Hmm. I haven't heard any negative reviews of it though. I know a few people who refuse to watch it on the basis of Tom Cruise, but I find it hard to believe that's the whole story.

I do often wonder what it is that gets people to go see movies. It's probably not reviews, 'cause people have to seek those out rather than passively consuming them, right? Doesn't seem like that accounts for enough numbers.
Trailers? 'Cause the trailer for EoT was excessively po-faced and missed out on the energy and charm of the movie.
Word of mouth?

I have no answers. I'm just confused by the disparity between quality and consumption.

Wow. These are excellent suggestions, thanks a lot!

I don't think I'll ever stop being surprised by how many powerful tools (snigger) are freely-available like this. Amazing.

Hah! My friends have a podcast (The Black Dog Podcast) where they re-review films to see if they are as good as we remember (rose-tinted specs) or as bad as we remember (shit-covered goggles).
Next week's episode is The Goonies.

Mainly, I've found that if you watched it as a kid, you will still find love for it as an adult. But, let's be honest, Goonies is one of those films that people are disproportionately vocal about loving. So when people watch it for the first time, as adults, they don't have the nostalgia that'll keep you moving along with the film.

I've still got love for it, though. I wasn't gonna watch it or send them feedback this week, but I saw the trailer, and I'm now really leaning towards watching it again.

I dug it. I think Lady Stoneheart woulda been cool, but I see the point that it would make the finale a bit too busy (and I wasn't expecting this episode to end on Arya, but that worked so well. especially with the big soaring music cue!).

I do wonder where exactly they'll put Lady Stoneheart next season though. It's a shame this show doesn't do cold opens 'cause that would make a great "what the actual fuck?!?" one for the premiere.

edit: also, what Dorkman said about the skeleton fight. i love the fact that the CGI wasn't overly fluid. i mean, it was smooth, but it also had an impressive heft/momentum to it. totally had the Harryhausen spirit going for it. big love for that.

I'm not at all invested (I think the original trilogy are good fun entertainment, not a religious experience), but this story really makes me want a sequel to Christine, with the Millennium Falcon as the titular terror. Now THAT is a Star Wars movie I'd get excited about.