[fluffy bunny]

Just generating a topic for discussion- here's a copy and paste off another site:

I hate movie trailers.

It's not that I have a problem with them in principle. I just can't stand the bloody things in practice. They're adverts, and you would think they ought to benefit from the same level of imagination that you see in other advertising. But no, that's not the way it works. Generally, you get a synopsis of the first two thirds of the plot, coupled with highlights of all the good bits. And at the risk of sounding like a pensioner who writes letters of complaint to the Daily Mail, once you've seen the trailer, why bother with the film?

Opinions?

[Dominus]

Well, it's not so much the trailers (after watching the movie, I forget all the trailers I saw, so it doesn't ruin anything), but rather the DAMN ADS. Not only are they just as dumb as most of the ads I see on TV, they are longer, oh, and the little fact that I JUST PAID 6 BUCKS TO WATCH A MOVIE, NOT GET PUMMELED WITH CAPITALISTIC PROPAGANDA TO BUY SUV'S AND COKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN I COULD WATCH THEM FOR FREE* AT MY HOUSE!

Sorry about that, I'm OK now! :)

*Note: My dad pays for cable

[Pluvious]

I'm just going to talk about movie previews in general...

Yeah, I hate it when they give away any plot when some kind of mystery is involved in the movie. And its happening more and more.

But then again, the more they show the more you will know if you may or may not like the movie. I think its a case of people want something RIGHT NOW and they don't really think about how it will affect them later.

The previews for X-Men 2 pretting much told me the whole movie. Nothing much surprised me. And figuring things out for me is a lot of the fun. I don't want to figure out what it is I saw in a preview either (like who exactly the "twins" are from the new Matrix movie). I want to see the twins for the first time in the movie and then get my mind wondering.

Unfortunately I want to see what the movie will be like, but I often get upset after I see too much.

[Bear]

I don't watch movie trailers as long as I can avoid them. They simply give away too much. If it's a comedy, they show you the funniest parts (usually), if it's an action flick or something with loads of special effects, they'll show you the most "exciting" sequences, if it's anything with a mystery, they show you everything but the last ten minutes, which you could probably guess anyway.

A prime example of how trailer screwed a movie for me was in the Matrix. I would have been much more impressed had I not seen all the now classic scenes a month before it was released in a preview.

So now I avoid trailers. Trailers are bad. i usually like watching them after i've picked up the DVD though.

But that's also one of the reasons I like art films, though. The trailers are usually more creative, and the movies usually can't be summed up in a minute or two, so not much is spoiled.

[kater]

I used to love trailers but The Recruit trailer so spoiled the film that I haven't voluntairly watched a trailer since.

[milamber_reborn]

Why pay money to see hundreds of movies you know nothing about?

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed movies like American Pie and Scary Movie despite seeing all the good bits. And I probably wouldn't have bothered if I hadn't seen how good they'd be.

[kater]

Originally posted by milamber_reborn
Why pay money to see hundreds of movies you know nothing about?


Surprise? Something new and original?

[juzzza]

People queue to watch a movie, which shows a trailer for an anticipated movie all the time.

I can't remember the movie, but people were going along just to watch the trailer for FOTR!!! Now that is extreme.

I like trailers, they get my movie taste buds moist. I can't think of one which has spoiled the actual film for me.

I do get annoyed if the trailer makes the film look good but the movie turns out to be sh*te. That annoys me.

Great trailers for great movies are fine with me.

An example is 'Reign of Fire' looked great in the trailer... What a mediocre film.

[fluffy bunny]

myself, I stradlle the middle ground-
Films I'm going to definately see (eg LOTR, matrix 2, X2, star wars), I avoid the trailers since they give too much of the film away.
But films I'm still deciding on, I do go and see the trailer for to try and get an inkling as to what the film's about. Once I decide to see a film, I don't see any more traiers where possible (difficult with tv ads and at the beginning of films at the cinema though)

[Bear]

As an alternative to trailers, sometimes it's just nicer to read about upcoming films. You still get a gist of what it'll be like without having anything spoiled. And more often than not, the sites and magazines will have pictures alongside all the descriptions so you can peep how the film is going to look. But for myself, I mostly just follow directors. If I liked any of their earlier work, I'll usually check out their newer stuff even without any knowledge of the film, almost as a courtesy.