How do you pick a movie to watch?

Sometimes I look at the streaming sites and then look by genre, depending on my mood. I like documentaries, so I may check there first. I also like dramas so that’s next. I usually dislike comedies as I find the majority of them tend to be stupid (in my opinion). Once in a while, I’ll find a funny comedy, usually an offbeat one. I also like true crime movies or shows. Again, I have to be in the mood.

Sometimes I google. Last night it occurred to me that although I pay for Hulu, I haven’t watched much on Hulu lately so I googled “what’s new on Hulu.” I came to an article that had December picks on Hulu, and I texted myself to a thread where I am keeping a list of movies to watch.

I also have series I watch. Right now I’m working on “Mad Men.” I will return to recent seasons of “Ozark” and “The Crown.” I started watching “Downton Abbey” and stopped, never to return. I liked it, just didn’t get into it. Same with “The Vikings.”

I keep a list of documentaries that I have watched. I’m a documentary fan.

I have Prime, Netflix and Hulu. I’d love to cut the cord and get rid of cable, but haven’t done it yet.

When I read or hear a mention of a movie that sounds good, I add it to my Amazon watch list or my library list. I also browse Amazon to see what the site suggests.

For me, it’s “mood of the moment”. Somebody might say something that suddenly reminds me of an old movie that I haven’t seen in years, so I pop on my Roku, look it up, and assuming that it’s free to watch, I press play. Sometimes it’s a particular actor that excites me and entices me to visit with them once again. Sometimes I simply get in the mood for a certain genre, so I go onto my Roku, type in the genre of the moment to see what is available and off I go into Wonderland. Sometimes I’m feeling a little down and I need a pick me up, so I head for the best RomCom that I can find. Sometimes my daughter has a specific request and I go down that rabbit hole with her

My first criteria is how well done the film seems to be for my tastes. If it’s going to be dumb, annoying, and/or the characters aren’t going to be in any way like human beings, or it’s a comic-book-stupidity-level action film, then I will avoid it.

Next criteria are probably genre and style.

Then maybe director or actors. (Lots of directors who have ruined SF franchises are on my black list now: JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss.) Disney Star Wars is also a hard no for me unless/until something actually good gets made and someone with taste I respect sees and approves it first, which I don’t expect to ever happen.

Roku has so changed my way of choosing my next flick. I had signed up with Disney+ so I could watch Hamilton. Then they added the live version of Mulan. Well they were charging $30 to watch Mulan and I wouldn’t pay that much to watch even my most favorite movie. I received an email last night that I could finally watch Mulan for free. So I jumped on that train and watched Mulan. It was just under 2 hours. When it wet off, it defaulted back to Disney+ and the next recommended movie was Black Beauty. That idea excited my daughter, so we spent the next 2 hours reliving Black Beauty. It turned out to be a very pleasant Friday night

There’s a specific jelly who is always asking about various films or for suggestions. I’ve found many a gem by reading the thread & checking out the suggestions!!! I grew up with a HUGE crush on Patrick Swayze. Since he died, I sometimes need to see his smiling face, so I watch Dirty Dancing, RoadHouse (get to see his naked tushie in this one), Ghost or maybe one of his more obscure ones. During the pandemic, I’ve spent a good bit of time on Youtube for various reasons. Youtube has been pushing to sell their movies & those up for sale pop up in my recommended watching. My smart TV includes Youtube as a source, so I sometimes watch a recommended movie foregoing the option to buy it!!! I’m also a BIG Tyler Perry fan so when I need a laugh, I sometimes wander over for a Madea POV. I find it hard to stay grumpy when Madea is playing to the house!!!

@LadyMarissa Swayze’s other films worth seeing…Point Break, The Outsiders and To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything.

^ I just watched To Wong Foo right before Thanksgiving!!! Point Break wasn’t one of my favorites back when it first came out, so I’ve not watched it since. Maybe it’s time to revisit that one to see IF I’ve mellowed with time!!! I didn’t think that I had missed any of his moves; however, I don’t remember IF I’ve ever watched The Outsiders, so that may well be on my list for tonight. See…this is WHY I check any Q about movies…I ALWAYS discover one that I’ve not watched to date & end up having a very pleasant evening!!!

THANKS for your input!!!

@LadyMarissa The Outsiders seem to have served as sort of incubator to see who’s gonna be who’s who in Hollywood. I have to say I’m a fan of the guy that got the top spot.