It's Friday night and you're sitting with friends in a movie theater. The air buzzes with chatter, crunching popcorn and the squick squick of shoes sticking to the sugary floor. After several minutes, the lights begin to dim and loud company theme music starts to play. Then a thin, green, horizontal stripe appears on screen: the previews have begun.

Almost more engaging than the film itself are the previews. Everyone loves to be a critic. Without fail, during the previews you will at some point lean over and whisper into your neighbor's ear (or someone will whisper into your ear) something along the lines of, "That's gonna be really good," or, "That looks so dumb."

More likely than not, the most cynical, egotistical and arrogant member of the group will like the fewest films. Why? Simple, it's easier to point out flaws than merits. The people around this person will nod in agreement, giving little to no actual analytic thought to the matter themselves because people expect to find faults. In fact, they want to find them - it makes them sound smarter. This searching for things to criticize and dismiss is supercilious, elitist and closed-minded.

Sure, I could take the easy way out and gripe about predictable plotlines, hackneyed effects, nonexistent plotlines, underdeveloped characters, crude humor, the obsession with sex, overly dramatized brutality, bad acting, and so on and so on until I tuned blue in the face. However, while there are certainly hundreds of bad films circulating the rental stores, there are many, many brilliant pieces of work emerging every day. Sure, as soon as one original idea sparks into existence, flocks of screenwriters and directors descend upon it - but that is the essence of art and invention. Civilization improves through the using, copying and improving of already created work. Few ideas, but nearly all ideas are different and some are even unique.

Take, for example, this year's Academy Award nominees for Best Motion Picture. Babel is acclaimed for its connecting of very different people from around the globe in one set of seemingly unconnected events. The style is called hyperlink film (coined by film critic Allison Quart) and was first seriously introduced in 2000 with Traffic. Letters from Iwo Jima is a spectacular film whose perspective was original but whose storyline originated in history. Little Miss Sunshine is dysfunctional life (reminiscent of Running With Scissors): adorable and inspired but incapable of being 100% unique. The Queen, again, is based on true historical events.

Finally, the winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is The Departed. Let me first point out that this film also won for Best Adapted Screenplay. There is no doubt that this is a great film (though it would have been nice if the two leading actors, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio didn't look so much alike). However, there is also no doubt that the storyline was blatantly ripped from the Japanese film Mou Gaan Dou (Infernal Affairs) that was released in 2002 - hence the Oscar for the adapted screenplay (a bogus and undeserved award, in my opinion, because it was so similar to the original - the main difference being the language and location change).

So what if the cinema mainstream has become bogged down with films such as Elektra, John Tucker Must Die, and Lady in the Water? There are still plenty of stunning films out there that are most definitely worth seeing. Besides, even the worst films must have something inspired about them. After all, obviously someone thought that making them was a good idea.

If you find it your nature to criticize, that's fine. Just don't let your harsh eye detract from your enjoyment - and that of the people around you - of the film. Yes, all films have flaws. Now accept that and get over yourself. Just once, try looking only for the good. Who knows? It might just open up your mind.

Kyra-lin Hom may be reached at kl_hom@yahoo.com