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Hoekkie
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Fri, Feb 24, 2017 11:53 PM

Live Poll: Are You Affected By Reviews And Ratings?

It happens to us all; you can't believe the high or low IMDb rating for a particular movie. You wonder what other people think of the movie and what makes the rating that high/low. And maybe you start reading user reviews on IMDb or reviews from critics.
Does reading reviews and ratings affect your personal rating?

1. No, I don't look at reviews and ratings.
2. No, I do read reviews and ratings, but I never change my rating for a movie.
3. Yes, it happens, but it's exceptional.
4. Yes, it affects me sometimes.
5. Yes, it's about 50/50.
6. Yes, it happens very often that I change my rating after reading reviews and ratings.
7. Yes, I can say it affects me all the time. Or; I first read reviews and ratings and then decide my rating.

My list: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066325507/
Poll: http://www.imdb.com/poll/1TQKumw0tH4/

Praise

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Updated 

3 years ago

5

15

Responses

jim_searsino

4 Messages

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132 Points

4 years ago

Absolutely. I have a system which works almost always.

Reviews are only as valuable as their weakest. So I will load these up in order of "worst --> best" rating and start scanning. The idea being that you want to look for patterns. For example, did several of those bad reviews bring up a supporting cast member who was just awful ... or did a couple users mention a plot becoming more of an agenda or political stance? (as opposed to telling a story).

I find if there's a suspiciously low number of reviews below maybe 5/10, then chances are the film won't be worthwhile (there are of course exceptions to this methodology, but that's a conversation for another day). I highly recommend trying it :P

Of course, this doesn't usually keep me from watching something. But if it's an older film, then it's a really good way of figuring out if the juice is worth the squeeze.

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dan_dassow

Champion

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13.9K Messages

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417.8K Points

4 years ago

Hoekkie,

This choice comes closest to how I approach ratings:
2. No, I do read reviews and ratings, but I never change my rating for a movie.

I only rate films that I watches from beginning credits to ending credits. I rate the film based upon my assessment. I do not let reviews and other people's ratings affect my rating. If I watch a film again, I may re-rate the film. Most of the time, my first rating and subsequent ratings are the same.

4

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ElMaruecan82

4.3K Messages

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127.9K Points

I do not let reviews and other people's ratings affect my rating.
Because you can't or because you don't want to?

It happens that we have a strong opinion about something but then we hear a valid argument from someone and we might reconsider our personal appreciation, for better or for worse. Ratings won't affect anything but a well-written review might highlight some aspects of the film that we've missed.

I agree it can be silly to change a rating on the basis of one review, because we still have the initial gut-feeling in mind, but a positive review about a film we disliked might encourage us to give the film a second chance.

Like

4 years ago

0

kyle_perez_8yd0eqcwxu1mz

2K Messages

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47K Points

It happens that we have a strong opinion about something but then we hear a valid argument from someone and we might reconsider our personal appreciation, for better or for worse. Ratings won't affect anything but a well-written review might highlight some aspects of the film that we've missed.
Totally agree with this - and I'll bet you were thinking of Ebert where you were writing this. He had that gift with people, his words so expressive that he had the ability to write the thoughts we didn't even how to put into words. He could singehandedly change my perspective on something I just watched and make me appreciate it by looking at it through a whole new lens.

Like

4 years ago

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ElMaruecan82

4.3K Messages

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127.9K Points

I was thinking of Ebert indeed, but there are a few exceptions, no matter what he thought about Unforgiven, I hated this film like you can't imagine because I thought the very premise of the movie was corrupted and "wrong" from the start. And I tried to give a second chance to Juno after reading his rave review, I still can't see what he found in it, the film tries desperately to be hip and original it hurts.

Like

4 years ago

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dan_dassow

Champion

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13.9K Messages

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417.8K Points

ElM wrote:
Because you can't or because you don't want to?
I consider my rating and occasional review to be one of many data points in a spectrum of responses. I do not consider my opinion any more important or valid than that of someone else, but I do attempt a modicum of independence on how I review films and television shows.

However, I will re-watch a film in light of a review that is convincing and will re-rate a film based upon re-watching the film.

Like

3 years ago

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greatest_film_connoisseur

397 Messages

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9.4K Points

4 years ago

3. Yes, it happens, but it's exceptional. 

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leavey_2

1.9K Messages

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52.5K Points

4 years ago

4. Yes, it affects me sometimes.

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Hoekkie

1.1K Messages

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26.6K Points

4 years ago

Interesting those different votes! Bump!

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Hoekkie

1.1K Messages

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26.6K Points

4 years ago

For me, if the review makes a good point, I will reconsider my rating. Very often you see the rating from the review author. For me it's helpfull. Sometimes I'm comparing reviews and the related ratings to find out which rating I do most agree with.

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Hoekkie

1.1K Messages

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26.6K Points

4 years ago

Bump

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ElMaruecan82

4.3K Messages

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127.9K Points

4 years ago

If the review makes good points, I'll give the film a second chance, that's for sure. We're all imperfect, and it's not like opinions are things carved in stones, if I had to stick to my initial appreciations, I would have given bad ratings to movies like Fargo, Chinatown or Apocalypse Now.

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rishabh_j7zvv0n5uyhgy

67 Messages

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998 Points

4 years ago

3. Yes, it happens, but it's exceptional.

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Hoekkie

1.1K Messages

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26.6K Points

3 years ago

I corrected the poll title into: Are You Affected by Reviews and Ratings?

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