Everybody's a critic. Actually, not really.

The thing about being a movie buff or film fanatic (or a wannabe those things like I am), is that you start to expect certain things from certain films, just because certain people are involved.

For example.

- I assume every Chris Nolan movie will blow my mind.
What if he disappoints? He hasn't yet, but I can't bring myself to believe that he could.

- I expect Quentin Tarintino to make me smirk along with him as his characters interact in awesomely witty conversations.
Well, he already did disappoint. The Grindhouse project was a total waste of time. But since then, Inglorious Basterds has restored my faith.

- I know that Tim Burton will continue to make sucky films.
.... No worries here. I think I will always be right about this.

Make no mistake, there are cons to this type of thinking. Nothing screws up a movie experience like going in with preconcieved notions about it. Especially douchebaggery all-knowing notions. Every time someone said to me that they were looking forward to 'Transformers 2', I tried not to smirk, because being in the know, I knew it would suck. What a douchebag right. (But a correct douchebag in that particular case.) It also works in the reverse with movies that I know are gonna be awesome. Whenever people ask me if I've ever heard of 'Inception', I also try not to smirk. Because I do. I have for over a year.

What a douche.

But there are positives. One is that I see a lot of movies that most people don't, because they are critically aclaimed, but not famous, so no one knows about them. Another pro is that I can avoid movies when we're renting out, movies that others would get just because the cover looks good. Less than 30% on Rotten Tomatoes is usually a good indicator of suckiness. And another cool thing about being in the know is that I can make jokes about how much Michael Bay sucks ass, and anyone who hears that and laughs is cool enough to be my friend. Half of my friends are only my friends because they're indie snob douchebags too.

And it's not like I'm just a dude with a fetish for critically aclaimed things. Proof positive of this is my dislike for anything Johnny Depp related, who the critics LOVE. And I didn't care much for Slumdog Millionaire either. This is also works in reverse, with me really digging some movies that critics heavily panned. Spider-Man 3 ruled people, I don't see what why everyone has a problem with it so much.

Would I change anything though? Would I trade in my fanboy tendancies for just a normal person's appreciation for movies? I guess if I did I would be let down a lot less. And I wouldn't feel the need to defend Terminator Salvation because my boy Christian Bale is in it. But I know I never would. I like my taste in films, and my taste in music. And because of my taste, I can honestly say that I can't decide whether my favourite film of all time is The Matrix or Pulp Fiction. And for some reason, I feel cool every time I say that.