It's hard to describe the feeling I get after having spent 2 hours of my life on a film I had high hopes for, only to find it was a terrible waste of time. Fortunately such a situation can easily be avoided thanks to a wonderful website designed specifically for this purpose.

I am aware that film critics have been around for as long as the movie industry itself, however the opinion of one person can very rarely be trusted. For this reason I've started relying on a website called Rotten Tomatoes to do a little bit of quick research before I decide to rent a film.

Rotten Tomatoes combines dozens of reviews from numerous film critics for almost any film and gives the user an average after comparing them all. Whilst the opinions of the professionals on any given movie may not accurately mirror your own, the site will at the very least give you a rough idea of what to expect and whether it would be enjoyable watch. To round out the opinions of potentially snooty critics, users of the site are encouraged to give their own personal scores and reviews to the website.

To get started visit www.rottentomatoes.com and type in a movie of your choice hit the search button. As there are usually several results which potential matches so simply click on the movie that exactly matches your description. From this point you will be taken to a page which gives you all the information that you need to really know about the film; this includes but is not limited to the following:

- The average rating of the movie based on the critic reviews along with a chance to read each individual review in full.

- The average user rating of the movie which is made up using information submitted from other users of the website.

- Information on the film and its DVD release including the length of the film, special features and format.

- A movie synopsis which rarely contains any spoiler material which would affect your enjoyment of the movie.

- DVD Photo Stills and Theatrical Trailers.

- The Movie Mistakes section is great if you like deconstructing a film by spotting continuity errors and factual inaccuracies or even the cameraman's reflection in the mirror.

Rotten Tomatoes has interviews with actors and directors along with general news, a dedicated forum for like minded folk to meet and discuss whatever aspect of any given movie tickles their fancy. Other slightly more random features crop up occasionally ' for example last years rather nice Halloween 'Top 50 horror movies of all time' that I enjoyed greatly. A variety of different charts populate the website further, detailing films that have hit the box office lately or have just been brought out on DVD and thankfully letting us know if they are worthwhile spending money/time on or not.

Not wanting to be restricted to just movies, Rotten Tomatoes also caters for gamers with a similar system which allows you to research video games prior to purchase; perhaps this could be particularly useful for clueless parents in the run up to Christmas?

I am fully aware that it is possible to enjoy a movie that others have hated and I firmly believe that living you life by dodging the unknown is not living. With this in mind, I have found Rotten Tomatoes to be incredibly useful and a priceless free service. By instantly having the opinions of many critics and a few hundred users, making a wise decision about which movie to watch this evening should be a lot easier.