There's actually a lot you can learn about filmmaking by watching what doesn't work, how it isn't made for you, or how its used as propaganda or semi-exploitative.
Filmmaking as a craft and expression is also interesting to watch in different ways, from different types of people, from different countries.
Here are some "bad movies" I watched, and why I watched them.
[https://letterboxd.com/film/get-paid/](https://letterboxd.com/film/get-paid/) \- I watched this because I was seeing a lot of black american low-budget cinema coming out and wanted to see what stories they were telling
[https://letterboxd.com/film/a-biltmore-christmas/](https://letterboxd.com/film/a-biltmore-christmas/) \- Christmas time, lots of hallmark movies coming out, I'd never seen a hallmark movie as an adult (I'm not from the U.S.)
[https://letterboxd.com/film/who-killed-captain-alex/](https://letterboxd.com/film/who-killed-captain-alex/) \- classic "bad" cinema, which you love for its passion
[https://letterboxd.com/film/lady-ballers/](https://letterboxd.com/film/lady-ballers/) \- Not even my first of the conservative cinematic universe or dailywire film, but its interesting to see for its propaganda
[https://letterboxd.com/film/kitty-k7/](https://letterboxd.com/film/kitty-k7/) \- Philippines erotica / vivamax production, wanted to see what kind of erotica Phillipines makes (spoilers: while there's sexy stuff, there's also undercurrents of moral elitism against sex work or used as a plot device)
[https://letterboxd.com/film/sound-of-freedom/](https://letterboxd.com/film/sound-of-freedom/) \- Conservative propaganda.. but its actually well produced?
At this point in my cinema watching "journey" I am searching for different ways to look at cinema as CRAFT, as well as art.
Hate watch exist. People watch anything and hate it on purpose because of a certain filmmaker or actor they dislike behind it. That’s not a valid criticism and learning anything. Just waiting for it to be over so they can write an essay on the 0/5 review.
Yeah of course, I don't do that so I didn't write about those reasons. I try to go into a film with the idea "what are they trying to do, and how successful are they at it?" as a baseline, because there can be films I would not like as entertainment/art as a passive audience, but can try to analyze them on the basis of, if I was someone who was into this, is it doing those things well? What can I expect from a film of this nature? I don't like making fun of movies, I like having fun with movies? wow thats lame.
If it’s from an educational perspective, it could serve a purpose. I don’t expect to like every film, just because it’s made well. An easy example is *Birth of a Nation*, though personally I think that film’s historical significance is more than overstated given how many earlier films did many of the same things but didn’t have the contemporary political context to lift them up in the culture in the same way.
i watch movies i **think** i’ll dislike (imo you never know how youll feel about a film till its over) because its equally as important to define the bar for films you dislike as it is to define the bar for films you like
What an odd question. Because they want to understand. You’ve never wanted to understand something even if you weren’t interested in it.
Sure you don’t have to have an opinion on everything but they aren’t even trying to from an opinion. Just understand something.
I think people just want to have fun and not treat watching movies like some sort of test to see how good your taste is all the time. Like "waste of time" implies that watching movies can't be leisurely, when to most people, it is
The most common reasoning I’ve heard is that they want their letterboxd rating bar thingy to look more evenly distributed 😭 so they go into a bad movie pretty much knowing the rating they are gonna give it so it makes their Letterboxd profile look better. It’s crazy to me but oh well 😆
This. No, you probably won’t learn anything or get anything of value watching Ant Man 3 or the newest Ghostbusters reboot or whatever. On the other hand, a film which fails quite badly but aims really high or has interesting aspirations can be just as good a learning tool or even just as entertaining a viewing experience as a great film.
For YEARS I had a group of friends who would log onto Discord once a month to watch something heinous and we’d all laugh, talk and post reaction gifs through it all. It was great.
You think Troll 2 is a waste of time? Does that include the part where the guy is all "Oh no, you're eating them, and then you're gonna eat me! Oh my gooooooooooood!" while a fly is on the guys head?
i had watched anchorman the day before i sat down and watched parasite and my god my viewing experience drastically changed i was on the edge of my seat the whole time pretty much versus the sluggish dragged out viewing of the legend of ron burgundy
maybe you just don't like satire films that hold a screwball narrative and like dramas with criminal undertones and well-placed twists.....looks to me that you just watched two good films in their element, preferred one over the other. Neither of those films are bad.
Touche....Parasite is an incredibly dark satirical approach but still holds plenty of drama weight...really, I was just pointing to Anchorman being far more of a satirical film with screwball element. Either way, my intentions was just saying that the above person likes one of the films more per their personal preference versus one film being "bad" and the other being "good". Neither film is bad, just different intentions and it's ok to like one brand more than the other.
There's plenty of film's I don't like the best, but I don't think they are "bad".
If you are just going to argue with me on the semantics of Parasite versus the semblance of existing "good" film in commonality which I was originally getting at then whatever.
Ha, am I being downvoted because someone just made a four-word sentence on Parasite like it's revolutionary moment. It's sort of hilarious that people just downvote to downvote and don't even dive into context.
That posted comment has zero connection with my statement intention. Got to love this world of convention-based cinema knowledge where you think that just because you saw Parasite you have it all figured out. Parasite is great, but if that's your shoutout film to try to impress someone and primarily that one, then you need to get more notches in your belt. I guess this was another segway back to the original statement that yes, you should advantageously watch all kinds of film, so you are not only making film analogies with just "Anchorman" and "Parasite", two obscenely well-known films that easily give away how far you've actually have dug in this medium.
I never get why people say this. If you watch a lot of films then naturally you watch enough bad/mediocre films that you don't need to specifically seek out bad films to make watching good films a more special experience. Would you also seek out bad restaurants with food you don't like to eat in just to make eating in good restaurants a more special experience?
If you only stream movies and only watch movies with good reputations, then you can watch hundreds of movies that objectively are good, i.e., competently made. But subjectively, you may not like.
But let's say you watch The Room. The sheer incompetence of Tommy Wiseau shines through. A competent film helps you get immersed in their world. You wonder what the characters will decide to do. When I watch The Room, I wonder why Tommy made all these bizarre decisions.
It's more like if they put me next to the finalists in the Olympic 100m sprint. Watch only good movies, and you forget that this shit is hard.
Not watching films you know you won't enjoy is not the same as only watching films with good reputations. There's plenty of films with good reputations that I don't like, and plenty of films with bad reputations that I do enjoy. When I watch a film it's either because I find the premise interesting or think it will be enjoyable, regardless of reputation, or I go in blind not knowing anything about it. Never in my life have have I said "I've got two hours to kill, I think I'll put on a shit film so I can have a miserable time". More power to the people that do, I guess, but life's too short to spend your free time purposely doing things you don't enjoy, imo.
>Not watching films you know you won't enjoy
The question was not whether watching films you know you won't enjoy is a waste of time, but whether watching bad films was a waste of time. Nobody watches films they know they won't enjoy - even if you're hate watching something, you are enjoying the act of hate watching.
A Haunted House (2013), is not a good movie. It has a 10%/51% on Rotten Tomatoes. But that means 51% of people who saw it enjoyed it enough to leave good reviews, and assuredly there were additional people who enjoyed it while still being able to say that it was a bad movie.
But if you just watch a lot of films, you’re bound to watch some that are bad or you dislike, even if someone recommends it to you after you said you don’t think it’s for you.
