Among my friends, I'm known as the guy who will watch any movie, no matter how long, weird, or shitty. I've never turned down a film if I haven't seen it and I've made it a personal goal of mine to never do so. Yes, that does mean if you invite to watch Jack and Jill with you, I'll do it. I'll probably hate you for it, but I'll see it.
Why? Why would I subject myself to the tortuously bad? Why do I actively seek out the obscure? Why will I sit though a four-hour epic? Well, there's a number of reasons for it.
The Hidden Surprises
There are so many films that I've seen, having heard nothing about it or only heard mediocre things, that I ended up completely loving. When I had Netflix Instant Watch, I'd throw anything onto my queue if it looked or sounded interesting. If the cover catches my eye, I'll watch it without bothering to read a description. Sure, you have to wade through plenty of crap but those moments where you discover that hidden gem are more than worth it. I live for those moments.
What To Do and What Not To Do
As a filmmaker, I think it's good to know both what you should do and what you shouldn't do. What works and what doesn't work. If you only watch movies that are widely regarded as good, you generally only get the former. When you watch a bad movie, you can see exactly why the good movies work as well as they do. It's also interesting to see just how good intentions can go horribly wrong.
Film Knowledge
You can't claim to be a film buff if you only watch AFI's top 100 or the Academy Award nominees. No. You can't do it. I'm sorry but you've got to dig. You have to do work. Get into those art house theaters. Those back shelves in the video store (they still exist right?). This may sound like snobbery but you can't call yourself a bookworm if you only read Oprah's Book of the Month, can you?
Comedy
Come on. There are bad movies out there that are absolutely hilarious.
Basically what it all comes down to is that I love cinema. All kinds of cinema. That's why I'll watch any movie at least once.
