Does anyone else here NOT mind knowing the plot of a movie? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Strang]

Some people seem to get so upset when someone else spills the guts on a plot.

I've always liked knowing what will happen and then seeing how they get to that part. It's also interesting to here someone tell you the plot and then actually see it for yourself. It's a person's interpretation of a plot that I like to see.

 

[Jed M]

What about movies like The Sixth Sense or Usual Suspects? Someone told me the end of the sixth sense and it ruined the movie for me. I would prefer not to know the end but I am not against knowing what the plot is.

 

[ace peterson]

I thought this would be a thread about Vanilla Sky.

 

[Howard Williams]

I prefer to know very little about a movie I plan to see. For example, I didn't know anything about Episode 2 except for the title, honest. I won't have a baby if someone spoils a movie for me, but that is rare because I'll usually stop them before they say too much.

Now, if someone had blabbed that Vader was Luke's father while in line to see "The Empire Strikes Back", I would have been pissed. There is nothing like a well thought out, intelligent surprise in a movie.

I prefer to at least now the genre because some classes of movies simply do not appeal to me at all. These I avoid seeing at the theater, preferring to maybe catch them on DVD months down the road.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Scott Strang wrote:

Quote:

Huh? You mean "spilling the BEANS"???

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I don't mind knowing about plot events (like a fight scene), but if a movie has a surprise ending, I don't want to know.

 

[Richard Travale]

I don't really like knowing myself.

On a side note, a friend of mine wishes there was an invention that would let you "forget" movies so it would be like the first time everytime.

 

[NickSo]

I dont mind the plot, but if they give away the ending, thats a different story...

 

[Paul_D]

I don't usually mind knowing if there isn't a twist, or if I'm not particularly excited about the movie. It does piss me off however, when people reveal final twists without thinking. Imagine my mortification when my brother's friend blurted out the words: "It's his wife's head in the box." Needless to say I wasn't happy.

 

[Paul D Young]

Everybody hates me for this but I don't mind knowing about every last detail of the movie before I see it. In fact I don't think a "spoiler" has ever diminished my enjoyment of a movie. I find great humor in the fact that people do not want to know about the surprise ending and tease them with the threat of telling them. This drives some people crazy. Although I totally respect others' wishes to not know and I never tell. I would be happy to spill the beans (or guts) should anyone ask.
Now for my controversial theory that makes many people hate me:
I believe if a movie can be ruined by knowing the spoiler then the simple reason is; IT IS NOT A GOOD MOVIE! This is revealed in the repeated viewings. If you like a good movie you should be able to enjoy it more than once. Having "ruined" it by knowing a spoiler equates to having ruined it by seeing it the first time as well, as that would reveal ALL the spoilers.

What about movies like The Sixth Sense or Usual Suspects?

The problem is, there ARE movies that can be ruined by knowing the spoiler. At my house we refer to these as "trick movies". Once the trick is revealed, the enjoyment is ruined. I think that The Sixth Sense and Usual Suspects fall into this category. They are "trick movies" and they are not very good IMHO. But many movies, Fight Club for example, can be watched endlessly even with the knowledge of the spoiler and it doesn't diminish the movie at all.
Conclusion:
If it is a good movie, then it won't matter in the end. If it is not a good movie then all I miss out on is being tricked into enjoying a bad movie during the first viewing.

 

[PatrickM]

For me I'd prefer knowing only an outline of what the movie is about.

But, I have a friend who is so anal about not knowing he'll do some pretty weird things to not hear or see anything about a movie he wants to see.

An example: We're in a movie and the preview for a movie he wants to see comes up he immediately puts his head down towards his lap and then starts to clap his hands over his ears while simultaneously making a moaning sound so that he can completely drown out what he's hearing.

The people who sit beside him think he's escaped from the local loony bin.

Patrick

 

[Mark Philp]

Why would anyone want to spoil someone else's enjoyment of a movie by revealing anything if the other doesn't want to know? It's selfish and childish. To those that do all I can say is grow up!

 

[Paul D Young]

Why would anyone want to spoil someone else's enjoyment of a movie by revealing anything if the other doesn't want to know? It's selfish and childish.

Agreed.
Also,why do people refuse to tell me the spoilers or surprise endings after I ask them to? I assure them that it will not spoil the movie for me and yet they still refuse

 

[Cees Alons]

I hate to know even the slightest about the movie plot (like when you read a book about a happy family, but the back cover said: "When Tom Wristler is suddenly killed by a nasty car-accident, his family have to find the means to...", and you wish to be able to read the first chapter without expecting that).
I consider even the very knowledge that a "twist" is present (like in Titanic for example ) as too much information!
The "repeat" argument doesn't hold. Funny enough, it's quite possible to see a movie (or read a mystery book) again and again while realizing what you aren't supposed to know at each moment - and still enjoy it (or more even). But only if you have been able to see (or read) it once with a fresh mind.
(A bit like you can enjoy a joke you do know if it's told to someone who apparently still doesn't know that one.)
Cees

 

[Robert Ma]

I was lucky enough to see the Sixth Sense without knowing the twist. But, i was also pretty drunk that not so I could have enjoyed it a little more if sober.

 

[Paul D Young]

The "repeat" argument doesn't hold. Funny enough, it's quite possible to see a movie (or read a mystery book) again and again while realizing what you aren't supposed to know at each moment - and still enjoy it (or more even). But only if you have been able to see (or read) it once with a fresh mind.

Good point Cees. I totally understand the "fresh mind" thing. I know I am in the minority here(and beating a dead horse too)! It is only a theory and one that really only makes sense to me.
Maybe I'm just angry because I spent 2 hours trying to figure out who Keyser Sose was and I didn't even enjoy the movie.
My wife is a sucker for spoilers. When she knows that I know, she will ask me in the middle of the movie and I always tell her "You'll just have to wait and find out!"
Just like those people who won't tell me.
To each his own I guess.
P.S. My mind is never fresh.

 

[Brad_V]

Mark me down as someone who doesn't care. I didnt see The Sixth Sense until after Andy Richter said the ending on Conan's show. He said it while it was still at the theaters. The whole audience groaned. I then watched it and didn't think I missed out on anything.

I tape pretty much every show I watch so I can watch it later and fast-forward through commercials, as well as boring plotlines and characters I don't like. So knowing what happens ahead of time makes it easier not to miss something surprising like a dumb character actually becoming interesting for a brief moment in time. Also, knowing what happens ahead of time can help you decide if you want to waste time watching something you don't think you'd like.