How much do ye trust IMDB?

DaCorkGeezer

Hey,

before going to see a movie ye've never heard of, do ye:

-check it first on IMDB/Wiki/RottenTomatoes/MetaCritic/otherwise to find out what other reviewers think about it at the risk of being biased (consciously or not) or

-do that AFTER seeing the film...at risk of wasting €10 for a flick you wouldn't have bothered about had ye checked the "general opinion", or

-none of the above?

I have a friend who ONLY swears by IMDB and doesn't bother watching anything below 7

Personally I would check if it's a theatrical release. I don't care as much if it's a rental though.

leeroybrown

I'm not sure I'd use the word 'trust' but if I do think that if you have a reasonable grasp of it's tendencies then you can get a reasonable idea from it.

is_that_so

IMDB is good for information and plotlines but not necessarily for reviews. However if you use the top 250 as a guide you can usually get a feeling for the quality of a film and the OP's friend may have a case. User comments as always are subjective.
With so many bad films about I would always check some reviews. I like to avoid wasting time I can't get back and the feeling that I have been conned by a trailer yet.
I would have a look at Irish Times , either Clarke or O'Dwyer and probably Empire but not IMDB.

Otis Driftwood

Dont trust it in the slightest therefore never use it.

Karl Hungus

I think ratings given can give you a decent idea of the quality of the film, give or take. However, I use imdb.com as a resource, more than reviews.

Pigman II

I don't trust it at all. Tho that said I do generally disregard (tho not totally) anything that doesn't get at least a 7. At the same time I wouldn't be rushing out to see something that got an 8.5+ as I know there's too many fanboys pushing certain titles.

The message boards are a good laugh though. It's a wonder half of them can even type considering the moronic rubbish they come out it most of the time. Fairly uneducated bunch really.

L31mr0d

I primarily use metacritic, I don't really pay attention to IMDB unless I see a face in a movie and go "huh, what have I seen him in before?"

In saying that though, I don't completely trust metacritic. I usually just check the metacritic score and if its higher than 7.5 i'll watch it in HD.

Take for example "The Marine", metacritic gives it a pretty bad score, but I enjoyed it, more as a comedy than an actual action movie though. It felt like a Grindhouse throwback to 80's action movies.

Rhyme

Only check IMDB after watching a film and don't recognise someone in it or recognise them but forget their name (eg. i'm always forgetting Carl Weathers' name).

That and the memorable quotes section and release dates. Everything else i ignore.

FunkZ

I almost always use IMDB before watching a film online. But I think it normally doesn't tell you enough about the film, so I find it useful only to a certain degree.

Guy:Incognito

I dont take notice of any reviews, regardless of source. If I like thee look of a film and like the type of film, I'll give it a go.

aidan_walsh

IMDB is great as an information resource for movies and individuals, but the forums and reviews tend to be inhabited by the special people. I don't bother with either.

Cactus Col

I generally use it as a source of information about a film... but would never trust it's ratings. The only reviewer I'd really trust is rogerebert.com ... I think he goes about reviewing a film in a good way (even then i've ignored what he says about a number of films).

I just use reviews as guides, they'll make the difference on some films that I might otherwise not see.

(for example, no matter how bad the review I'll be watching alien vs predator requeim when it comes out. But without hearing about it being praised by ebert, I never would have searched out "Pierrepoint, the last hangman2. Which is a good film, well worth seeing)

Gillie

Just use it to find out the name of an actor/director whos name escapes me.

kaimera

Try and find a movie an actor/dir has done that I can't think of.

Will usually link to the IMDB title if I post a review on boards tho

leeroybrown

I tend to use IMDB as an initial reference point for films. If someone tells me that 'X Y Z' was good I'll look it up and add it to a folder of links for films I'd like to see. Likewise when people just blindly recommends 'X Y Z' here with no context or explanation I'll look it up.

The other thing I've found it great for is finding films based on an actor, director or writer. Often seeing a film you really liked can open up a whole list of other films that you'd consider watching. While it's a little crude, clicking on someone's name and sorting by ratings generally gives a reasonable top down list of options.

mneylon

I use IMDB a lot, but I wouldn't choose whether or not to see a film based solely on its rating

Galvasean

Pigman II wrote: »

I wouldn't be rushing out to see something that got an 8.5+ as I know there's too many fanboys pushing certain titles.

