MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do you ever watch a movie and pause it t...

Do you ever watch a movie and pause it to ...


Go to its board and read non-spoiler threads about it, and to take a break?

I used to do this a lot. Last night I was watching a movie I was very much enjoying. Isle of Dogs, anyone here seen it?

I paused it for a break, thought about coming here to its board, then realized that on virtually every board I go to there are unfailingly a multitude of extremely critical posts. Usually petty criticisms.

So instead I got a snack, played with my dog, then went back to watching it.

Loved the movie!

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Yes, I do to. I also do it if I’m starting to think the movie is a toss-up at best, to see if it’s worth finishing. Your right about the pettiness, both of thought and of expression, in too many of the posts. “Pure garbage” as a post tells me much more about the poster’s worth than it does about the movie.

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Oh yeah, that's another reason to do it, to help decide if a movie's worth continuing on with or not 👍. Sometimes cutting your losses is the best choice, but sometimes a movie is worth hanging in there to the end.

"Pure garbage" or "Worst film EVER!" Two of my favourite posts.

Seems like we as a society have become way too critical. Not just about films, in general. And yes I realise I'm criticising people being critical 😄

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I love Isle of Dogs. I don't usually go to the board of a movie until after I have seen it. I usually only pause a movie to get a snack or go potty.

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Wasn't it fun? Fun doesn't describe some of it since it's kind of dark, but overall, fun.

Do you not go because you might be spoiled, or for another reason?

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I agree, it was fun overall. Yes, I mostly avoid the board until the movie ends because I don't want to risk seeing any spoilers.

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I loved that the dogs spoke in English and the humans in Japanese 😄

Okay, I get not wanting to be spoiled. I'm in the minority and don't mind, unless it's a movie with some kind of surprise twist or mystery.

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breaks? yes. but never to go to its board. sometimes I'm watching a film that's been praised but I'm not feeling it, so I break it in two. I finish it but the 2 hrs feel like an eternity if it isn't clicking with me.

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Do you not go because there may be spoilers, or another reason?

I've done that too, taking a break like that from a movie I have reason to think is supposed to be good, but I'm not feeling it. If it continues to feel like work, I bail.

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I go to boards for pre-release buzz, trailers, etc -- but I always avoid digging in once I know most here have seen it. After I check it out myself, I can delve deeper for those films that have something more to them to discuss. Unfortunately, MC is not nearly as rich an environment for such things as it was on imdb.

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Yes, you're right, MC isn't as rich an environment for discussing the finer points as IMDb was. There are a few posters who dig in, but most don't. In part it's because MC is only a couple of years old. I wonder what IMDb was like when it was that new. I got there around 2007, and it was very active.

On the other hand, there aren't a lot of trolls here. On IMDb entire troll communities formed and thrived. I don't miss that at all.

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No, always after though.
and there's never love, it's always 'Worst movie ever'.
Like that LetThemEatCake dude, is there a single movie he ever liked?

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Oh god, LetThemEatCake 😂

I'm tired of the no love for every.single.movie.

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He/she/it seemed to think she/he/it had superhumanly superb taste. Cake once posted something like “I wish other people had my level of taste, because I have the ability to appreciate movies to the Nth degree.” I’m not making this up. You can’t make crap like this up.

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😂

LTEC is something else. I should put him on ignore because he never has anything of value to say.

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Is that handle still active Cat?
I thought it went away a long time ago

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I don't know, Shog. I suppose he's been around for so long, on IMDb and here, I assumed he was still around. If he's gone, I'll be shedding no 😢

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LTEC had a Funny schtick...He'd ask for a suggestion or make a random comment and then beat the hell out of anyone who responded...I think it was a guy, very amusing stuff
He (?) may have reported me once or twice...fun times;)

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I know, he was the same back on IMDb 😄

Here, when he needed help with something, he had no problem being very nice when he asked, and then would go right back to beating everyone up.

I'm pretty sure he was a he. He said so not only here but also on IMDb.

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He was that rare oddball...you could easily resent them but when they piss off you sort of miss them

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Maybe you do, not me :D

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hasn't been around in 8 months. I guess he ran out of movies not to watch

https://moviechat.org/user/59929063a350400011ff4a32

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That pest was always good for a laugh
Loons make the world go 'round

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😁

Must have. We know it's not because he ran out of movies to criticise.