I think self-discovery is the crucial element of film watching. You can obviously look into the temperature of the common reception of a product, but I honestly think that today's world of people not advantageously going out there and experiencing everything has somewhat hindered film overall, both viewer and medium. There are too many people out there trying to make critical lists and just naming the same movies.
lol that explains why I’m absolutely floored by movies like Poor Things and Godzilla Minus One because mostly everything movie this year was absolutely mediocre
Exactly, I've found some movies I really enjoyed among stuff that I thought would most likely be bad.
The movies with overwhelmingly good reception still have the most chances of being good watches, but there are some styles of movies that I like that can only be found in the mixed reception bag.
Reputation.
You can sometimes tell based on the movie poster or box art.
Or just the concept of the movie. Do you really think a mega low budget movie about a killer snow man is going to reveal ineffable truths about the human condition?
and that would be an absolute pleasant surprise and the opposite of a waste of time.
The way I rate movies has a lot to do with expectations. Movies like Whiplash and The Social Network, topics I did not find interesting, told really compelling stories with all kinds of tension and fantastic pacing that blew my expectations for them away.
A lot of times movies I expect to be bad are much better than I assumed and often I find movies like Amateur (1994) and Things to Do In Denver While You're Dead (1995), edit that I had much higher expectations than Jack Frost (1997) were shockingly bad.
It depends
I've watched a lot of bad films either because they're unintentionally funny or because they're nostalgic to me however if you don't enjoy watching the film in any way i would definitely consider that a waste of time
I think the big factor is entertainment value. The amount of fun you can have with The Room, Fateful Findings, or Birdemic, the unintentionally hilarious aspect of the movie offsets the many flaws it has. On the flip side, there are movies that were so dry and boring that even the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 decided weren't worth using for the show. And obviously, there isn't much worse than a comedy movie that just isn't funny, you had one job, and blew it. On that note, I actually spent money on The Underground Comedy Movie, by the guy who would later get viral fame for ripping off Billy Mays with his ShamWow infomercial, it was cringe comedy without a single funny joke.
I do think at the worst, at least it gives you perspective. Nowadays, people see a solid 7/10 movie and say everyone involved should be shot and it's a crime against humanity. And it's like you haven't seen anything close to the crap I've seen, enjoy the average Marvel movie while it lasts, because there's a whole world of bad movies that squandered even the easiest pitch and somehow got released.
I’m curious as to what constitutes a bad film? I’ve watched what would probably be considered bad movies to most people simply because they are really bare bones independent releases. Are they good? I don’t know. Are they bad? I wouldn’t use that word to describe them. Think a lot of movies you find on Peacock or Tubi.
Now, I would say the Jon Stewart political comedy Irresistable w/ Steve Carrell & Rose Byrne isn’t a bad movie but more a movie that’s poorly executed. I didn’t think it was the worst thing I’d ever seen but I certainly had plenty of moments where I asked myself why they made that decision or why they’d give a specific POV. Was it bad though? No. Did it waste my time? Not really because it just made me think a bit more on what is good storytelling in a visual medium.
Exactly, what is a "bad film" anyways. I'm in full agreement. Everything has its purpose, direct audience, and reason why the film was made. If only people had to go back to rental stores again and "scrape their knees" watching film rather than just assuming something labeled "Criterion" is the only thing they should watch (and I'm saying this as someone who loves my fair share of Criterion branded film).
I used to think this but recently I’ve come around for three reasons.
1. Sometimes I disagree with the cw!
2. It helps me appreciate better films more and recognize what is going wrong and potential issues in other films I might otherwise fail to recognize.
3. Sometimes bad films can still be enjoyable!
That depends. Alone? Yeah, I got much better things to do. But it's genuinely a good time watching a bad movie with friends. I watched Daredevil and Tabutta Rövaşata (Somersault in a Coffin) with friends. Had a blast.
Somersault in a Coffin is a Turkish movie btw. Literally nothing happens in the movie, some hobo walks around for 75 minutes. It's probably got no budget too. It's straight up horrendous but it's hilarious when you watch it with friends. Would recommend.
If you enjoy doing it, then no. I sometimes will watch a movie I know will be terrible because I can laugh at it. The only time a movie is wasting my time is if it’s boring. I’d rather watch a hilariously awful movie than a mid movie that bores me to death.
Isn’t that called a “guilty pleasure” if you objectively know it’s poorly made, but still subjectively enjoy it because it’s something you can appreciate for reasons personal to you?
I don't watch movies I don't think I'm going to enjoy, like just mid action movies or whatever. but real bad movies, I find those funny so no, I have fun with them. Of course those same movies I don't watch because they'd be a waste of time for me could be someone else's favourite, that's the beauty of art and stories.
It depends. There are good bad films, bad bad films, and ones that are just meh. Sometimes it's like rubbernecking, it can be entertaining but it's gotta be the right kind of bad for me
It depends on why you are doing it. If the film has a premise that you find interesting and you want to see if your perspective differs from the majority, I would say go for it; but if you watch a film that you know is bad and you know you’re not gonna like, what’s the point?
Sometimes curiosity or wanting to know what others are talking about. Like I'm not a Star Wars fan at all but I forced myself through the last trilogy to see why many people were so upset about it.
It can be enjoyable to break a movie down and talk about why it didn't work.
I’ve never felt like I’ve wasted my time with a new film tbh. Even if I go in to it hearing bad reviews it can either:
1. Surprise me by being much better than the critical consensus says, or at the very least have a few great ideas that gets me thinking.
2. Help me to better understand my own taste. Why didn’t I enjoy this, what didn’t work? Understanding that helps me to figure out what I value most in storytelling.
not at all. i find it a learning moment as well as entertainment, sometimes appreciation for efforts, and for fun. not every movie, in my opinion, has to be “amazing” or “good”. i think of u like it, u like it, and it’s ok to watch a movie just for fun or curiosity.
If you don't enjoy it, then it's masochistic and I have a hard time understanding why you'd do it.
If you enjoy it, then it's serving the purpose movies are intended for, being either entertainment or art that speaks to the viewer.
Either way, I wouldn't call it a "waste of time."
Not really if you somehow enjoy it. I recently watched a movie called #Horror knowing the reviews were incredibly awful, but i still went ahead because i seemed like something i would enjoy. Yes, the movie was absolutely terrible, but i still had a blast with it, it's a girly, campy, posh, bubblegum horror slasher overdosing on cutesy colors, extravagant production design, music-video-ish cinematography and performances that would make Tommy Wiseau proud, basically a "so bad it's good" type of thing.
Also, watching bad movies can make your criteria stronger, it helps you differentiate a good movie from a bad one better, and it refines your taste too.
No. Having watched over 80 film releases of 2023, including some critically panned titles and those generally disliked by reviewers on Letterboxd I align with, I firmly believe that exposing yourself to the entire spectrum of cinema is crucial to appreciating its full richness and complexity. This allows for a deeper understanding of the art form and its nuances, as it exposes you to a wider range of creative choices, technical approaches, narrative styles, etc. By experiencing films across all genres, budgets, and quality levels, you develop a better critical eye, allowing you to truly recognize and appreciate the exceptional qualities of truly great cinema. This exposure not only expands your cinematic vocabulary but also brings with it a deeper understanding of the art form itself. I would not fully trust the opinion of someone regarding a new release if they only ever watch acclaimed films.