The rise of Grindhouse still baffles me...

Pigman II wrote: »

The message boards are a good laugh though. It's a wonder half of them can even type considering the moronic rubbish they come out it most of the time. Fairly uneducated bunch really.

Check out the Jurassic Park 4 page for ultimate hilarity!

johnny_ultimate

Pigman II wrote: »

The message boards are a good laugh though. It's a wonder half of them can even type considering the moronic rubbish they come out it most of the time. Fairly uneducated bunch really.

Typical IMDB thread:
*intelligent question*
*three stupid answers to intelligent question. Deleted by moderator*
*intelligent answer*
*four pages of flame war dissing the intelligenet answeree for being intelligent*

The only threads that ever seem to go to plan are quote ones, the most mindless of all.

Although for trivia, soundtrack listings, cast, release dates etc.. it is by far the best resource around. Id prefer rottentomatoes as a review site though.

ThOnda

As mentioned above, I use IMDB only for searching correct names, information, fact, quotations or pictures.

The worst thing is, that IMDB contains spoilers, like this one...

Dont be at yourself

i only use the ratings if im torn between two dvds to watch, and so on.

For reviews, you can't beat Mark Kermode

Wacker

I actually 74 of their top 100 DVDs. I wouldn't say that these are all my favourites or anything - it is more that I feel intense curiosity regarding films that get so highly rated by so many people. I have only been dissapointed by a few of them; Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory and Sunset Boulevard being examples that spring to mind. They may well all improve with a second look though.

I read the IMDB trivia page for every movie I see. It often includes fascinating stuff. I don't place too much stock in the boards though. Pick any decent film you can think of, and there is probably a thread going on entitled OVERRATED!!!!
Lame.

johnny_ultimate

Wacker wrote: »

I have only been dissapointed by a few of them... Sunset Boulevard being examples that spring to mind.

Really? I was extremely impressed by Sunset Boulevard when watching it. Definitely one of my favourite classic Hollywood films - far darker than you would expect, with its finger on the pulse of the system at the time (e.g. the self-aware card game cameos by some had-been silent stars).

Agree with your "overrated" comments concerning the message board though. People on IMBD just seem to make it their business to disagree with everyone else, mostly just trolls tbh.

ixoy

I've used them before as a rough guide to the expected quality of a movie, but I'm not going to base my decision on whether to go or not. There's far too much fanboy enthusiasm in there - for any big "event" movie, you'll find a ridiculous number of scores allocating either 10 or 1 as the fan boys bicker over interpretation of source material rather than artistic merit of the movie.

The formula for the Top 250 can't take this into account, so there's often far too many modern movies, which have more viewers, taking up ranking places. Earlier, more worthy movies potentially, can get slighted. They've got their particular formula to combat it, but it can't be full proof.

The worst angle to it, unless you're looking for laughter, is the forums. It doesn't take long for most threads to either deviate to Godwin or denigration on the OPs sexuality, parentage, or the sexuality of their parentage. After Hours is often the pinnacle of discourse next to those blighted boards..

As a resource though, for finding out who worked on particular projects and what projects they co-worked with others on, etc. it's unmatched. Always a great way to scratch that itch raised when you see a half-familiar face in a show or movie.

CrazyTalk

The imdb forums are probably one of the greatest thresholds of internet stupidity I've ever witnessed

Karoma

is_that_so wrote: »

IMDB is good for information and plotlines but not necessarily for reviews.

I'd use it for information and maybe plotlines (As much as one can judge anything by the garble on the back of a DVD cover.)
The reviews, like any user-generated content, is a mixed lot. Some of the comments/"reviews" would make a YouTube commentator scoff.
Example: Kontroll - If they're stating that it is like Trainspotting, they're drawing comparisons where there are none and penalising the film for it. For this reason, you cannot trust the score. Also, and I'd put money on it: Big production companies are shilling and giving high votes for movies. I'd trust the Movie reviews on Boards.ie more (And that's saying something!)

Pigman II

ThOnda wrote: »

Rosebud was a sled?

