Revisiting entertainment

Does anyone ever go back to certain pieces of entertainment - books, films, TV shows, music etc. - and have their opinion of them changed somewhat upon a second/third/whatever viewing of them? A lot of the time, my first impression is normally the one I stick to, but there are occasions where I can have a substantial change of heart in either direction.

Just a few hours ago, I was watching Dr. Strangelove for the second time, and was really surprised by how much I seemed to like it more than the first viewing. Originally, I remember liking it but not seeing what all the fuss was about: outside of a few choice quotes ('Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the War Room!) and character names riddled with sexual innuendo I didn't 'love' it like everyone else seemed to. Maybe it's just because of an increase in my age and film appreciation, maybe it's because I've been studying the arms race and Cold War history in general all year, but I finally 'got' what everyone else seemed to know already, and it was a satisfying experience.

On the converse, I rewatched Match Point about a month or so ago, and that did NOT hold up well at all. Far from being the sophisticated and intricate thriller I remember, it comes barrelling in, lumped with clichés about tennis matches, love and England. It's still cleverly plotted, but nothing is given to character development, and the acting is really, really not good, especially from the leads of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Scarlett Johansson.

My musical opinions tend to fluctuate dramatically as well. There are too many examples to list, but I have an awful tendency of overplaying a recently bought album only to delete it from iTunes a few months later once I've listened to it with fresh ears. It's not good...

So, what about everyone else, then?

Live_Wire466 said:

Sometimes my opinion changes, because as I re-watch or re-read a movie or book, I get more out of it the second time around, or I notice things I didn't pick up on the first time through, like minute details in movies like Inception that are fairly complex in thought and material.

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I noticed that stuff the first time. The joys of having a multitasking brain, my friend. (even though my brain was so active my head hurt like hell afterwards. XD)

And I find it hard for me to read a book over within two month of the first reading... especially if I haven't read anything since. Because then my mind just wants to skip to the good stuff.

But part one of deathly hallows... the first time I saw it I wasn't too fond of it. I kept seeing the missed or messed details. I see it again the next night and, since i stopped caring and actually payed attention, I enjoyed it WAY more.

I rarely read books again, besides like the Harry Potter series and ones I am forced to read multiple times like for studying, but yeah.

As for movies, some movies I love re watching. Really only ones that I thoroughly enjoy enough to watch a second time. Yes I often do notice more things in the film, but that's not my motivation behind watching them again.

As for music, I listen to all music over and over. While I go into phases of listening to specific genres and stuff, I will always expect to revisit my whole library of music at some point in time.