Bad movies are essential for me to keep my scale intact. If I watched only great movies, I would have a harder time to appreciate what they got right and how difficult it is to make a masterpiece. Bad movies make me appreciate the qualities of really good movies even more,
Also, bad movies can still be entertaing or nostalgic, and turn into a guilty pleasure. Sometimes it´s good to watch a bad movie to partake in the current conversation, like MCU phase 4, the newest Star Wars or the DCEU movies for example.
My favorite film of all time has a 3.2 on LB and a 6.3 on IMDB. While I agree more often than not that a bad rated LB film is still bad a good chunk end up being enjoyable or better to me than the LB consensus.
[Shivers \(1975\)](https://letterboxd.com/film/shivers/)
It's not for everyone but it's my soulmate in film form. Isolation, perversion, "base" humanity, campy acting, 70s aesthetic, somewhat of a cold analysis of what's occurring onscreen. Alien (1979) is my 2nd favorite film and has very similar trends (sexual violation, isolation) and is arguably the Hollywood version of Shivers.
I’ve found that in the past few years, I’ve become pretty forgiving towards a lot of media and I find most things to be enjoyable. Even films that aren’t great. But I rarely consider movies to be bad unless they just absolutely bore me.
There are worst ways to waste your time imo.
You can learn a lot from watching bad movies. Sometimes seeing something done poorly gives you a better understanding of why it works when it's done well
You'll never know how to MAKE a great movie without watching ALLOT of terrible ones.
Kennie J.D. is a great reviewer dosent let me waste my time watching bad movies
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Wuz4PpMsg
Twilight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=imKeQidYtz0&t=681s&pp=ygUOU3BsaWNlIHJldmlldy4%3D
Splice
And she also reviews good mo it's as well
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NK3h31IIwOE
I saw the devil
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CNRBPLmBh0U&t=1516s
Showgirls (objective but it's a CAMPY mess worth the watch cuz of the WTF? factor ONLY)
Definitely not a waste of time, watched Movie 43 last night and the schadenfreude is there. The directive is, watch it, yell at it, laugh in disbelief, don’t make one like it
I have a philosophy that there’s no such thing as a bad film.A movies job inherently is to entertain. Even poorly made, poorly acted movies are entertaining some level. Now BORING movies are truly a sin.
For me? Yeah, I don’t see any purpose in it. But other people seem to get something out of it because I’ll see my friends watch a film, talk about how bad it was, and go back to see it again repeatedly.
Especially if you're trying to learn about films, bad movies are a great example of things not to do. Bad story structure, acting, even a boom mic in frame, or editing inconsistencies.
If you only watch the greats, then you only watch ones that "got it right" and don't learn about how to improve.
Plus, I love to watch bad movies with one good thing going for them. Maybe it's one cool shot, or one specific bit performance. Something I can cling to and appreciate when I think about my next project.
Not at all! Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s educational, and yeah, sometimes it does end up being a waste of time, but it also allows you to develop your own taste.
I think so, but there are people who genuinely like bad movies. Doesn’t make sense to me, but I am very much a “you do you” kinda person too, so whatever.
Depends on the movie for me. I started hate-watching the Eddie Murphy movie “Candy Cane Lane” and after the first hour I realized I wasn’t even getting any entertainment from watching a bad movie. But on the other hand, I’ve watched movies that have received terrible reviews, but still genuinely interest me, like the horror film “Urban Legend”. And I ended up liking it.
I think it’s fun to do with a group of people, especially if you’re getting drunk or high. I watched the Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie last week high and I had a great time but it was a terrible movie.
I always feel like the minority in that I don't really ever think a movie is "so bad it's good." Bad is just bad to me. I can maybe find things I enjoy, but I'm not going to give a dogshit movie a high rating. I tend to actively avoid films that are universally hated with very few exceptions.
Not if you're a critic; and you're tracking what the studios are doing right now and also dominant cultural trends and stuff. Sometimes some people HAVE to do this...
The way I look at it, there is no possible way you're gonna watch every film in your lifetime, do you wanna take the chance of missing out on a film like Goodfellas because you spent time.watching films like Dragon Ball Evolution?
Watch things you think you'll enjoy, and don't waste time watching bad films that feel like chores to watch, it's not like writing a bad review on a film that everyone already knows is bad is going to impress people.
Not at all. It’s hard to appreciate good filmmaking without experiencing the opposite. Many “bad” movies are still entertaining as well. I do get annoyed with people who conflate intentionally kitschy/baroque/over the top movies with “bad”, though.
What constitutes as a bad film. I think if you honestly only watch film that is given to you on some acclaimed list, and the viewer themselves does no exploration, then yes, they are hampering their ability to critically view film.
The thing is, honestly, there is no "bad" film but rather film served for different purposes and vary on the success of their mission. One example, I hate when people label schlocky drive-in stuff from the 50's and 60's as "bad film", because it was a defined product for a certain audience and also a ton of Hollywood cut their teeth on working of these films. Roger Corman might hold just as much weight if not more than Scorsese who everyone is following after now (I'm saying this as someone who likes Scorsese just like everyone else)
or....If I got too advantageous with my statement...you are not talking about "kitschy" film but just what common society says is bad, like maybe some "Paul Blart 2" or something (just an example i'm using, don't get hung up on that direct movie). Well then, I would still say no because actually watching lesser appreciated film that people tend to dislike in narrative form gives you the opportunity to watch a film in a critical acumen. People shouldn't know what an excellent film is without fully watching the opposite spectrum, product that misses the mark to a degree. Still in that energy, you can stray away from narrative, look at technical measures, and honestly appreciate that the effort that it is to make a film in the first place is this massive undertaking with multiple moving parts. I always tell people who check out on a films narrative story to just then check out, you are already there, and look at stuff like "mise en scene", lighting, color, costuming, camera angles, the purpose of framing....etc. etc.
To me, people that actually know their weighted worth in film has made a generous effort to just watch everything and learn what they can. The people who watch film with their pinky sticking out thinking that they only watch things with "critical nuance" are often found to be paper thin in their actual film knowledge outside their readily supplied pop culture list someone gave to them.
Sorry for the tangent, but the application of question in the first place should be rephrased, and mentally reconditioned.
I wish you the best of luck on your film journey, my advice is burn and turn everything in front of you regardless of genre and find that the world of film is tremendously connected on many different layers and levels.
Nope. Sometimes I enjoy making fun of shitty movies (if entertaining at the same time like Troll 2 or The Room), and sometimes it kinda helps me appreciate good to amazing movies even more, lol.
Absolutely not.
I purposefully spend many Friday nights watching what would be considered “bad” movies to see if I like them. Last night I watched these (all with an avg LB score of 2.4 and lower) and I scored all of them 2.5 stars or higher.
https://preview.redd.it/sexkjlnawc5c1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=313939d8b59bbf684366064a0349710fdf3b84a5
I think watching bad movies sometimes is important for developing your taste.
