I know a lot of bloggers use their blogs to informally review movies. Some blogs are even dedicated to the tradition. And we all have our fave movie reviewers that we follow and trust.
MY GO TOS FOR MOVIE ADVICE
If I’m on the fence about whether to fork out money to see a movie in the theater or wait for DVD, I usually trust Rotten Tomatoes and Netflix. I tend to agree with RT’s “Tomatometer” assessments. However, there are a couple of exceptions to that:
- Anything that falls in the 70% range automatically makes me turn to Netflix for a second opinion.
- If it’s in the 60% range on RT I’m 99% guaranteed to love the movie. (I don’t know why. It’s just the pattern I’ve noticed.)
Netflix is my backup. Because some movies that have registered solidly in the 70% range on Rotten Tomatoes and seemed like they’d be entertaining I found to be stinkers –and would’ve given 40% (or less) to. I also ended up going to see the movies in the theater instead of waiting for DVD and regretted it.
It’s happened so many times that I started looking for another review source. However, the only other one I found that I really trust is Netflix. Even for movies that are still in theaters Netflix has star ratings on already. (These do often change once the movie’s been released to DVD, but it’s still a pretty accurate assessment of the movie overall.)
So now I’ve developed this formula: 70% on Rotten Tomatoes + only 3 stars (or less) on Netflix = skip it in the theaters. (But if it’s colored in the four star area at all, I’ll give it a chance.)
THE MORE MOVIE REVIEWS THE MERRIER
However, movie reviews are kind of like medical advice: you can never go wrong with a second (or third or fourth) opinion.
That’s why I thought what better day than Movie Monday to let you know about Chateau Grrr’s new and improved Movie Reviews section. Now, in addition to reading what the “chateau grrr movie review crew” says about a movie, you can review and rate it along with them!
They don’t always do the “big” movies as they call them. They’re more into the specialty reviews: independent, old, and obscure horror and hallowe’en films.
Chateau Grrr’s form of ratings is “eyeballs.” One for terrible, five for great. And unlike other places, you can see both the Chateau Grrr rating as well as guests’ ratings at the same time.
Not surprisingly, there are discrepancies. For instance, I was surprised CG’s reviewer gave The Wolfman one eyeball. Guests gave it four.
Trick ‘r Treat was another one that only garnered two eyeballs out of five from CG’s reviewer, but guests liked it and gave it four.
I haven’t seen either.
But I was curious to see how CG’s assessment compared with my tried and true review sources:
- The Wolfman got 32% on the Tomatometer and almost four full stars on Netflix.
- Trick ‘r Treat got a 86% on the Tomatometer and three plus stars on Netflix.
I have a feeling I probably will agree with CG’s assessment and not like The Wolfman as much as I might hope to. But I might like Trick ‘r Treat better.
I’ll be sure to stop by and select the appropriate eyeballs when I’ve had a chance to see both.
If you’re looking for new movies or enjoy rating and reviewing movies, you might have fun doing it at Chateau Grrr if you’re not already. (You might also find some new-to-you movies like I did. Or some oldies but goodies you forgot about. They have a rocking list going on over there!)
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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