Does a movie have to be at least *somewhat* believable for you to enjoy it?

[Sabine]

My tivo recorded the movie "Taken" for me as a suggestion, and I''m bored waiting for my dh to get home from work, so I thought I''d watch it.

The beginning is a father who is super overprotective and paranoid about his daughter because he works in security as a private guard or something. Daughter wants to go on trip, father says she''s too young, then gives in, and as soon as she lands she is singled out and "Taken" by sex traffickers while on the phone with her father, who records the conversation. He immediately goes to where she was and "sees" everything that had happened by looking at clues and listening to the tape. Aaaaand, I''m done watching.

Sorry, too much coincidence driven plot in the first 10 minutes is enough to make me delete.

 

[joflier]

Yes. I can''t watch much of anything that isn''t plausible. Even most sci-fi or fantasy stuff.

 

[April20]

Yeah, it does. If it isn''t believable, I either fall asleep, turn it off or make fun of it.

I don''t have a ton of free time for movies, so I at least want to feel it''s worth my time watching it.

 

[doodle]

I''m still in love with Disney''s The Little Mermaid, so I guess that makes my answer a resounding no, huh?

Seriously, for me, it depends. I don''t like it when a movie puts in something that''s ridiculous but the film seems to expect you to be too stupid to realize the implausibility. Don''t insult my intelligence, ya know? But if something is not so believable but being used because it''s a convenience move to save time or simplify the plot or whatever (as an example, how often do procedural shows like Criminal Minds and CSI rely on totally BS technological methods just to give a simple explanation so the episode doesn''t last forever? ALL THE TIME), that doesn''t bother me so much. My big beef is movies that come up with some "artsy" shtick just for the sake of trying to be artsy without purpose--it''s pretentious. Get over yourself.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/29/2010 8:47:09 PM
Author: April20
Yeah, it does. If it isn''t believable, I either fall asleep, turn it off or make fun of it.

I don''t have a ton of free time for movies, so I at least want to feel it''s worth my time watching it.

If the movie is unbelievable in a stupid kind of way, I totally make fun of it. It it''s horrendously unbelievable, I turn it off.

Since I watch a lot of kids'' movies, not everything is believable, yet is watchable. It''s not like there is a living sponge living deep in the sea who makes crusty patties, yet, I do watch Sponge Bob.

Mostly what bugs me is a regular movie for grown-ups that has a lame story line and they try to stretch the story too thin with idiotic characters who do ridiculous things that would never happen in real life.

 

[movie zombie]

movies in and of themselves are a suspension of belief.

TAKEN was good for what it was....emphasis on the "for what it was" and certainly no worse than all the Die Hard movies after the first one. imo, it was meant for the same audience and as such was certainly better than most action thrillers.

every once in awhile there is a movie in which i am required to suspend too much belief and i turn off.

in this instance, the movie plays on the worst fears of every father and on a real problem in europe: kidnapping young girls for the sex trade.

best film of the year? definitely not but certainly not the worst.

mz

ps i''m always up for a sci-fi film and one of my all time favs is Blade Runner.

 

[Laila619]

Yes. I''m constantly ruining movies for DH because I point out all the unrealistic things.

BTW, Taken was a great movie!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Sort of. I like suspending disbelief, but if it gets too much, I get bad. I could barely sit through the last half an hour of Saw for example since the plot holes were so big I could drive a truck through them.

That being said, I like cheesy movies if I have the rifftrax or if they are syfy originals. Admitedly, I have watched a lot of movies I never thought I would because of rifftrax, but in many cases it was so worth it. Case in point, twilight holds less than no interest for me, but having the Benny Hill music playing when Eddie carries Bella up the hill is so funny I couldn''t breathe.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I can suspend belief pretty well even if I make fun of it... in fact some of my favorite movies have no basis in reality whatsoever!

 

[PumpkinPie]

yup - I have a hard time being patient through movies that are beyond reasonable - so awkward for me!

 

[katamari]

If is complete fantasy, absolutely. But, when it tries to come off as possible, no way.

 

[Hera]

Not really, I''ll give them the benefit of the doubt until they insult my intelligence.

 

[Amethyste]

Date: 4/29/2010 8:40:23 PM
Author:Sabine
My tivo recorded the movie ''Taken'' for me as a suggestion, and I''m bored waiting for my dh to get home from work, so I thought I''d watch it.


The beginning is a father who is super overprotective and paranoid about his daughter because he works in security as a private guard or something. Daughter wants to go on trip, father says she''s too young, then gives in, and as soon as she lands she is singled out and ''Taken'' by sex traffickers while on the phone with her father, who records the conversation. He immediately goes to where she was and ''sees'' everything that had happened by looking at clues and listening to the tape. Aaaaand, I''m done watching.


Sorry, too much coincidence driven plot in the first 10 minutes is enough to make me delete.

I''d enjoy my life a whole lot more if the movie "UP" was a possible and believable reality!

 

[lyra]

I love movies, so I can easily suspend my disbelief. One movie from last year sticks out in my mind as very difficult for me though, and that was 2012. For 99% of that movie I was saying "That''s physically impossible!". It was exciting to watch, but so drastically implausible in the action scenes that I was actually kind of bored. Don''t break the rules of physics repeatedly and blatantly, and then pretty much anything goes for me. Exceptions of course are sci-fi and horror, where one has to give a lot of leeway generally.

 

[zoebartlett]

That''s why I don''t read or watch fantasy or sci-fi. I didn''t like the Harry Potter or Time Traveler''s Wife for that reason. I know there have been other movies and shows I''ve seen where I''ve thought, "COME ON! That would never really happen."

