Movies

What is the best genre of movies? There are a lot of them out there, so I will help you decide.

16. Romance -- Probably just because I'm a man I don't like this genre. I can't really imagine anything worse to do with two hours than watching a romance movie from start to finish. I don't mind putting romance into the drama but don't make a drama about romance, it just don't do it for me; the worst genre I can think of.

15. Fantasy -- This genre is completely fabricated in someone's mind. Nothing about it is real or could happen. I really don't care for this genre because it offers me nothing more than some nerd's daydreaming come to life on the screen.

14. Horror -- The point of a horror movie is to scare you. And to scare you they almost always take out plot, realism, or any of the things that make a good movie. I equate a scary movie to a popcorn action movie, maybe you were entertained for an hour or two but you really don't care to see it again. The trouble with this genre is more times than not it is not even slightly entertaining whether scary or not.

13. Musical -- People breaking out into song during ordinary everyday experiences doesn't provide much that I can relate to. While I'd probably rather watch a musical than a fantasy or horror film, I find them uninteresting and annoying.

12. Crime -- Crime movies seem to always be nominated for awards, maybe rightly so because they are basically dramas about crime. But usually I don't like crime movies because I'm pretty sure I've never met anyone in the mob, been involved with thugs, nor do I want to relate to the people on screen at all. But I guess it's good to be aware that some of that stuff goes on. My favorite: The Godfather

11. Epic -- Basically, an epic is a drama that is drawn out to allow for more detail in the storytelling. There are very few epics because they are hard to watch in one sitting...some might be as much as 5 or 6 hours long. The best epics are divided into parts so you don't have to watch them in one sitting. The hardest part about watching one is actually starting it. I'm not a huge fan of epics but if I'm really bored then why not? My favorite: Lonesome Dove

10. Science Fiction -- Science fiction can get a bad wrap because it is associated with geeks but it really isn't that bad. I equate geeks more with fantasy movies, which is the cousin of science fiction but not the same thing. Generally, science fiction movies don't have talking dogs or something. Most of the time they are about people who are involved in some sort of unproven science (time travel, set in the future, stop aging, etc.). So while the realism factor isn't there, maybe it could happen or maybe not but at least it isn't wizards and magical rings. So I am a mild fan of science fiction. My favorite: Back to the Future (favorite movie of all time too)

9. Romantic Comedy -- While these movies are basically just chick flicks I don't have a problem with them. You can pretty much always tell what the outcome will be, and the only engaging quality is wondering just how the couple will get together in the end. But I have no problem watching one every now and then, sometimes they are funny.

8. Sports -- There are two kinds of sports movies. One is where the team has to overcome the odds to win the championship and the second is just a story where the background is sports or it is about sports but winning is not the ultimate goal. The championship movies are great if you're a child, but I like the second category which gives me a little something more than a predictable finish. Sports can be a great genre if done correctly, if not then it can be boring and pointless. My favorite: Rudy

7. Action -- There are really several different kinds of action movies. There are superhero movies, terrorist movies, disaster movies, movies where there is limited action but it's intense, and action movies that just blow stuff up. They can cross into science fiction, drama, comedy, western, adventure, etc. But all of these action movies fall into one of these two categories: popcorn action or story action. The popcorn action is solely to entertain you for 2 hours and you don't have to flex one brain muscle. The story action will probably engage your mind enough that you will want to watch it again. Obviously I prefer the story action. My favorite: Top Gun

6. War -- There's not much to say about war movies other than they are about a war. You probably need to be in the mood to watch one, but generally speaking they make good movies so long as the facts are accurate. My favorite: Saving Private Ryan

5. Adventure -- Adventure movies are the cousin of action movies. The difference between them in a nutshell is that the hero or heroine is escaping the bad guy creatively instead of just blowing something up. I find adventure movies to be very entertaining because they are more relate-able (maybe I can swing on a vine in the jungle but I don't have a machine gun) and they tend to be more character driven than action movies.

4. Western -- Westerns are the classic movie genre in my mind. You basically know what it is going to be about--cowboys, Indians, small western towns, etc. What you don't know is whether or not it is going to be boring. The fact is that probably half of the westerns you watch are slow-moving stories that don't amount to much. But for the ones that that move along with a good story, whether serious or somewhat humorous, I really enjoy. My favorite: The Outlaw Josey Wales

3. Comedy -- There aren't many people who don't like some type of comedy movie. It is always good to laugh, it is just a question of your taste. Comedies are all over the map in terms of being rated G, PG, PG-13, or R, so there is something for everyone. I personally don't care whether it is a screwball comedy or there is a story attached, funny is funny and I'm not really watching for the story. But I can do without the sexual humor or the never ending cursing, so I'll stick to PG-13 and lower for my comedy movies. My favorite: Dumb & Dumber

2. Suspense -- There is a big difference between a horror (scary) movie and a suspense (thriller) movie. For one, a horror movie only wants to scare you and takes no consideration into realism or quality, whereas a suspense actually involves a well thought-out story with characters acting out scenarios that could actually happen. I really like this genre, usually these movies keep me interested throughout and I walk away entertained.

1. Drama -- A drama is a serious movie that tells a story. If the movie is going to be a drama, almost always they are trying to make a quality movie. Sometimes it just isn't a good story but you know they are going for realism, plot, and creating solid characters. All of those qualities are important to me so that is why I consider this genre to be one of my favorites.

The point of all this is so when you see a preview for a movie more than likely you will be able to point out which genre it fits into. You can decide which genres you like and that will allow you to make a better educated decision on whether or not to watch the film. Other than that this blog just served as me using up an hour of my time...if you read all the way to now then I have to say you are dedicated to this blog. Thank you.

JB