Anyone else struggle with long movies?

rustywalker42 said:I’ve been lurking through this thread about Benjamin Button, and I've noticed a significant percentage of people claiming the movie is just too long—specifically women.

Either they aren't bothered to participate in this survey, or perhaps Benjamin Button simply isn't compelling enough to justify sitting through its runtime without complaint.

Personally, I have zero patience for bad filmmaking, regardless of how short the runtime might be.

Dana Cruz5 said:it doesn't really matter, some people just struggle with long movies, even if they’re actually good. It’s simply a matter of being unable to sit still for more than two hours, or finding their focus completely evaporates... regardless of how much they enjoyed the story itself.

So, it shouldn't be taken for granted.

Usually, those aren't true cinephiles.
My attention span only slips if the movie is mediocre or outright terrible. If it's actually well-made? I could watch it all day.

slywolf45 said:They aren't usually real cinephiles.
I only lose focus if the movie is garbage or just mediocre. If it’s actually good? No way I'm zoning out.

Exactly my point.

Though, looking back, I probably posted this in the wrong subforum. It feels like walking into a philosophy seminar and asking, "Hey, you guys like philosophy?"😁

My theory doesn't hold water here, but I bet it would kill over at the WNBA boards.😁

rustywalker42 said:My logic kind of falls apart here, but I suspect this would actually kill at a WNBA game.😁

Even weirder topics have managed to trend during the WNBA season. 😁

I have a thing for long movies. Not sure why, but I haven't managed to sit through a single bad one yet.

I’m totally fine with long movies. Honestly, if I’m feeling wiped out or just super cranky, I’ll definitely pick an 80-minute flick over some 210-minute epic. Usually, when I make that mistake halfway through, I realize my attention span has completely checked out, so I just end up restarting the movie a day or two later. 🤷

Honestly, if I see a runtime over two hours, I’m out😬 just don't have the patience to stare at a screen for three hours straight, man

If a movie actually delivers, I don't mind sitting through four hours of it.
Take The Godfather, The Salvation Army, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, or Hunter S. Thompson, for instance...

You could've just asked "do you like them" instead of "can you stand them." Now it sounds like we're barely tolerating them while suffering through it... 😬

If a movie sucks, I’m bored even if it’s only 90 minutes. But if it’s actually amazing? I don't mind a three-and-a-half-hour epic, provided they aren't just padding the runtime with filler.

Just a girl, by the way.

Anthony Smith3 said:is he Goodman or just bad...

what if he's Goodman, bad, or just evil? 😬

Jerry Martin19 said:But what if he’s John Doe, bad, and evil? 😬

Then he's perfect...😁😁

depends on the vibe and how I'm feeling... but mostly just depends on the movie 🙂
for example, there's no such thing as a "country for seniors" — I practically died, went to the bathroom twice, fell asleep three times... honestly, no clue what happened to me 🙂

Susan Hayes35 said:I suppose there truly is no such thing as a safe haven for the elderly—I felt as though I were hovering on the edge of the great beyond myself; I had to make several trips to the restroom and drifted off into sleep three separate times... honestly, I couldn't quite put my finger on what was happening to me.🙂

Now, you have to be honest with us—surely you enjoyed a cold craft beer before all this went down? There simply isn't any other logical explanation for such an experience.😍

For me, it all boils down to whether the plot actually holds my attention or not. If the movie is good, I really don't care how long it lasts.

Jerry Martin19 said:You could've just asked "do you like them" instead of "can you tolerate them." Now it sounds like we're all suffering through looking at them.😬

I know, I wanted to. But I already hit "Post," and editing was locked. Besides, once I actually thought about it, asking if people "like" something changes the whole weight of the question.
Whatever. Let's just leave it.😁

So, here’s a little retroactive test for you guys

The Czech film Battery versus the American movie Quiet, Hush, Sweet Charlotte

I’ve been working my way through both over the last couple of days

Battery is about 102 minutes long—I actually had to split it into two 50-minute chunks because it was just dragging so much
whereas I flew through Charlotte—which runs about 132 minutes—in one single sitting, even though I really should have been sleeping

So, my takeaway? A good movie is something you can actually sit through
but a bad movie is just tedious, impossible to finish, and feels like an eternity even if it's only 70 minutes—kind of like watching LIVE FEED

Lisa Morgan76 said:Come on, admit it—you had a few beers before this. There's no other explanation 😍

Nah, I actually grabbed a couple of brews when I went to see Love in the Time of Cholera—and yeah, at the theater... A buddy and I hit the late shows twice, and honestly, the movie was alright 😁

This country isn't bad if you're just looking for a quiet place to grow old, but I was in a total mood that day. I forced myself to go see that flick—and I didn't love it, but that was mostly because it dragged on forever and I was feeling off (you know, that weird, restless anxiety thing) 🙄

It depends. I remember sitting through Jackson’s King Kong and practically counting the minutes until the credits rolled, but then I caught Benjamin Button the other day and was honestly floored—the cinematography alone was a total feast. 🤷

A quick side note: how on earth did Fincher manage to stretch such a slim little book into a three-hour epic? 😬

Well, I think I’m actually going to back up the theory 😁
I honestly find it pretty tough to sit through long movies, regardless of whether they're absolute masterpieces or total flops.
After about two hours, I usually feel 😵 completely restless... and it isn't because my attention span is failing me (because if a movie is truly gripping, I can stay focused easily), but rather because the pacing tends to drag way too much for me. Personally, I just want things to move a bit faster 🤣