 

[oddoneout]

Depends on the genre. If it''s say a fantasy movie then I know it''s not likely to be believable. There''s also a difference between "believable" and "well written".

 

[RaiKai]

All movies require a leap of faith (watch The Invention of Lying if you want to see how dull movies would be otherwise!).

If they can pull it off with success I have no problem. I mean I think the Matrix is great though I know it is not reality (aside from perhaps the philosophical side). I enjoy vampire movies like Interview With a Vampire or Underworld. I know vampires are not real but I can easily suspend reality for a couple hours and enjoy the movie for what it is, an underlying message as is in Interview, or debate whether I root for vampire or werewolf!

What I cannot stand is bad acting, bad plots, bad effects, or just plain bad movies! And bad cheese...no bad cheese. I am also not fond of chick flicks. I find those to be more unbelievable than zombie movies at times!

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/30/2010 3:18:25 AM
Author: lyra
I love movies, so I can easily suspend my disbelief. One movie from last year sticks out in my mind as very difficult for me though, and that was 2012. For 99% of that movie I was saying ''That''s physically impossible!''. It was exciting to watch, but so drastically implausible in the action scenes that I was actually kind of bored. Don''t break the rules of physics repeatedly and blatantly, and then pretty much anything goes for me. Exceptions of course are sci-fi and horror, where one has to give a lot of leeway generally.

We never even saw the movie as the trailers for 2012 had us protesting the impossibility. DH (former air force officer) was like "a plane CANNOT do that!".

It failed the bad cheese factor before we even saw it. Oh and I cannot stand watching Nicholas Cage act..with the exception of his God of War movie (is that the title or am I confusing myself with the video game!?).

 

[elrohwen]

Not necessarily. If the movie is well done, I'm willing to suspend disbelief. And I'm ok with fantasy because it's *supposed* to be fantasy. I get more riled up when it seems like there are plot holes because the producers/directors/whatever couldn't be bothered to write the script better. If there is too much cheesiness or ridiculousness, I get nitpicky. This affects me with tv shows more than movies, actually, and means I can't stand watching 24, Lost, Prison Break, etc with DH.

 

[radiantquest]

It all depends. I like the movie Coraline by Tim Butron which is clearly not meant to be an actual situation. I also liked District 9 which some believe could really happen and some dont. I think it all depends on how it is done. If it is overly serious and trying too hard than it irritates me when it isnt believable.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 4/30/2010 9:15:00 AM
Author: elrohwen
Not necessarily. If the movie is well done, I''m willing to suspend disbelief. And I''m ok with fantasy because it''s *supposed* to be fantasy. I get more riled up when it seems like there are plot holes because the producers/directors/whatever couldn''t be bothered to write the script better. If there is too much cheesiness or ridiculousness, I get nitpicky. This affects me with tv shows more than movies, actually, and means I can''t stand watching 24, Lost, Prison Break, etc with DH.

Speaking of 24...

My husband and I watch it and it''s always ridiculously over the top but it''s fun to make fun of. I was watching an interview the cast did once and I think Keifer mentioned something about how they got called out on how their cell phones never die. Now the writers have started addressing that in their scripts.

 

[yssie]

Nope, not at all. But then, my top ten includes probably six disney animations..


I loathe movies that require me to really identify with the characters to enjoy it. When I read a book I usually have hundreds of pages to get involved with the characters; when I watch a movie I have a couple of hours at most, and I don't generally empathise with someone I've known for a couple of hours unless it's an occurence that I can personally relate to. When a main character's hardship is the focus of the movie... frankly I really couldn't care less.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

To me, internal coherence is very important. So, if magic is part of a movie''s premises, I am fine with it. But, if in the last 15 minutes, the hero suddenly discovers magic and uses it to save the world from the nuclear device, then I am not happy.

I do hate the over use of coincidence, though, unless it is very tongue in cheek.

 

[doodle]

For those of you who mentioned liking to tear a movie apart when it gets too out there, I highly recommend starting a Bad Movie Night with some of your friends. We did this every week with my friends for a while, and there are a lot of movies that, while horrible on their own, are FANTASTIC with a smart-mouthed group of cohorts!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 4/30/2010 6:45:47 PM
Author: Lady_Disdain
To me, internal coherence is very important. So, if magic is part of a movie''s premises, I am fine with it. But, if in the last 15 minutes, the hero suddenly discovers magic and uses it to save the world from the nuclear device, then I am not happy.

I do hate the over use of coincidence, though, unless it is very tongue in cheek.

Ditto this completely! I can definitely suspend my disbelief for a movie/book, but the really stupid plot twists and giant plot holes get on my nerves.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 4/30/2010 6:45:47 PM
Author: Lady_Disdain
To me, internal coherence is very important. So, if magic is part of a movie's premises, I am fine with it. But, if in the last 15 minutes, the hero suddenly discovers magic and uses it to save the world from the nuclear device, then I am not happy.


I do hate the over use of coincidence, though, unless it is very tongue in cheek.

I agree completely. My one caveat is that if I was unwilling to overlook it, I could never read Brit lit other than Trollope. Apparently it is a little known fact that until the modern era there were only 12 British people in whole world at any given time and they all know each other. If you don't believe me, reread any of the greats: Shakespeare, the Brontes, Austin, Hardy, Fielding and especially Dickens are the ones I can think of off hand.

Also to the OP, I love tivo