by Rahman Majere

Created on: January 30, 2010

The very first thing you need to do is to figure out exactly what kind of movies you like. It's easy for someone to say that he likes horror movies but not romantic ones, but what kind of horror movies exactly? Is it the kind where the villain is a human serial killer or the conventional poltergeist or shambling zombies? Then we go to a deeper level where the person asks what kind of zombies he likes, slow ones or fast ones? A movie that is good to one person may be utterly terrible to another. It all depends on a person's individual preferences. That said though, there are certain things you can do before deciding whether or not a certain movie is worth watching.

1) Watching the trailers

It's easy to watch the trailer of a new movie. All it takes is a couple of minutes and a keen eye. Take a look at the overall theme of the movie. It's true that all trailers will typically try their very best to sell the movie and so the trailer itself cannot tell you much more than the basic premise of the movie. What it can tell you is the kind of cinematography and overall theme used in the movie. For example, a quick look at the trailer for Sleepy Hollow will show you that the lighting used in most of the movie will be rather dim and the setting will be bleak. It can also inform you that Sleepy Hollow will be a movie that is heavily themed towards atmospheric night scenes and that the characters will be using very formal old English. Now if you're the kind of person who cannot tolerate dimly lit movies, then it's unlikely you're going to enjoy this movie. On the other hand, if you, like myself, enjoy this kind of atmospheric cinematography, then you might very well enjoy Sleepy Hollow.

Most action/adventure and horror movies depend very heavily on cinematography to succeed so it's well worth your time to pay attention to this aspect of the movie when you're seeing the trailer. A very simple way to get the trailer for a movie is to go online and visit the movie's website. I'd advise against going to youtube or such sites because you may accidentally read comments by fellow viewers that may spoil the movie's plot for you completely.

Once you've clicked on the trailer, look for the cinematography, the kind of language and dialogue used and the overall theme of the movie.

2) Background information - actors /directors / studios / plot

Everyone has their own favourite actors, actresses and directors. Sometimes, an actor is so good that he can make an entire movie work by

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>