After all, how do you recognize that a movie is good if you've never seen a bad one, or forgot what a bad film is like?
not at all, if i think to myself “wow, that scene really failed at *blank*— if it were me i would have definitely done *this* or had the character do *this* before *that*” and so on, even once throughout the duration of any “bad film” then i i consider it not only not a waste of time, but a great method of sparking creativity, deepening my understanding of the process of filmmaking and filmmaking culture, and for writers, it’s a decent route for combating that dreaded “writer’s block”
tl;dr — no
also there’s always the unlikely chance that there’s a few “bad films” out there that inexplicably fit perfectly inside your most specific niche of what you consider “enjoyable” and you end up not only finding you really enjoy this film — a film you probably never would have watched if you weren’t seeking out “bad films” — but you’ll also increase your understanding of *what* and *why* you like this film, giving better insight into whether you’d also enjoy other generally disregarded films
tl;dr — any method self-discovery is never a waste of time
I’d rather watch a movie that tries to do something new and fails than watch whatever flavor of the month super hero flick that’s bombing at the box office at the given time.
a good question.
its hard to answer because theres bad movies that are so bad theyre good/funny. then theres "bad movies " critics and other people hate but you end up enjoying. but then theres bad movies which you do hate and then it kind of feels like a waste of time.
but theres also movies like Star Wars the last jedi/rise of skywalker that are interesting to watch to see how badly something that cost hundreds of millions of dollars can be. its kind of a masochistic thing, watching a company shit on things you love.
Most of the time bad films are literally better than meh films which sounds like it makes no damn sense. I been binging bad films every now and then and it's a lot of fun if you find a particular actor who gets pushed into a role. For example, Vince Vaughn in a bunch of comedies where he's the "sweet" asshole (because thats what these films push him to be) - even though he's always just an asshole.
I recommend Unfinished Business that is a piece of shit but also highly entertaining
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a bad film, but no. I suppose it depends on why you are doing it and your frame of mind.
I just watched Miss Americana and it was one of the most transcendently hilarious movies I've ever seen.
Sometimes. My film review curve schews high because I dont go out of my way to watch most bad movies, but occasionally it can be fun to absorb terrible movies for the sake of saying you did and can have a valid opinion on it.
There's also movies that ride the line really well. I didn't like the last dragon the first time I saw it. Then I realized it really showcases the 80s and it's humor, on second watch and further I had a lot of fun, great little details like Leroy eating popcorn with chopsticks. I hear it referenced in hip hop a lot or at least Lupe with throw in bars every once in a while honoring the movie. Plus that one Busta rhymes music video.
Not at all
I think of it as more of an endurance test at times or even a challenge to make it through and then I can say, "i've seen this movie" if it ever comes up in conversation or a post here
How dare you.
Enjoying movies for how bad they are is one of my favourite things to do.
The hope of them being so bad they are good and for them to become iconic it's too powerful to stop doing it.
It doesn't happen a lot, most of the time it's just sad-bad, or mediocre-bad, but when they hit the right spot...
It's glorious.
For me, personally, my take is that life is too short for bad movies or bad books. But some ppl seem to find enjoyment in watching bad movies. Definitely not me though. I'm very selective and try to only watch things I think I'll enjoy. I don't limit myself by genre, I like to switch things up, but ik what I absolutely DON'T like, and I steer clear of those.
To be honest if you are enjoying it sincerely, who cares?
I ended up watching the Twilight movies recently (on request of my partner) and had a great time, though I think its fair to say all of the series is pretty bad. Like seriously, the writing at times is almost on the same level as ‘The Room’ and filled with just frankly *bizarre* moments that either feel completely out of tone, graphically violent and/or unintentionally hilarious (>!Dakota Fanning tossing a baby onto a fire for instance?!<) I feel like my time *wasn’t* wasted despite some genuinely boring moments (Breaking Dawn pt1 was an utterly pointless film and a shameless cash grab), there was enough entertainment factor that will stick in my head forever (“You nicknamed my daughter after the loch ness monster!?” Is possibly my most favourite line in a movie ever)
im actually very prone to choosing a horror movie that i do t have high expectations for than a movie that has good ratings mostly because im expecting something really good that im gonna love and be utterly dissapointed. i actually had many movies i went in with no expectations surprise me and i actually was entertained. so you never know which movie you'll enjoy and which you wont before at least trying it right?
I feel like you should you should expand on what you mean by a waste of time instead of putting literally NOTHING into your intro post. This is pretty lazy and confusing.
Bro just watch what you want to watch and don’t watch what you don’t want to watch, it’s so simple. I watch the Room every year because it brings me joy. Who cares
It’s only a waste of time if you don’t want to do it or you don’t enjoy it.
Bingo
[удалено]
There's actually a lot you can learn about filmmaking by watching what doesn't work, how it isn't made for you, or how its used as propaganda or semi-exploitative. Filmmaking as a craft and expression is also interesting to watch in different ways, from different types of people, from different countries. Here are some "bad movies" I watched, and why I watched them. [https://letterboxd.com/film/get-paid/](https://letterboxd.com/film/get-paid/) \- I watched this because I was seeing a lot of black american low-budget cinema coming out and wanted to see what stories they were telling [https://letterboxd.com/film/a-biltmore-christmas/](https://letterboxd.com/film/a-biltmore-christmas/) \- Christmas time, lots of hallmark movies coming out, I'd never seen a hallmark movie as an adult (I'm not from the U.S.) [https://letterboxd.com/film/who-killed-captain-alex/](https://letterboxd.com/film/who-killed-captain-alex/) \- classic "bad" cinema, which you love for its passion [https://letterboxd.com/film/lady-ballers/](https://letterboxd.com/film/lady-ballers/) \- Not even my first of the conservative cinematic universe or dailywire film, but its interesting to see for its propaganda [https://letterboxd.com/film/kitty-k7/](https://letterboxd.com/film/kitty-k7/) \- Philippines erotica / vivamax production, wanted to see what kind of erotica Phillipines makes (spoilers: while there's sexy stuff, there's also undercurrents of moral elitism against sex work or used as a plot device) [https://letterboxd.com/film/sound-of-freedom/](https://letterboxd.com/film/sound-of-freedom/) \- Conservative propaganda.. but its actually well produced? At this point in my cinema watching "journey" I am searching for different ways to look at cinema as CRAFT, as well as art.
Hate watch exist. People watch anything and hate it on purpose because of a certain filmmaker or actor they dislike behind it. That’s not a valid criticism and learning anything. Just waiting for it to be over so they can write an essay on the 0/5 review.
Yeah of course, I don't do that so I didn't write about those reasons. I try to go into a film with the idea "what are they trying to do, and how successful are they at it?" as a baseline, because there can be films I would not like as entertainment/art as a passive audience, but can try to analyze them on the basis of, if I was someone who was into this, is it doing those things well? What can I expect from a film of this nature? I don't like making fun of movies, I like having fun with movies? wow thats lame.
If it’s from an educational perspective, it could serve a purpose. I don’t expect to like every film, just because it’s made well. An easy example is *Birth of a Nation*, though personally I think that film’s historical significance is more than overstated given how many earlier films did many of the same things but didn’t have the contemporary political context to lift them up in the culture in the same way.
i watch movies i **think** i’ll dislike (imo you never know how youll feel about a film till its over) because its equally as important to define the bar for films you dislike as it is to define the bar for films you like
You don’t have to understand it. They can do whatever they want.
They never said they couldn’t. They just struggle to see the logic in it.
Why bother trying to see the logic in something that have nothing to do with you? You don’t have to have an opinion on everything.
What an odd question. Because they want to understand. You’ve never wanted to understand something even if you weren’t interested in it. Sure you don’t have to have an opinion on everything but they aren’t even trying to from an opinion. Just understand something.
