Do you vote before or after you listen to the episode?

[Threshold 93]

Obviously you have seen the film. Should we vote with our unaffected opinion? Or listen to the episode to let Amy/Devin convince us otherwise?

 

I'm not advocating either- just interested whether anyone does this- and what the positives or negatives would be for voting pre or post the episode.

[HoldenMartinson 221]

I think the whole idea is to listen to their arguments, and then vote. You should at least understand why it's being nominated, which you can't really do if you haven't listened to the episode. When voting, you can bring in your own understanding of the film, but hearing others talk about a particular film first could give you a new understanding of the film, which is never a bad thing. So, just listen first, and vote later.

[mrbs 15]

Definitely after the episode.

 

To me the bigger question is if it's worth voting on a particular episode at all. The majority of the movies picked are critical darlings and film school staples for decades and both hosts agree it should be in the canon… no reason to log in to "vote" for that.

[NRoberson86 78]

I've been swayed a few times. Always after.

[Muthsarah 124]

I always listen first. And so should you. Full stop. I don't think you MUST re-watch the movie(s) before casting your vote if you remember it quite clearly, but at least hear our dear hosts' cases before adding a vote to their show's list.

 

For me, it's easy to download the episode on my phone as I'm getting up on Monday morning, but, as I won't bother actually typing anything more than a quick text message unless I have a proper desktop and ergonomic keyboard, commenting ahead-of-time is out of the question. I'll save that for after I get home. When I can get all wordy, in a comfy and efficient manner.

 

That said, it never makes a difference when I vote, really - though, if I comment, I do attempt to make reference to something Devin or Amy said in the episode. I don't think I've ever been swayed by either of their arguments, which is to say, they've never changed my mind (I do enjoy listening to them, of course). If I saw and liked a film beforehand, I don't need their convincing*. If I didn't remember it well, I'll watch it again, but, thus far, I've never come around and switched a "no" to a "yes". Or vice versa. If I haven't seen the film before the episode airs, and it still doesn't make me want to watch it, I still don't watch it, or vote. The Canon is their job (or a sideline, really), not mine.

 

Looking back, I MIGHT have been swayed by their "Casino Royale" episode, as that film occupies a very...conflicted position in my heart as a Bond fan. I probably would have gone "no" to start with, but they (mostly Matt Gourley) might have swayed me to a "yes", especially once they stated it would be the only Bond film that would be considered. In any event, it's a moot point, as that episode aired before my time. Especially lately, though, so many of the movies they've covered have either been slam dunk "yesses"/"nos" I had made up my mind about years ago (Lolita, Broadcast News), movies I simply wasn't interested in viewing for any reason (Passion of the Christ, Antichrist), or episodes I did (re-)watch, but disagreed with both Devin and Amy about (Fail Safe, Election, Gunga Din).

 

* - The only film I woulda voted "yes" on with both of them against would have been "Blade Runner". I get the Ridley Scott criticism, I do, but this one film (or the better cuts of) is one for the ages. But also before my time here. Very happy it's...maybe the one and only time (??) that the listeners over-ruled both of them??.....?