What Makes You Want to Watch a Movie? Rank Actors, Director, Story

Maybe you never miss a Tom Hanks movie. It might be instead that you will rush right out and see “the new Scorsese.” Maybe if horror movies are your thing, you try not to miss a single one. Seems to me most people make their decisions about whether or not to see a movie based on some ever-shifting alchemy of their interest in (a) the story, (b) the actors involved, and (c) the director. Simple, enough, yes? We already know now that if Jane Fonda pops up on screen, some of you run fast and far, so here we’re focused on what gets your engines running, rather than what gets ’em overheated.

When you get a little more geeky about it, you might start following the works of cinematographers, for example. Maybe there’s a key grip in your life, and you never fail to catch his or her name in the end credits? Let’s get Movie Irv to share how he works out his interest:

I have my own personal rankings, but of course they can become a little more complicated once all the ingredients come together: What do you do if you love the actor and think the story looks lousy? When the actor does nothing for you but you think the director can do no wrong? Irv pulled back the curtain on how he makes his choices; let’s hear from you.