Aw ****! I'm halfway thru that movie and I took a break just to check my email. Thanks a lot!!!! :mad:

Pigman II

CrazyTalk wrote: »

The imdb forums are probably one of the greatest thresholds of internet stupidity I've ever witnessed

I'm guessing you haven't seen the cuckoos nest forum then.

Galvasean

ixoy wrote: »

There's far too much fanboy enthusiasm in there - for any big "event" movie, you'll find a ridiculous number of scores allocating either 10 or 1 as the fan boys bicker over interpretation of source material rather than artistic merit of the movie.

This man wants to have a discussion with you:

Rhyme

Pigman II wrote: »

I'm guessing you haven't seen the cuckoos nest forum then.

Gamefaqs.

But yeah, the amount of stupidity washing around on the IMDB forums is... substantial.

unreggd

Ive made a new habit of not lookin at reviews before I see a film

If its seisse, at least I'm making my own uninfluenced opinion

I usually check after tho

Used to use IMDB but now i use RT

RT has the critics reviews, but the users ones too, so, best o both

But I think the whole concept of critics is stupid

standbyme

I use IMDB as a homepage as im too lazy too look for anyother page, but i use it a lot for info on most things to with films, but not reviews or forums (im on too many) I use Empire for reviews & to get the odd poster (lovin the Indiana Jones at moment)

Instead of going to the pages for reviews, i use the RSS Feeds from a lot of sites as well very handy

Also i use the free search for actors when theyre appearing on tv/film as its incorporating Digiguide for the info.

Galvasean

Galvasean wrote: »

This man wants to have a discussion with you:

The man made one of last years most entertaining films. There must have been a million threads on imdb concerning Bay's rapege of the Transformers, and then when he delivered a film which satisfied most fans they all started posting how they were behind him all the time.

I use imdb for looking up trivia, placing an actor and for wasting hours of work time. It's quite addictive going from film to film and seeing which big names shamed themselves in dreck before their big break.

FunkZ

I often check them out to see what a film is about before watching it, but I wouldn't use their word as the end all.

The Bollox

I don't use IMDB for a rating or review before watching a film, I'll see the public opinion afterwards. I also use if you finding what movies I have seen x in, as well as looking at the trivia of the films and actors

koneko

I use it as a very rough very quick guide, if I don't know about a film. Even for information I don't know how reliable a source it is, considering users can submit information (like wikipedia). I've seen some pretty ropey info on there and some that was downright wrong (and submitted by IMDB trolls who enjoy seeing fake info up on the site). I've sent in corrections to them. If I had to do that for information I know about, how much info is there about stuff I'm not familiar with... that could be wrong?

standbyme

koneko wrote: »

I use it as a very rough very quick guide, if I don't know about a film. Even for information I don't know how reliable a source it is, considering users can submit information (like wikipedia). I've seen some pretty ropey info on there and some that was downright wrong (and submitted by IMDB trolls who enjoy seeing fake info up on the site). I've sent in corrections to them. If I had to do that for information I know about, how much info is there about stuff I'm not familiar with... that could be wrong?

I remember one time Daire was on the Panel (the good days, ah!) he mentioned that someone had put info on the site sayin in his spare time he was a goat-herder & collected milk tops?!

But dont quote me on that

Also with wikipedia you can have links to other film review sites on the one page for handiness

Placebo

I think its fairly accurate, anything below 5 is infact absolute rubish, 6-8 vary on people but i do check it religiously before i downl.... i mean rent a film.

constitutionus

i only use it to find out info about a film.

i dont go by anyones reviews of a film. if i think i'll like it i'll go see it

small

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Typical IMDB thread:
*intelligent question*
*three stupid answers to intelligent question. Deleted by moderator*
*intelligent answer*
*four pages of flame war dissing the intelligenet answeree for being intelligent*

That is so true! In my innocence IMDB was the first forum I ever tried posting in, I never knew the internet could be so mean. Took me 4 years to get over it.

I can say from experience that the details given about films on IMDB is very undependable, particularly as you stray away from big Hollywood releases.

fillefatale

IMDB is one my one stop shop, it can be low on reviews, but if its a newly released film, that has quite a nationwide release - it can be useful.