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generally speaking, i don't go to specific message boards much these days.
there's just too much negativity there for my tastes, thread after thread of dourness & glass half empty types who seem to only be there to let us know that every film is a crime against humanity.
personally, i kinda appreciate it when people can try to find things to value, look for redemption even in sub-par material.
it's simply a mathematical fact that most films are somewhat average, by definition. just like iq distribution & height & almost everything in life, there's a distribution of qualities, & instead of ululating that every film was atrocious & ruined your childhood, i value people who can seek out the good qualities that can make even middling films fun to watch.

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"there's just too much negativity there for my tastes, thread after thread of dourness & glass half full types who seem to only be there to let us know that every film is a crime against humanity."

You've noticed this too? It wasn't always this way. It's like people now think it makes them look smarter, or it's safer, to criticise everything and everyone ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯

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i'm not sure if the boards here are worse than they have been in the past. i remember a lot of the imdb boards being pretty rough as well.

but i definitely think there is something that's ingrained into human nature that leads people to think that if they're hyper-critical, it'll make them appear as though they've attained some sort of special insight that the rest of us just can't quite grasp. like they have some level of perception not accessible to the people who actually think most things are really just fine.

i think it ties into the way that we tend to be more sensitive to losses than appreciative of gains. not to prattle on about it...but i read a great book by daniel kahneman on that subject years ago, & i can't help but think that there's something ingrained in our thinking that leads us to overstate the impact of negative things.

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I like your post but here are a few criticisms that negate your whole effort...

Just kidding, What you stated is very true
Cranks on the internet seem to NEED to criticize and complain about stupid stuff

I love MC because for the most part the posters here are honest, polite and very often funny..

It's easy to pick at nits, who cares?
Far better to see the positive in things

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I usually don’t post to topics of films that I don’t like but I do read the threads.

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Yes, some of the boards on IMDb were notoriously rough. I don't think it started here, but I have noticed this trend that's increased significantly over the past 10-15 years.

I've read that we're hardwired to place more emphasis on negative events as a survival mechanism. Which makes sense to a point. Mulling over that lion that almost caught and ate you has more survival value than say the delicious fruit you had for lunch. But this hyper-critical thing doesn't have any survival value. The reverse, actually.

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yes, exactly! that's the exact point kahneman made in his book, & i believe it was michael shermer who wrote about this in his books 'how we believe' & 'the believing brain.' & steven pinker as well. there is an innate loss-averse reaction in people that likely does have deep evolutionary roots, that if you hear a rustling in the bush, there may only be a 5% chance it's a lion or a snake or something that will kill you, but if you act like it is a lion or a snake and run away, it will save you in those 5% of occasions, & cost you little in the 95% of times that it was just the breeze or a harmless animal.

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No, but the instant I’ve watched something, I’ll head to it’s individual board. I tend not to go beforehand in case of spoilers.

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Very sensible. I'm in a small minority who doesn't much care if I'm spoiled or not. To me it's always different seeing it on the screen, so it's almost the same as not knowing. I know, hardly anyone else feels this way!

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I feel that way, Catbookss. The process is every bit as important as the result, sometimes even more important. The only sport I’ve ever followed is Formula 1, and the races are often run in time zones that don’t work with my sleep pattern, so I record them. Even if I accidentally learn the result before seeing the race, I will watch it anyway—because I want to see the artistry and drama that brought about the result. In term of the fictional narrative of film, two films may have very similar plots, but that result in two very different emotional experiences, don’t you think?

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Exactly, RK. The how is as important as the what.

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All the time. As I’ve noted prior, my iPad is joined to my hip. I’ll be watching a movie and say “I’ve seen him/her in another movie or on TV. It bugs me so I pause the movie and do my research....in the mean time my husband falls asleep! 😴☺️

Case in point: I recognized Martin Freeman who played Bilbo the Hobbit as the same actor who plays Dr. Watson in the Sherlock series. I confirmed it with my iPad. I’ve noticed him in several other movies.

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This is what I do, pause to look up someone who's familiar that I can't quite place.

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I used to do this, but now that I have Amazon Prime, it has that X-ray thing that pauses the movie and shows you the cast. I love that feature.

It is maddening when you see an actor and you *know* you've seen them in something else, but can't for the life of you think of their name or what it was you saw them in.

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I will open the movie's wikipedia page and read the plot as I watch the movie.

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I might lightly skim the plot on Wiki to see if it sounds like a story I'd like, but I don't want to know the whole thing.

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I will watch 15 minutes and then read the first paragraph of the plot especially for complicated movies.

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This would be handy for very complicated movies, when you're 30 minutes in and you still don't know what's going on.

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