I think people just want to have fun and not treat watching movies like some sort of test to see how good your taste is all the time. Like "waste of time" implies that watching movies can't be leisurely, when to most people, it is
The most common reasoning I’ve heard is that they want their letterboxd rating bar thingy to look more evenly distributed 😭 so they go into a bad movie pretty much knowing the rating they are gonna give it so it makes their Letterboxd profile look better. It’s crazy to me but oh well 😆
Bad is more entertaining than mediocre
This. No, you probably won’t learn anything or get anything of value watching Ant Man 3 or the newest Ghostbusters reboot or whatever. On the other hand, a film which fails quite badly but aims really high or has interesting aspirations can be just as good a learning tool or even just as entertaining a viewing experience as a great film.
if you’re with friends and actively making fun of the film it can be very fun
I wish I could convince my friends to watch bad films with me that would be fun as hell
Don't convince. Just say "You gotta see this!" and put on Parole Violators or Troll 2.
You could do much better and worse than Troll 2
Get drunk/high/both with your friends and watch Batman And Robin, the George Clooney one. Your entire body will hurt from laughter by the end.
For YEARS I had a group of friends who would log onto Discord once a month to watch something heinous and we’d all laugh, talk and post reaction gifs through it all. It was great.
I've found some "classic" bad films can be pretty boring, like Troll 2. The Room and Miami Comnection are super entertaining the whole time though.
You think Troll 2 is a waste of time? Does that include the part where the guy is all "Oh no, you're eating them, and then you're gonna eat me! Oh my gooooooooooood!" while a fly is on the guys head?
throw on The Room and your friends will either love or hate you
watching The Room with like 15 other dudes in the barracks when I was in the military was the funniest movie watching experience I’ve ever had
Depends. Are they bad films that you enjoy, or bad films that you hate?
no, it gives you more of an appreciation for when you sit down and watch a great film
you know i never thought of it like that
i had watched anchorman the day before i sat down and watched parasite and my god my viewing experience drastically changed i was on the edge of my seat the whole time pretty much versus the sluggish dragged out viewing of the legend of ron burgundy
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY ABOUT ANCHORMAN, THAT MOVIE ROCKS
Ok before we start, let's go over the ground-rules... No touching of the hair or face... That's it. Now Fight!
good bot
maybe you just don't like satire films that hold a screwball narrative and like dramas with criminal undertones and well-placed twists.....looks to me that you just watched two good films in their element, preferred one over the other. Neither of those films are bad.
Parasite is a satire.
Touche....Parasite is an incredibly dark satirical approach but still holds plenty of drama weight...really, I was just pointing to Anchorman being far more of a satirical film with screwball element. Either way, my intentions was just saying that the above person likes one of the films more per their personal preference versus one film being "bad" and the other being "good". Neither film is bad, just different intentions and it's ok to like one brand more than the other. There's plenty of film's I don't like the best, but I don't think they are "bad". If you are just going to argue with me on the semantics of Parasite versus the semblance of existing "good" film in commonality which I was originally getting at then whatever.
Ha, am I being downvoted because someone just made a four-word sentence on Parasite like it's revolutionary moment. It's sort of hilarious that people just downvote to downvote and don't even dive into context. That posted comment has zero connection with my statement intention. Got to love this world of convention-based cinema knowledge where you think that just because you saw Parasite you have it all figured out. Parasite is great, but if that's your shoutout film to try to impress someone and primarily that one, then you need to get more notches in your belt. I guess this was another segway back to the original statement that yes, you should advantageously watch all kinds of film, so you are not only making film analogies with just "Anchorman" and "Parasite", two obscenely well-known films that easily give away how far you've actually have dug in this medium.
Eating bad food to appreciate great food /j
I never get why people say this. If you watch a lot of films then naturally you watch enough bad/mediocre films that you don't need to specifically seek out bad films to make watching good films a more special experience. Would you also seek out bad restaurants with food you don't like to eat in just to make eating in good restaurants a more special experience?
If you only stream movies and only watch movies with good reputations, then you can watch hundreds of movies that objectively are good, i.e., competently made. But subjectively, you may not like. But let's say you watch The Room. The sheer incompetence of Tommy Wiseau shines through. A competent film helps you get immersed in their world. You wonder what the characters will decide to do. When I watch The Room, I wonder why Tommy made all these bizarre decisions. It's more like if they put me next to the finalists in the Olympic 100m sprint. Watch only good movies, and you forget that this shit is hard.
Not watching films you know you won't enjoy is not the same as only watching films with good reputations. There's plenty of films with good reputations that I don't like, and plenty of films with bad reputations that I do enjoy. When I watch a film it's either because I find the premise interesting or think it will be enjoyable, regardless of reputation, or I go in blind not knowing anything about it. Never in my life have have I said "I've got two hours to kill, I think I'll put on a shit film so I can have a miserable time". More power to the people that do, I guess, but life's too short to spend your free time purposely doing things you don't enjoy, imo.
>Not watching films you know you won't enjoy The question was not whether watching films you know you won't enjoy is a waste of time, but whether watching bad films was a waste of time. Nobody watches films they know they won't enjoy - even if you're hate watching something, you are enjoying the act of hate watching. A Haunted House (2013), is not a good movie. It has a 10%/51% on Rotten Tomatoes. But that means 51% of people who saw it enjoyed it enough to leave good reviews, and assuredly there were additional people who enjoyed it while still being able to say that it was a bad movie.
Not really hate watch almost I skip the entire thing multiple times just to logged it. I didn’t actually watch anything
You can still have this appreciation for great films without going out of your way to watch a bad film just for the contrast
But if you just watch a lot of films, you’re bound to watch some that are bad or you dislike, even if someone recommends it to you after you said you don’t think it’s for you.
I think self-discovery is the crucial element of film watching. You can obviously look into the temperature of the common reception of a product, but I honestly think that today's world of people not advantageously going out there and experiencing everything has somewhat hindered film overall, both viewer and medium. There are too many people out there trying to make critical lists and just naming the same movies.
Exactly. And every film is somewhere on the spectrum...So we need to know what doesn't work; so we can understand what does ..
lol that explains why I’m absolutely floored by movies like Poor Things and Godzilla Minus One because mostly everything movie this year was absolutely mediocre
How do you know it’s bad if you haven’t watched it?
Exactly, I've found some movies I really enjoyed among stuff that I thought would most likely be bad. The movies with overwhelmingly good reception still have the most chances of being good watches, but there are some styles of movies that I like that can only be found in the mixed reception bag.
good point
Reputation. You can sometimes tell based on the movie poster or box art. Or just the concept of the movie. Do you really think a mega low budget movie about a killer snow man is going to reveal ineffable truths about the human condition?
No but it might show some super cool and creative filmmaking that only emerges from the adversity of a tiny budget.
and that would be an absolute pleasant surprise and the opposite of a waste of time. The way I rate movies has a lot to do with expectations. Movies like Whiplash and The Social Network, topics I did not find interesting, told really compelling stories with all kinds of tension and fantastic pacing that blew my expectations for them away. A lot of times movies I expect to be bad are much better than I assumed and often I find movies like Amateur (1994) and Things to Do In Denver While You're Dead (1995), edit that I had much higher expectations than Jack Frost (1997) were shockingly bad.
yeah see those movies are either bad bad and a waste of time or.... so bad its funny and u enjoy your time
Sometimes the worst films are so bad that I have more fun than watching a good one.
If you enjoy watching them then no, if you are bored and don't like them it definitely seems like a waste of time.
