I've become pretty skeptical about Rotten Tomatoes rating system

[Bettie]

1. I tend toward the audience scores as well

because with that there is more diversity of opinion.

Different people like different things. If the majority of the audience likes something, it tends to be, at very least, entertaining.

Critics tend to look at movies through a different lens.

When I was in college, I took a class from a guy who wrote several textbooks on film theory and history.

We asked him what his favorite movie was and he said he didn't have a favorite really, but that he loved almost every movie for what it was. Not every film is a masterpiece and not every film has to be one.

The trick, he said, was not to expect anything specific, but to take the ride and experience it. If it is based on a book, don't expect it to BE the book, because film has a very different way of telling a story than the written word, just enjoy it for what it is, not what you expect it to be.

He also said that some movies are awful and to accept that sometimes you're going to get a dud, but at least there's popcorn!

Taking this to heart has taught me to enjoy things for what they are. I can watch a movie based on a book and be happy with the story, even if it isn't what I saw as I read it.

Whew...I'm long-winded today. Sorry!