Re: Do they grow on you, or were you influenced?

Excellent points Bob. Gives us something to think about.

Maybe I should clarify my original post - not to be influenced by other posts, but because over time my original post grows on me too ;)

I think the comment about "learning to appreciate the director's vision" could be a thread unto itself, so let's put that aside.

Gut instinct is something we all have. For instance, after walking out of Spielberg's War of the Worlds, my gut told me it was a bad movie. Sure there were classic Spielberg moments: carnage, kids in peril, family in crisis, technology vs humanity - typical formula. I rented the DVD and watched bits and pieces while channel surfing, but the film suffers from many problems which do not improve with repeat viewings.

Take another film, perhaps an extreme example - Waking Life. The first time through one suffers from mental overload trying to take in the visuals and try to pay attention to the heavy dialogue. A film like that you need multiple viewings just to catch everything.

Another often cited film, 2001, is one of my favorites. However it was not until I read the book and other writings about the film that I truly began to develop an understanding of the work, and move beyond simply a fascination with the visuals.

As far as "not liking a movie" and then determining that I do like it, after learning more about it - is this turning a blind eye to my own instinct? I don't think so. Take Hamlet - a play everyone reads in high school. I recently read Hamlet again fro the first time and aside from remembering the odd memorable line as one was required to memorize as a kid, this was a fresh new story full of wit and drama. I have not been influenced by popular culture or critical reading telling me how great Hamlet is. Rather, I have matured and become more educated myself, thus making me a better recipient of Shakespeare's "genius."

Relating this to film - I believe that one can view a film and just "watch" it the first time through, then "see" the film on repeated viewings. The more you see it, the more you see of it.

Opinions may vary - the beauty of film criticism is everyone's opinion can be correct. As a group we can help one another appreciate opposing opinions, interpretations and meanings. Yes, we can even convince each other that a good film is great or that a bad film is less great.

Mike