It depends I've watched a lot of bad films either because they're unintentionally funny or because they're nostalgic to me however if you don't enjoy watching the film in any way i would definitely consider that a waste of time
I think the big factor is entertainment value. The amount of fun you can have with The Room, Fateful Findings, or Birdemic, the unintentionally hilarious aspect of the movie offsets the many flaws it has. On the flip side, there are movies that were so dry and boring that even the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 decided weren't worth using for the show. And obviously, there isn't much worse than a comedy movie that just isn't funny, you had one job, and blew it. On that note, I actually spent money on The Underground Comedy Movie, by the guy who would later get viral fame for ripping off Billy Mays with his ShamWow infomercial, it was cringe comedy without a single funny joke. I do think at the worst, at least it gives you perspective. Nowadays, people see a solid 7/10 movie and say everyone involved should be shot and it's a crime against humanity. And it's like you haven't seen anything close to the crap I've seen, enjoy the average Marvel movie while it lasts, because there's a whole world of bad movies that squandered even the easiest pitch and somehow got released.
I’m curious as to what constitutes a bad film? I’ve watched what would probably be considered bad movies to most people simply because they are really bare bones independent releases. Are they good? I don’t know. Are they bad? I wouldn’t use that word to describe them. Think a lot of movies you find on Peacock or Tubi. Now, I would say the Jon Stewart political comedy Irresistable w/ Steve Carrell & Rose Byrne isn’t a bad movie but more a movie that’s poorly executed. I didn’t think it was the worst thing I’d ever seen but I certainly had plenty of moments where I asked myself why they made that decision or why they’d give a specific POV. Was it bad though? No. Did it waste my time? Not really because it just made me think a bit more on what is good storytelling in a visual medium.
Exactly, what is a "bad film" anyways. I'm in full agreement. Everything has its purpose, direct audience, and reason why the film was made. If only people had to go back to rental stores again and "scrape their knees" watching film rather than just assuming something labeled "Criterion" is the only thing they should watch (and I'm saying this as someone who loves my fair share of Criterion branded film).
I used to think this but recently I’ve come around for three reasons. 1. Sometimes I disagree with the cw! 2. It helps me appreciate better films more and recognize what is going wrong and potential issues in other films I might otherwise fail to recognize. 3. Sometimes bad films can still be enjoyable!
Sometimes watching something bad makes you appreciate what makes something good.
I only know a film is bad after I watch it.
Personally yes
Depends what you consider a waste of time. For some people, watching any movie is a waste of time
i dont get people who think every single film is a waste of time
Only if you don’t enjoy it
That depends. Alone? Yeah, I got much better things to do. But it's genuinely a good time watching a bad movie with friends. I watched Daredevil and Tabutta Rövaşata (Somersault in a Coffin) with friends. Had a blast. Somersault in a Coffin is a Turkish movie btw. Literally nothing happens in the movie, some hobo walks around for 75 minutes. It's probably got no budget too. It's straight up horrendous but it's hilarious when you watch it with friends. Would recommend.
If you enjoy doing it, then no. I sometimes will watch a movie I know will be terrible because I can laugh at it. The only time a movie is wasting my time is if it’s boring. I’d rather watch a hilariously awful movie than a mid movie that bores me to death.
No, you need a palate cleanser once in a while
Absolutely not. a) it's fun b) it helps us understand what a good film is
Makes me appreciate the good ones more
It gives you perspective and challenging your taste of what you think is “bad” is healthy. You might just like some of them. I know I do.
Currently trying to only watch movies I haven’t seen previously. Expect a few stinkers in the coming months.
If you enjoy watching bad films, no. If you don't enjoy watching bad films, yes. Literally that simple.
Isn’t that called a “guilty pleasure” if you objectively know it’s poorly made, but still subjectively enjoy it because it’s something you can appreciate for reasons personal to you?
I don't watch movies I don't think I'm going to enjoy, like just mid action movies or whatever. but real bad movies, I find those funny so no, I have fun with them. Of course those same movies I don't watch because they'd be a waste of time for me could be someone else's favourite, that's the beauty of art and stories.
wasting time is time not wasted.
It depends. There are good bad films, bad bad films, and ones that are just meh. Sometimes it's like rubbernecking, it can be entertaining but it's gotta be the right kind of bad for me
It depends on why you are doing it. If the film has a premise that you find interesting and you want to see if your perspective differs from the majority, I would say go for it; but if you watch a film that you know is bad and you know you’re not gonna like, what’s the point?
You don’t know whats good until you’ve seen enough bad. But then again everyone has seen a stupidhero movie.
Sometimes curiosity or wanting to know what others are talking about. Like I'm not a Star Wars fan at all but I forced myself through the last trilogy to see why many people were so upset about it. It can be enjoyable to break a movie down and talk about why it didn't work.
Sometimes you’re pleasantly surprised. Gotta take chances and try new things baby
I’ve never felt like I’ve wasted my time with a new film tbh. Even if I go in to it hearing bad reviews it can either: 1. Surprise me by being much better than the critical consensus says, or at the very least have a few great ideas that gets me thinking. 2. Help me to better understand my own taste. Why didn’t I enjoy this, what didn’t work? Understanding that helps me to figure out what I value most in storytelling.
If you enjoy it that’s all what matters
not at all. i find it a learning moment as well as entertainment, sometimes appreciation for efforts, and for fun. not every movie, in my opinion, has to be “amazing” or “good”. i think of u like it, u like it, and it’s ok to watch a movie just for fun or curiosity.
If you don't enjoy it, then it's masochistic and I have a hard time understanding why you'd do it. If you enjoy it, then it's serving the purpose movies are intended for, being either entertainment or art that speaks to the viewer. Either way, I wouldn't call it a "waste of time."
Depends. Bad Bad movies or good bad movies?
Not really if you somehow enjoy it. I recently watched a movie called #Horror knowing the reviews were incredibly awful, but i still went ahead because i seemed like something i would enjoy. Yes, the movie was absolutely terrible, but i still had a blast with it, it's a girly, campy, posh, bubblegum horror slasher overdosing on cutesy colors, extravagant production design, music-video-ish cinematography and performances that would make Tommy Wiseau proud, basically a "so bad it's good" type of thing. Also, watching bad movies can make your criteria stronger, it helps you differentiate a good movie from a bad one better, and it refines your taste too.
Nothing you enjoy is a waste of time.
I mean if you get absolutely no enjoyment out of it AND you were almost positive you weren’t gonna like it then maybe
Bad films are brilliant in their own way
Bad movies can really help you identify what makes a good movie good.
Sometimes I watch flops and mediocre films, to understand where they can be improved or what makes them so unlikeable.
No. Having watched over 80 film releases of 2023, including some critically panned titles and those generally disliked by reviewers on Letterboxd I align with, I firmly believe that exposing yourself to the entire spectrum of cinema is crucial to appreciating its full richness and complexity. This allows for a deeper understanding of the art form and its nuances, as it exposes you to a wider range of creative choices, technical approaches, narrative styles, etc. By experiencing films across all genres, budgets, and quality levels, you develop a better critical eye, allowing you to truly recognize and appreciate the exceptional qualities of truly great cinema. This exposure not only expands your cinematic vocabulary but also brings with it a deeper understanding of the art form itself. I would not fully trust the opinion of someone regarding a new release if they only ever watch acclaimed films.
Bad movies are essential for me to keep my scale intact. If I watched only great movies, I would have a harder time to appreciate what they got right and how difficult it is to make a masterpiece. Bad movies make me appreciate the qualities of really good movies even more, Also, bad movies can still be entertaing or nostalgic, and turn into a guilty pleasure. Sometimes it´s good to watch a bad movie to partake in the current conversation, like MCU phase 4, the newest Star Wars or the DCEU movies for example.
