On many occasions, I have gone to see a film
or bought a book on the basis of a very promising trailer, extract or review
only to have my high expectations severely disappointed.
On a very few occasions the exact opposite
happened when I gave the benefit of the doubt to something that had bad reviews. I watched the film and read the book with very low expectations, only to get
some pleasant surprises.
Perhaps it is time I learned not to fall for the
very old trick where the best parts are used to entice people into watching the
film or buying the book in the hope of getting much more of the same. The
suckers discover the hard way that they have wasted their money; what they have
already seen or read was as good as it gets.
A very disappointing book
I need to learn to recognise misleading hype
too. I am still feeling cheated and angry about a book I bought on the basis of
a one-paragraph extract that resonated strongly with my interests and
experience. This was a while back; there was no Look Inside option – there
still isn’t, I wonder why - and not much in the way of reviews either.
I was disgusted to find that this one good
paragraph was all the book had to offer: the rest was what seemed to me like
rubbish and ridiculous drivel. I was expecting it to be serious and
informational. There is now a very negative review on Amazon that I could have
written myself. Interestingly, the good reviews are written by semi-literate
people.
I won’t give the author publicity by naming
it, and I won’t be getting the other books in the series either.
Two unexpectedly good films
Perhaps these things are partly a matter of
personal taste, although when it comes to films, in the majority of cases I
agree with the majority of reviewers’ opinions and classifications.
There are two big exceptions. I decided to
give them a chance despite mostly bad reviews because something told me they
were worth watching and because I could see them at home on TV via Freeview.
I really liked The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen. Someone told me that Sean Connery thought it was the worst film he had
ever made, but I don’t care; I form my own opinions. I love the way the classic
characters come together to fight evil. I hope that it comes on TV again soon.
A sequel, or perhaps a remake, is said to be in preparation.
Another film that I would love to see again
is the prehistoric epic 10,000 BC (not to be confused with One Million Years BC,
which I thought was awful). It has been described as spectacularly historically
inaccurate, but I don’t care. The civilisation that resembles Ancient Egypt and
the mysterious ruler ‘The Almighty’ are what made the film especially worth
watching for me.
Lessons to learn
Intuition can go into reverse and inner demons can cause us to waste resources and make mistakes. It is also best to do research before making commitments.
Even where relatively small matters such as
buying books or going to see films are concerned, it is best to make decisions
on good days. If I had not been very preoccupied because a new bathroom was being installed, I might not have bought that awful book.
