How Much Am I Influenced?

Sometimes, as a critic, I ponder if my take on a movie, either being lenient on it or being hard on it, has to do with my knowledge of what the general consensus is. Or even knowing I was given this screener and not wanting to harm a potential relationship.

I don't think I ever knowingly do this. I do think that the general mood or atmosphere for a movie can have an impact on how a critic sees it. A movie that is bashed around the place for being cheesy and poorly written is going to have that stink when you go in, even if you find parts of it charming, while a movie that is praised for being purposefully goofy and silly could cause you to elevate those charming bits to pure genius.

My hope in this next chapter of my career is trying to avoid as much of the general consensus as possible before seeing a movie and being as real wth my response to a picture, no matter if I'm aware others say it is dumb.

The reality is I am kind of quirky. I like weird things. I tend to connect with things differently than many other critics. I think that is a good thing. It is great to have different perspectives. I hope I can communicate why a certain movie is a home run for me when it struck out with everyone else. Maybe my readers will get value even if they don't like it as much as I do.

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