What draws you to movies or shows?

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Are there repeated themes or genres that always pull you in when you try to choose what you'd like to watch? Are there specifics you always find that draw you in, or are you able to relax and watch pretty much anything just because you felt like it?

For me I have a hard time choosing what to watch unless it is some sort of British Comedy. Examples of my favorite stuff to watch: The IT Crowd, Cockneys Vs Zombies (my favorite zombie movie lol), Hot Fuzz, the original Monty Python series, etc (The Monty Python Argument clinic is still my favorite skit of all time).

Otherwise I just let someone else choose what to watch

If it features actors and actresses that I like- I'll give it a try at least. Also I'm generally drawn to old sitcoms (80s and 90s usually), sci fi, comedy, CGI and American animation. Sometimes I like documentaries too.

I like Monty Python as well! I havent seen much of the show, but I've seen all the movies.

What draws me to shows (I'm not much of a movie person) is:

Good characters, by that I mean well rounded and relatable.

Smart and creative humor, I really like puns, wordplay and visual gags.

Good animation, cartoons are a visual medium, you want to make it nice to look at.

Among a few other minor things.

^--- This.

Personally, I really like a witty sense of humor (I don't care how bad the jokes are or if there's sarcasm - I'm easily entertained, even by bad jokes), no CGI, interesting characters, maybe one that is a little bit weird/eccentric but it still has to be serious in the right moments.

Smart writing, good visuals, skilled actors, realistic/witty dialogue, relatable characters, good reviews.

I think my favourite movie theme has to be "the underdog" story.. people beating impossible odds to achieve their dreams - those sorts of films. ie Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe. It's a bit of a running theme in my own life and I appreciate the never ever ever EVER give up sort of messages from these types of movies as they keep reminding me what I've already overcome and achieved, as well as to keep moving forward on all of my other goals.

Emotion:

Romance, if it's done well. The love between a parent and a child. Plus any emotional storyline. If a film or TV show has enough emotional elements to draw me in, then I can watch almost anything. Sad stories are the best - happy ending or not. Superhero movies really shouldn't be my thing as I hate comic stuff and also hate action, but to be honest there has not been a superhero movie in recent years that I haven't liked, because they have good emotional stories/side stories as well. Husband knows only to suggest movies or TV shows by talking about the emotional elements of them. Which ties in with...

A good (childhood) backstory:

For me, the best stories take you back in time to when the characters were children, so that you get a really good sense of who they are and how they became who they are today. Or, at least, you see a bit of their current personality in their childhood self. If not that, at least show me them at another stage of adulthood. I like to feel like I've known a character longer than in the split second of their current state. Of course, really good character development can remove the need for this.

Favourite actors:

There are some actors that I will watch in anything just because I think they're great at what they do. This isn't reliably going to give me something that I enjoy - quite often I'll start watching for an actor and will end up disappointed in the storyline, or even in a favourite actor's performance, but it definitely gets me to start watching in the first place.

Time travel:

If I had to pick one theme, it's time travel. This can either be a character travelling through time, or it can be a story that goes through time so that you see the same setting in various times as part of the story. Again, not done right it can be a real let down but any suggestion of time travel or a character that disappeared and turned up again however far in the future will really hook me in.

I guess well-written characters, epic stories, and a good douse of witty humor is what draws me to movies/shows. For instance, I watch Sherlock, Digimon, Doctor Who, Clannad, and mainly watch the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit trilogy and Star Trek movies and a couple other odd movies here and there.

My favorite actors, certain themes, genres (fantasy/SF), and novelty.

interesting characters, sense of humor, twisted plot...