get the chance and they're normally fun ones to watch, like Army of Darkness or Starship Troopers, but nothing major.

I tend to stick with either horror or science fiction, but on the off occasion I will watch fantasy if it's any good. Otherwise, good luck getting me to watch something because more times than not it won't interest me.

I also tend to stay away from "Oscar bait" movies since they tend to bore me.

 

[TehCookie]

Not interested, I can usually count the numbers of movies I watch in a year on my hands. I don't know why they bore me, but almost everytime I watch them I'd rather be doing something else.

 

[FoOd77]

I reckon I probably fall under 6, man I fuckin love movies, if I aint workin and I aint fuckin around on my computer, I'm watchin a movie. Shit, generally all I ever use my PS3 for is netflix. So yeah, I guess that'd be 6 then.

 

[tippy2k2]

I am most certainly a "Movie Fan".

I was a Film minor in school and I used to go to the theater on a weekly basis (which stopped due to money and the lack of common fucking sense by a large majority of the movie going population; You want to text all movie...well of course that's fine OF COURSE IT'S NOT FUCKING FINE! PUT YOUR GOD DAMN PHONE AWAY BEFORE I THROW MY $8.00 BAG OF POPCORN AT YOUR HEAD YOU ASS!!!!!)

So now I generally will pick up movies at the Red Box and/or use Netflix. There are very very very very few movies that I won't at least try (namely anything made by Asylum Pictures) and generally will take any recommendation. Everyone's favorite movie reviewing Mod (whom I expect will show up in here eventually) has really nailed some sneaky hits for me, specifically Rubber (even if he provides the rare miss like Scorpion King 3; Electric Boogaloo[footnote]I actually kind of liked SK3 but it's just so much more fun to mock what Marter loves [/footnote]...oh Marter! I didn't see you behind me.....no....Marter....put down the hammer....Marter please! NOoooooooo!!!!).

 

[game-lover]

I'd say I'm mostly one with just a smidgen of two.

There are movies I'd love to see but I don't make a huge effort or goal to do so.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

I'm a mix of movie fan and explorer, maybe mostly explorer, I guess. However, classics aren't really something that I watch all that often. Maybe I'll see one or two a year. And I've never heard of the TSPDT movie list. (thanks, by the way!) Sometimes when I want to watch a new movie, I just click around aimlessly on IMDb, clicking on random actors, directors, whatever, opening 20 different tabs at once, until I find something that looks interesting.

I'd say I watch a movie every 2 days. Wish I could watch more, but we all have our daily obligations.

Also, occasionally genre obsessed.

Every now and then I find myself watching nothing but horror movies, or nothing but sci-fi movies, or nothing but terrible movies. I don't think "terrible" is a movie genre. Oh well, it is now. It is truly magical when I find a movie that fits all three categories.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I'm a mixture of Genre obsessed, Geek enthusiast and Explorer; I've watched all the 'geeky' films you listed and I rather like Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi, I also like to explore and check out indie or foreign films and don't mind subtitles, so yeah watching movies, buying DVDs/Blu-rays and going to the cinema is a big hobby of mine.

 

[skywolfblue]

Somewhere between "average" and "movie fan". I've watched a lot of movies, but never really considered it an important hobby.

 

[FPLOON]

Does "all of the above" count, then... because that's me to a T...

Some say (over on Skype) I watch TOO many movies... to the point that that's the reason why I make more obscure references than Seth McFarland hosting another roast on Comedy Central...

HOWEVER, I only buy the movies that I will not only watch more than once, but also come with those special features, since I like knowing what it did take to make the movie I've watched multiple times... (Thank you, anniversary editions! WOO!)

Just... don't get me started on favorites... We'll be here all night...

 

[Guffe]

I'm an average movie watcher.
A few years back it could be just one movie a month that I happened to watch from the Telly but now I actually go to the cinema and buy DvDs and stuff.
Might put a little bit on the "genre part" thing because there are movies I like to avoid due to genre.

 

[DanielBrown]

Not sure if I fit in any. Movie fan, maybe.
Watch a movie about every other day, and I love looking up trivia about the movie and the actors. Also check some forum bords after most movies to see if people have spotted anything I've missed or if someone agrees with me concerning something.

