How do you keep up to date and choose what to watch etc?

Zascar

I've watched a few good movies lately but some rubbish too. I don't pay close attention so its a lot of hit and miss but how do you guys keep an eye on what moveis are out or even seek out the best reviewed ones for the year so far etc?

Any good links or sites I should use?

SimonTemplar

Every Friday, the BBC uploads individual videos of Mark Kermode's reviews. Given the show is two hours long, it pretty much includes every new release. (the review clips are usually around 4-6 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/user/kermodeandmayo/videos

Looking at the Rottentomatoes / Metacritic rating for each of the film should give you a decent breakdown of each week's releases.

Also, no harm in keeping an eye on this Youtube channel. Probably the best Youtube film reviewer https://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisStuckmann/videos

Finally, box office success doesn't necessary mean the movie is good.

S.M.B.

Join letterboxd.

Follow people you know and don't know who share a similar taste in movies.

johnny_ultimate

Find publications you like and keep track of them. Sight & Sound and Little White Lies* are particularly good because being UK based they're roughly the same release schedule as we are, and give equal weighting to films of all sizes and origins. The Telegraph and Guardian are good for keeping track of things too, and of course The Irish Times.

Even if you don't live in Dublin, pay attention to the Lighthouse and IFI schedules to see what's on beyond the multiplex fare. Make a note of anything of interest so you can find it when it's released on VOD, or shows up in a local film club.

Set up a letterboxd account, follow a variety of users.

Keep an eye on critical responses during the major film festivals particularly, that's when a lot of the interesting new films start picking up traction - even if we must wait a while to see them (hence the value of a 'watchlist' to keep track).

Even just flick through the new releases and recent discoveries tabs on iTunes - can often flag a few films worth investigating further

*(these have both recently published their end of year lists, for a good overview of what they're focuses on)

weemcd

Have a watchlist of a good 500+ films (some I've already seen admittedly) on imdb
Have a list of things to watch on Netflix
I keep an eye on metacritc
I look at imdb every so often and type in an actor or director I like and see if they've been working on anything
I would look at the Guardian the very odd time, or Mark Kermode on youtube


The actual problem is finding time to watch everything, there's dozens of TV Series to count as well

Liam McPoyle

As I watch mainly horror I use a couple of groups on Facebook or sites like Bloody Disgusting or Rue Morgue.

dreamers75

Here for the random ones and a list of directors actors I like.

Sad Professor

I try to see everything, or most essential things anyway, regardless of genre or even quality. I don’t read a lot of reviews but I generally listen to the festival buzz. If I hear the same film being mentioned a lot, I’ll make a mental note and check it out at some point. Beyond that I just keep an eye on what’s being released every week, here and in the US. I browse the trailers on Apple’s site, keep an eye on what the podcasts are discussing, browse IMDb, etc.

Film websites are rubbish. Most of them are news sites that recycle stories from elsewhere, or post mediocre reviews and plot summaries. The Dissolve wasn’t perfect but I miss it a lot. You need to focus on the writers and the follow the good ones wherever they go.

Antibac

S.M.B. wrote: »

Join letterboxd.

Follow people you know and don't know who share a similar taste in movies.

Is there an app on IOS for this? Couldn't find anything.

Found the site- looks good

Sad Professor

Antibac wrote: »

Is there an app on IOS for this? Couldn't find anything.

No, but they are working on one.

e_e

Put all my unwatched DVDs in one of those CD wallets to get through front to back, created a list on Netflix and I just check on what's playing in Dublin too.

Also libraries are bloody excellent for seeing highly regarded foreign and classic movies.

Right Turn Clyde

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Find publications you like and keep track of them. Sight & Sound and Little White Lies* are particularly good because being UK based they're roughly the same release schedule as we are, and give equal weighting to films of all sizes and origins. The Telegraph and Guardian are good for keeping track of things too, and of course The Irish Times.

Even if you don't live in Dublin, pay attention to the Lighthouse and IFI schedules to see what's on beyond the multiplex fare. Make a note of anything of interest so you can find it when it's released on VOD, or shows up in a local film club.

Set up a letterboxd account, follow a variety of users.

Keep an eye on critical responses during the major film festivals particularly, that's when a lot of the interesting new films start picking up traction - even if we must wait a while to see them (hence the value of a 'watchlist' to keep track).

Even just flick through the new releases and recent discoveries tabs on iTunes - can often flag a few films worth investigating further

*(these have both recently published their end of year lists, for a good overview of what they're focuses on)

Are you on Letterboxd? I enjoy your contributions here on Boards.

Right Turn Clyde

Sight & Sound, Letterboxd, IMDB, the Filmspotting podcast and Mark Kermode's radio show, although the latter irritates as much as he informs.

Also check the Curzon Home Cinema website for new releases each week. You can watch them there or just take a note of anything that interests you.

In terms of older releases keep an eye on the Criterion, Masters of Cinema and Arrow websites. I used to just use them for ideas and then torrent the films, but now I mostly put my money where my mouth is and add them to my collection.

e_e

Ditto for Criterion. I think 99% of what they put out is good to great, and the other 1% is subjective anyway.

johnny_ultimate

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

Are you on Letterboxd? I enjoy your contributions here on Boards.

Yep, same username as here, although I use it more as a personal log than anything!

Right Turn Clyde

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Yep, same username as here, although I use it more as a personal log than anything!

Cool. I'll definitely keep an eye on you for some recommendations. Let you do the hard work of finding them in the first place.:P

charlie_says

I find checking metacritic pretty decent overall guide to quality of a film. Once a film has over about 15 reviews there I would trust the meta rating.

I would highly recommend the podcast Filmspotting for some great recommendations. I get loads from this forum too.

IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes rate too highly in my opinion.

I must set up a Letterboxd account...