I think for great directors who have done great films, you don't really rationalize a bad film and think it's great just because of the director.. On the contrary, your expectations are higher than a normal director's work and also you have something to compare it to.. The director has already set a bar for himself so others may be more critical of every release..

I don't think I rationalize too much, I call it how I see it most of the time..

Like Bringing out the dead by Scorsese.. I'm a huge fan of his catalogue, but I still rate this as one of the worst movies i've seen..

(John Leguizamo in Dreads wasn't a good sign)