Film Reviews...

Reviews of films drastically impact whether the viewer will chose to see a film or not. There are two types of reviews that students and professors seem to rely on for opinions about films they are considering viewing. The first type of review that viewers look to is on a personal level. Many times viewers will look to friends who have seen that film before and ask their opinion. Often times, if a friend, possessing similar film taste as the viewer, gives a bad review of the film, the viewer may question whether it is worth seeing or not. If a friend or peer does not have the same taste in films, or in the past has had a different outlook as the viewer on a certain film, that friend's opinion holds less value. Typically, those who have the same likes and dislikes in films with consult with each other before seeing a film, especially in the theatres.

The second type of reviews heavily relied on for film input and expectations is critic reviews. There are two things that critic reviews typically provide viewers with, the first is influence. Critic reviews help to influence the viewer's decisions to see a film or to pass on seeing a film right away. The second thing that critic reviews provide for viewers lies in prediction of how a film will be. As predictors, critics can assist viewers in selecting movies to come in the future. There are a few major websites that students look to for this information, including imdb.com and rottentomatoes.com. Critics have a certain credibility that viewers know they can trust because of their status and expertise in the industry as well as their lack of bias towards the films they are critiquing. When a film has less known actors and actresses or genre that is not as commonly viewed, viewers will rely more on the reviews of critics as well as friends and peers.

My research has backed up the information I have found in two different ways. Students who are not in film courses tend to rely on reviews from their friends and peers, especially those who have similar film taste as them. A student I interviewed said they did not go and see a movie in the theatre they had planned on seeing simply because their friend said it was not good. On the other hand, film students tend to use the resources given to them to find higher levels of reviews as well as the influence of their friends and peers, again, usually only listening to those with similar film taste. I would like to expand on this research and find what types of films viewers are more likely to look to reviews for? If the film has good advertisement and good actors, will viewers still look to reviews? What are the top resources for film reviews? Friends' influence and critic reviews, especially specific websites, help give insight into the films students and professors chose to see.