Prefer action and drama, especially historical ones, though not American war movies. Usually those are nothing but propaganda except for more realistic ones like Platoon.

 

[Frezzato]

I'm a mix of movie fan and explorer, maybe mostly explorer, I guess. However, classics aren't really something that I watch all that often. Maybe I'll see one or two a year. And I've never heard of the TSPDT movie list. (thanks, by the way!) Sometimes when I want to watch a new movie, I just click around aimlessly on IMDb, clicking on random actors, directors, whatever, opening 20 different tabs at once, until I find something that looks interesting.

I'd say I watch a movie every 2 days. Wish I could watch more, but we all have our daily obligations.

Also, occasionally genre obsessed.

Every now and then I find myself watching nothing but horror movies, or nothing but sci-fi movies, or nothing but terrible movies. I don't think "terrible" is a movie genre. Oh well, it is now. It is truly magical when I find a movie that fits all three categories.

Let's see, horror...sci-fi, terrible.

Roger Corman's Forbidden World! It contains two or three scenes of gratuitous nudity, but it is Roger Corman after all.

As for myself, I'm definitely an explorer type, although I do have a penchant for horror and will watch just about any horror movie. Then again, I do love a stupid funny movie once in a while, like Balls of Fury (Dan Fogler is the man) and MacGruber.

 

[Julius Terrell]

if isn't hard sci-fi or epic fantasy, then I'm not interested.

Hollywood doesn't exactly care for both genres all that much. When was the last time you actually saw a hard sci-fi film in the theater that didn't pander to the masses?

I'm far better off sticking with books for either genre. It's a real shame. I feel like the days where we could see another star trek or battle star galactica are truly behind us. We fans get shafted because Hollywood rarely wants to put in the work to make a decent film or TV series for either genre. That's why I love Japanese anime. It's cheaper overall to produce and you can explore ANY kind of idea your mind can conceive.

Edit: I love Asian films too. I love that they feel completely different than what Hollywood produces. So I'm not completely against live action.

 

[StormShaun]

You want to text all movie...well of course that's fine OF COURSE IT'S NOT FUCKING FINE! PUT YOUR GOD DAMN PHONE AWAY BEFORE I THROW MY $8.00 BAG OF POPCORN AT YOUR HEAD YOU ASS!!!!!)

You speak the truth.
There is a reason why those "TURN YOUR PHONE OFF ASSHAT" advertisements play before the movie does.
So turn off your phone ... and God help you if we hear anything during the movie.

For me, my pet peeve is well ... I have a list. *Ahem*
- Talking loudly.
- A group talking loudly.
- Someone opening a loud packet of something in the middle of the movie.
- Annoying little shits (Teens) deciding to throw popcorn.
- Someone eating loudly/disgusting next to me.

Those are enough, but I am sure I have one more.
Back to the topic ... I am a movie fan, during a diploma course of Mass Communication we had a pretty in-depth study about movies and filming. So this lead me buying the whole Alien collection and then I began to get more interested in the classic and bought them and watch them.

Right now I go to the movies when I have the money, time and mood to go.
Especially if there is something great on ... which lately, hasn't been much.

... also lets not talk about Citizen Kane ... sure I watched it, I liked it and I did a presentation about it. BUT it did get boring, but I think it deserves its rep.

 

[MrBaskerville]

I watch all kinds of things, a couple of months ago i was delving into 80s action movies while also investigating the works of Jean Luc Godard and other new wave classics. I like to see all the aspects of what movies can offer us, it's a rich medium with a lot of variety and i don't really want to miss anything. It's defineately my main obsession.

The one thing i know is that i might be kinda anti-geek movie, i'm really tired of all the overhyped trite out there like Avengers and Batman movies, i really don't like superhero movies and high concept fims often seem to be more style than actual substance. But ofcourse there's always exceptions, but i wouldn't mind if the superhero genre died out...

 

[Victim of Progress]

Not interested, I can usually count the numbers of movies I watch in a year on my hands. I don't know why they bore me, but almost everytime I watch them I'd rather be doing something else.

Ditto.The only interaction with movies I get is watching one on public access television, and I can't say I can do it for long.