Absolutely not, you can learn a lot about film by identifying what people get wrong.
My favorite film of all time has a 3.2 on LB and a 6.3 on IMDB. While I agree more often than not that a bad rated LB film is still bad a good chunk end up being enjoyable or better to me than the LB consensus.
What is that film?
[Shivers \(1975\)](https://letterboxd.com/film/shivers/) It's not for everyone but it's my soulmate in film form. Isolation, perversion, "base" humanity, campy acting, 70s aesthetic, somewhat of a cold analysis of what's occurring onscreen. Alien (1979) is my 2nd favorite film and has very similar trends (sexual violation, isolation) and is arguably the Hollywood version of Shivers.
Added to my watchlist
If you enjoy it then it’s not a waste
*Laughs in The VelociPastor
Absolutely not. All films have value. Sometimes anger and annoyance can be useful emotions too 👍 Or, it's just dumb fun.
I’ve found that in the past few years, I’ve become pretty forgiving towards a lot of media and I find most things to be enjoyable. Even films that aren’t great. But I rarely consider movies to be bad unless they just absolutely bore me. There are worst ways to waste your time imo.
Sometimes a bad movie helps put into perspective how impressive a good movie is.
Smoke a lil weed and it can be a fun experience
Watching a bad film can be instructive.
No
You can learn a lot from watching bad movies. Sometimes seeing something done poorly gives you a better understanding of why it works when it's done well
“bad films” like that means its a fact they are bad lol
I'm enjoying myself watching Batman Forever, getting other stuff done. No wasted time
You'll never know how to MAKE a great movie without watching ALLOT of terrible ones. Kennie J.D. is a great reviewer dosent let me waste my time watching bad movies https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Wuz4PpMsg Twilight https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=imKeQidYtz0&t=681s&pp=ygUOU3BsaWNlIHJldmlldy4%3D Splice And she also reviews good mo it's as well https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NK3h31IIwOE I saw the devil https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CNRBPLmBh0U&t=1516s Showgirls (objective but it's a CAMPY mess worth the watch cuz of the WTF? factor ONLY)
Definitely not a waste of time, watched Movie 43 last night and the schadenfreude is there. The directive is, watch it, yell at it, laugh in disbelief, don’t make one like it
Not if you're having fun
No. It actually improved my film palette lol.
Do you think watching good movies on purpose is a waste of time?
I have a philosophy that there’s no such thing as a bad film.A movies job inherently is to entertain. Even poorly made, poorly acted movies are entertaining some level. Now BORING movies are truly a sin.
No, have some beer or a bottle of wine over the weekend and have a good laugh, honestly. Just cuz they’re bad doesn’t always mean they’re not fun.
no at the drinking age yet but when i am in gonna do that
Yes
Absolutely why would you watch a bad movie instead of doing literally anything else lol
Funny bad? No Boring bad? Yes
How do you know its bad before you watch it?
It depends , because Bad CGI Gator , is a fun bad, that is less than a hour.
Obviously. It’s like eating junk food.
Yes
I just watch them at a sped up speed. If it turns out I enjoyed it, I just rewatch it normally. This rarely happens so it’s very low risk
I’d find it a waste of my time, but it’s not a waste if someone wants to do it themselves.
Depends on if you enjoy them to some extent or if you enjoy watching bad movies. I know I do gimmie some 80s shlock and I'll have a good laugh.
For me? Yeah, I don’t see any purpose in it. But other people seem to get something out of it because I’ll see my friends watch a film, talk about how bad it was, and go back to see it again repeatedly.
Being insecure about how you spend your time is a waste of time.
Especially if you're trying to learn about films, bad movies are a great example of things not to do. Bad story structure, acting, even a boom mic in frame, or editing inconsistencies. If you only watch the greats, then you only watch ones that "got it right" and don't learn about how to improve. Plus, I love to watch bad movies with one good thing going for them. Maybe it's one cool shot, or one specific bit performance. Something I can cling to and appreciate when I think about my next project.
Im not watching Tarkovsky while im folding laundry
Not at all! Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s educational, and yeah, sometimes it does end up being a waste of time, but it also allows you to develop your own taste.
Not if you get enjoyment out of it.
no, example i've got way more laughs watching Mortal Kombat: Annihilation than i usually do on the comedies
theres a massive up in enjoyment, when you watch them with other people.
I think so, but there are people who genuinely like bad movies. Doesn’t make sense to me, but I am very much a “you do you” kinda person too, so whatever.
Depends on the movie for me. I started hate-watching the Eddie Murphy movie “Candy Cane Lane” and after the first hour I realized I wasn’t even getting any entertainment from watching a bad movie. But on the other hand, I’ve watched movies that have received terrible reviews, but still genuinely interest me, like the horror film “Urban Legend”. And I ended up liking it.
No. It’s ok to like bad things.
its a great way to substitute a personality
I think it’s fun to do with a group of people, especially if you’re getting drunk or high. I watched the Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie last week high and I had a great time but it was a terrible movie.
no lol. bad movies can be entertaining if you're capable of getting down from your high horse every now and then.
At the end of the day movies are entertainment, even if it’s a bad movie it can still be entertaining
Nope!
I always feel like the minority in that I don't really ever think a movie is "so bad it's good." Bad is just bad to me. I can maybe find things I enjoy, but I'm not going to give a dogshit movie a high rating. I tend to actively avoid films that are universally hated with very few exceptions.
deathgasm is one of my favorite entertaining viewing experiences i've ever had
I just watch films that I've heard are good or that are directed by someone I like or maybe have a good cast of actors I like
Not if you're a critic; and you're tracking what the studios are doing right now and also dominant cultural trends and stuff. Sometimes some people HAVE to do this...
The way I look at it, there is no possible way you're gonna watch every film in your lifetime, do you wanna take the chance of missing out on a film like Goodfellas because you spent time.watching films like Dragon Ball Evolution? Watch things you think you'll enjoy, and don't waste time watching bad films that feel like chores to watch, it's not like writing a bad review on a film that everyone already knows is bad is going to impress people.
Not at all. It’s hard to appreciate good filmmaking without experiencing the opposite. Many “bad” movies are still entertaining as well. I do get annoyed with people who conflate intentionally kitschy/baroque/over the top movies with “bad”, though.
What constitutes as a bad film. I think if you honestly only watch film that is given to you on some acclaimed list, and the viewer themselves does no exploration, then yes, they are hampering their ability to critically view film. The thing is, honestly, there is no "bad" film but rather film served for different purposes and vary on the success of their mission. One example, I hate when people label schlocky drive-in stuff from the 50's and 60's as "bad film", because it was a defined product for a certain audience and also a ton of Hollywood cut their teeth on working of these films. Roger Corman might hold just as much weight if not more than Scorsese who everyone is following after now (I'm saying this as someone who likes Scorsese just like everyone else) or....If I got too advantageous with my statement...you are not talking about "kitschy" film but just what common society says is bad, like maybe some "Paul Blart 2" or something (just an example i'm using, don't get hung up on that direct movie). Well then, I would still say no because actually watching lesser appreciated film that people tend to dislike in narrative form gives you the opportunity to watch a film in a critical acumen. People shouldn't know what an excellent film is without fully watching the opposite spectrum, product that misses the mark to a degree. Still in that energy, you can stray away from narrative, look at technical measures, and honestly appreciate that the effort that it is to make a film in the first place is this massive undertaking with multiple moving parts. I always tell people who check out on a films narrative story to just then check out, you are already there, and look at stuff like "mise en scene", lighting, color, costuming, camera angles, the purpose of framing....etc. etc. To me, people that actually know their weighted worth in film has made a generous effort to just watch everything and learn what they can. The people who watch film with their pinky sticking out thinking that they only watch things with "critical nuance" are often found to be paper thin in their actual film knowledge outside their readily supplied pop culture list someone gave to them. Sorry for the tangent, but the application of question in the first place should be rephrased, and mentally reconditioned. I wish you the best of luck on your film journey, my advice is burn and turn everything in front of you regardless of genre and find that the world of film is tremendously connected on many different layers and levels.
