Judging a book by its cover

Cyberian:_trusted_user:Posted at 2021-07-28 03:39:14(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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We were always told to never judge a book by its cover, but with the influx of badly made low budget movie productions its become rather valuable to develop a keen eye in order to evaluate whether a film is worth clicking on based on the cover 'art'.
Has anyone found a movie to be worthwhile despite the tacky first impression of the cheaply made movie cover?

 
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kentk9:_trusted_user::_sitefriend::_male::_sitelover::_junkie::_kitty::_sun::_turtle:Posted at 2021-07-28 03:57:28(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Howdy Cyberian:_trusted_user:. Good question. I'll take your proposition and raise you $100. In my experience, flashy covers often hide crappy movies. Not always, but often. And vice-versa. Crappy, boring covers often yield good flicks. The most recent example I can think of is Lansky. The cover looked awful but the movie was good. I look at the cover shot, but I don't rely on it. I read the plot synopsis first, because you can sometimes spot a crappy low-budget movie by the long, overzealous description. Then I look at the screen grabs - and then I read the comments here and / or on IMDb. If all that fails, I roll the dice. :_:-@  In my humble opinion, I think the old adage is still true. You can't (usually) judge a book (or a movie) by its cover.

Last edited by kentk9 on 2021-07-28 08:20:15


 
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Cyberian:_trusted_user:Posted at 2021-07-28 22:14:54(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Hi ya kentk9! Good to hear from you, I just wrote an entire paragraph in response to your lazy dog day weekend and when I clicked to post I got a message I only  apparently allow trusted and VIP members to post.:_:? ...and my reply vanished.  Anyways, I get your angle but I thought the Lansky cover looked intriguing in a stylish minimalist manner and when I saw Keitel played in it I knew it was a must see. I love the independent films that are high quality despite a low budget just by the artistic and creative vision of those involved. It's indeed the overly flashy and garish  but cheaply made covers that usually hide some real stinkers that I can't even bring myself to click on.

 
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kentk9:_trusted_user::_sitefriend::_male::_sitelover::_junkie::_kitty::_sun::_turtle:Posted at 2021-07-29 00:49:38(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Hey bud! Sorry to hear about your vanishing paragraph but I see your username has turned blue now. Which means you have been promoted to trusted user. You're makin' progress. To your topic: I actually forgot to mention the who's who in the cast as another one of the factors I look at before commencing download. When you mentioned Harvey Keitel, the light came on. So yeah, I think we're all drawn immediately to the cover art; it's the first impression we get of the film. But it's only the first impression. And it's just not reliable enough -  on its own - to say whether the flick is worth watching or not. I stand by the wholistic approach. Cover, synopsis, screen shots, reviews - and who's starring in it. Taking all five of those aspects into account is the best way to go, imho.

Anyway, welcome to the land of the living. You look good in blue. :_:-)

Last edited by kentk9 on 2021-07-29 01:15:13


 
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Cyberian:_trusted_user:Posted at 2021-07-29 04:17:17(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Sweet! I appreciate the trusted status and now my name in blue matches my profile picture and at some days my mood. :_;)
Anyways I certainly agree with your 5 step plan to check if a movie is worthwhile but I would add a sixth step to that and that's a movie trailer if available.
So do you click on every single film to evaluate its potential because there are definitely films that I can't be bothered to investigate based on the cover.
Since I'm not a horror aficionado those cheaply made horror movies are usually a hard pass but also the amateur westerns made in a weekend as a hobby project that seem to pop up on the regular I just skip.

 
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kentk9:_trusted_user::_sitefriend::_male::_sitelover::_junkie::_kitty::_sun::_turtle:Posted at 2021-07-29 07:22:06(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Cyberian wrote:

Sweet! I appreciate the trusted status and now my name in blue matches my profile picture and at some days my mood. :_;)
Anyways I certainly agree with your 5 step plan to check if a movie is worthwhile but I would add a sixth step to that and that's a movie trailer if available.
So do you click on every single film to evaluate its potential because there are definitely films that I can't be bothered to investigate based on the cover.
Since I'm not a horror aficionado those cheaply made horror movies are usually a hard pass but also the amateur westerns made in a weekend as a hobby project that seem to pop up on the regular I just skip.
Hi bud!

The short answer is 'nope'. Like you mentioned, sometimes the genre doesn't interest me. I'm not a big fan of horror flicks or animated flicks or love stories or sports documentaries, so I will usually pass on those without going through the 5 step method. :_:-) For today, I've settled on F9 (despite the awful reviews) and The Day The Earth Stood Still - from the Classic category. That should keep me busy until something better pops up.

PS: You're right. If there's a trailer, I watch it. :_eyes Make that a six step method. :_facepalm

Last edited by kentk9 on 2021-07-29 07:59:01


 
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Cyberian:_trusted_user:Posted at 2021-07-29 15:13:04(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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Howdie dude!

I think we should make an orchestrated effort to introduce the Torrent Galaxy public to the Kentk9 'Six Step Method of Movie Evaluation', in order to help people make an informed decision on whether or not to download a movie.
Whaddayathink?

P.S. if you are still looking for a few good films, check my user picks to see if there's any you haven't seen yet. They're all solid movies that I highly recommend.

 
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kentk9:_trusted_user::_sitefriend::_male::_sitelover::_junkie::_kitty::_sun::_turtle:Posted at 2021-07-29 15:42:18(142Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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lol. Is there any money in it?  :_:-)

But seriously, I will check out your movie picks!

My students are on summer break now, so I've got time.

 
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Cyberian:_trusted_user:Posted at 2021-07-30 07:51:00(141Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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We could start with a seminar introduction to the Six Step Method program at the Davos mountain retreat in the Swiss Alps?
Should probably be affordable for all those Daddy BigBucks and Missy MoneyBags that frequent this site right?

 
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kentk9:_trusted_user::_sitefriend::_male::_sitelover::_junkie::_kitty::_sun::_turtle:Posted at 2021-07-30 09:33:25(141Wks ago) Report Permalink URL 
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You had me at Davos. Throw in free beer and I'll start packing. :_B)

 
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