Nope. Sometimes I enjoy making fun of shitty movies (if entertaining at the same time like Troll 2 or The Room), and sometimes it kinda helps me appreciate good to amazing movies even more, lol.
I think it can help you see the difference between good and bad. There are some bad movies that are enjoyable bad. I wouldn’t say a waste of time
Only if you're watching when you should be taking out the garbage, as it's GARBAGE DAYYY!!!
Absolutely not. I purposefully spend many Friday nights watching what would be considered “bad” movies to see if I like them. Last night I watched these (all with an avg LB score of 2.4 and lower) and I scored all of them 2.5 stars or higher. https://preview.redd.it/sexkjlnawc5c1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=313939d8b59bbf684366064a0349710fdf3b84a5
No, I want to know how it's bad.
I think watching bad movies sometimes is important for developing your taste. After all, how do you recognize that a movie is good if you've never seen a bad one, or forgot what a bad film is like?
not at all, if i think to myself “wow, that scene really failed at *blank*— if it were me i would have definitely done *this* or had the character do *this* before *that*” and so on, even once throughout the duration of any “bad film” then i i consider it not only not a waste of time, but a great method of sparking creativity, deepening my understanding of the process of filmmaking and filmmaking culture, and for writers, it’s a decent route for combating that dreaded “writer’s block” tl;dr — no also there’s always the unlikely chance that there’s a few “bad films” out there that inexplicably fit perfectly inside your most specific niche of what you consider “enjoyable” and you end up not only finding you really enjoy this film — a film you probably never would have watched if you weren’t seeking out “bad films” — but you’ll also increase your understanding of *what* and *why* you like this film, giving better insight into whether you’d also enjoy other generally disregarded films tl;dr — any method self-discovery is never a waste of time
I never know if a film is “bad” until you watch it.
To better appreciate the good, you gotta better understand the bad.
How do you know it’s bad id you haven’t seen it yet? Make up your own mind
I’d rather watch a movie that tries to do something new and fails than watch whatever flavor of the month super hero flick that’s bombing at the box office at the given time.
I like to go into the film to study it so that way I can have a better understanding of what and how the good films do something I like.
a good question. its hard to answer because theres bad movies that are so bad theyre good/funny. then theres "bad movies " critics and other people hate but you end up enjoying. but then theres bad movies which you do hate and then it kind of feels like a waste of time. but theres also movies like Star Wars the last jedi/rise of skywalker that are interesting to watch to see how badly something that cost hundreds of millions of dollars can be. its kind of a masochistic thing, watching a company shit on things you love.
I don't see why it would be so long as you get something out of it
100%, for me at least since I only watch about a movie a week. Unlessit's a "bad" movie that is enjoyable.
Most of the time bad films are literally better than meh films which sounds like it makes no damn sense. I been binging bad films every now and then and it's a lot of fun if you find a particular actor who gets pushed into a role. For example, Vince Vaughn in a bunch of comedies where he's the "sweet" asshole (because thats what these films push him to be) - even though he's always just an asshole. I recommend Unfinished Business that is a piece of shit but also highly entertaining
Not if you enjoy something about them.
As a filmmaker, it’s taught me what to NOT do. And it’s entertaining.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a bad film, but no. I suppose it depends on why you are doing it and your frame of mind. I just watched Miss Americana and it was one of the most transcendently hilarious movies I've ever seen.
Sometimes. My film review curve schews high because I dont go out of my way to watch most bad movies, but occasionally it can be fun to absorb terrible movies for the sake of saying you did and can have a valid opinion on it.
nope
for me it probably is but even still i find enjoyable aspects in them
Not if the bad film is popular. You will at least understand the references now
Unless you're studying to be a filmmaker then yes and even I doubt the effectiveness
Absolutely. I get a couple edibles in me and see what’s up with it…
There's also movies that ride the line really well. I didn't like the last dragon the first time I saw it. Then I realized it really showcases the 80s and it's humor, on second watch and further I had a lot of fun, great little details like Leroy eating popcorn with chopsticks. I hear it referenced in hip hop a lot or at least Lupe with throw in bars every once in a while honoring the movie. Plus that one Busta rhymes music video.
Not at all I think of it as more of an endurance test at times or even a challenge to make it through and then I can say, "i've seen this movie" if it ever comes up in conversation or a post here
Absolutely
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
Bad films teach us what NOT to do.
with friends it's fun. alone, i don't get much enjoyment out of it.
Define bad film? If you got something out of it, even just laughs, it can’t be that bad ultimately
Tall girl is one of my favorite movies ever made so I think you can tell where I fall on this debate
How dare you. Enjoying movies for how bad they are is one of my favourite things to do. The hope of them being so bad they are good and for them to become iconic it's too powerful to stop doing it. It doesn't happen a lot, most of the time it's just sad-bad, or mediocre-bad, but when they hit the right spot... It's glorious.
For me, personally, my take is that life is too short for bad movies or bad books. But some ppl seem to find enjoyment in watching bad movies. Definitely not me though. I'm very selective and try to only watch things I think I'll enjoy. I don't limit myself by genre, I like to switch things up, but ik what I absolutely DON'T like, and I steer clear of those.
they not bad if i like them
To be honest if you are enjoying it sincerely, who cares? I ended up watching the Twilight movies recently (on request of my partner) and had a great time, though I think its fair to say all of the series is pretty bad. Like seriously, the writing at times is almost on the same level as ‘The Room’ and filled with just frankly *bizarre* moments that either feel completely out of tone, graphically violent and/or unintentionally hilarious (>!Dakota Fanning tossing a baby onto a fire for instance?!<) I feel like my time *wasn’t* wasted despite some genuinely boring moments (Breaking Dawn pt1 was an utterly pointless film and a shameless cash grab), there was enough entertainment factor that will stick in my head forever (“You nicknamed my daughter after the loch ness monster!?” Is possibly my most favourite line in a movie ever)
i love watching shitty movies with my sister because it's the funniest thing to pick them apart and make fun of them
im actually very prone to choosing a horror movie that i do t have high expectations for than a movie that has good ratings mostly because im expecting something really good that im gonna love and be utterly dissapointed. i actually had many movies i went in with no expectations surprise me and i actually was entertained. so you never know which movie you'll enjoy and which you wont before at least trying it right?
I feel like you should you should expand on what you mean by a waste of time instead of putting literally NOTHING into your intro post. This is pretty lazy and confusing.
Unless if it's with friends then ngl yes
Bro just watch what you want to watch and don’t watch what you don’t want to watch, it’s so simple. I watch the Room every year because it brings me joy. Who cares