Film Buffs

"2009 was a banner year for science fiction, one of the best for the genre in recent memory. It brought us franchise resurrections (J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek, McG‘s Terminator Salvation), critically-heralded indie gems (Duncan Jones‘ Moon), and, indeed, Oscar cred with, not one, but two Best Picture nominations. Which brings us to, arguably, two of the best sci-fi movies of the past decade, and this edition of Reel Rumbles: James Cameron‘s Avatar vs. Neill Blomkamp‘s District 9." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

Moon was better than either. I wasn't overly impressed with either District 9 or Avatar,but District 9 was better science fiction even if the protagonist seemed like Michael Scott from The Office - RAPatton

D9 - Mo Kargas

"A few years ago, I realized that my knowledge of film history was very limited. My timeline of film began with Back to the Future, and I could tell you more about the films of Pauly Shore than those of Marlon Brando. So, with the acknowledgement that I was missing decades of great films, I decided to start way back at the beginning of film and work my way to the present, learning as much about film and watching as many movies as I could in the quest for cinematic enlightenment. Through this endeavor, I found some of the greatest films ever made, as well as learned an incredible amount about the history of film. I would like to share what I have learned so far in a chronological look at film I like to call “Flickchart Film School”." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"When Jeremy and I came up with the concept for Flickchart, one of the biggest catalysts was that we felt like ratings were never quite good enough to truly describe how much we liked a film using some sort of numerical value. With only 4 or 5 stars, there just wasn’t enough nuance to differentiate from movie to movie. But what about 1-100 scales? Or 10 stars? It was just too arbitrary to pick a value in the middle somewhere, and say concretely that we liked a film exactly 7.7 out of 10, or 64 out of 100. What could we actually point to within ourselves to say that one movie was a 65 out of 100 instead of a 64 out of 100. It just seems too hard to quantify when judging a single movie’s merits on their own, and coming up with a value that represents one’s honest opinion. The rest, as they say, is history…" - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"...what about shows I was actually around to watch and experience? The preconceived notions I have of this era’s shows will make for a huge hurdle in my presumed enjoyment of such a remake, much as I expect the remakes previously named were tough for older generations to really get into. When all is said and done though, remakes are going to happen, and here are the top 5 remakes I expect to see between the years 2020 and 2040:" - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"In fact, I’d be willing to bet that, for most Flickcharters, the only list that really matters is that one that stares you in the face every time you come to the site: your personal Top 20. It’s the list that’s on-screen every time you rank; either causing you to constantly question it, or reaffirm that yes, yes these are, in fact, my favorite movies of all-time. The cream of the crop. The films that will smack down any others they come against in your Flickchart rankings." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"Sure, there’s a Facebook movie coming soon, but there really isn’t much outside of that. A Farmville movie could become our generation’s “Of Mice and Men” or “The Grapes of Wrath,” themselves adaptations of the popular media of the day. The romantic comedy potential in Chatroulette is off the charts. Flickchart is no different, and not as some distasteful Sophie’s Choice parody. It’s been a while since we had a good frustrated-13-year-old-big-sister-yells-at-baby-brother-who-then-get’s-sucked-into-a-computer-and-then-she-has-to-get-him-back-before-mom-gets-home-movie. Kinda like a digital Labyrinth but without all the David Bowie crotch bulge." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"The homepage of Flickchart states “If they’re all 5 star movies, which one is the best?” I put that to the test to determine just how effective their system is, and just how broken traditional rating methods are. I keep a running diary of all the films I watch, complete with date, film, rating, and check marks indicating whether it’s the first time I’ve seen the movie and if I watched it on TCM. There are very few other things to do with the “Latino Images in Film” spiral notebooks I won from TCM a while back. I’m almost positive Cantinflas would have done the same thing. I watch a movie, record it in the diary an hour later after it has sunk in, and then get it on Flickchart when I get the chance. The current book is at over 500 movies since July ‘09. Now, it would make sense that the relationship of the ratings I come up with after seeing a movie and their positions on Flickchart would match, right? Well, no." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"We all have our demons. When a particularly tough match-up shows up, those nightmares manifest on Flickchart and haunt us until we finally muster up the courage to click. Some of us aren’t that lucky though. These are their stories. Meet Tom Hanks." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"I love the purity of impulse involved in duels on Flickchart. Though I certainly can’t speak for everyone, I personally use the “first thought, best thought” principle when it comes to declaring a victor. You know, the method taught to us in school, to survive multiple choice tests you didn’t study for. This principle states that the first answer you think is right, is probably right. Similarly, whichever dueling movie inspires the greatest instinctive rush of affection – on a primal level, divorced from the paralysis of over-thinking – is the correct choice to win the duel. If you suddenly realize this principle is working too well, and Flickchart autopilot has resulted in an errant click, there’s always the Undo button to correct your mistakes." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"In just a few short days, we’ll finally find out who takes home the big prize. Each year, hundreds of movies are in the running – but now we’re down to five. Five movies that will stand the test of time and will never be forgotten. One of these fives movies will go down in history with other such classics as Catwoman, I Know Who Killed Me, The Love Guru and Showgirls. Wait, you didn’t think I was talking about the Oscars, did you?" - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"I’m sure it’s hard to believe, but movie fans haven’t always had the choice between seeing a movie at a theater or waiting to watch it on video. Much has already been made of Disney’s decision to limit its forthcoming Alice in Wonderland to just thirteen weeks of theatrical exhibition, before releasing it on Blu-ray and DVD. Young fans might not know it, but there was indeed a time when you could entirely forget about a movie between its theatrical debut and its home video release. (Then again, knowing the attention spans of some, this is probably still true.) I bring this up because the choice continues to evolve for most movie fans: Go to the theater or wait and see it at home? I’m not going to explore the pros or cons of either environment, but rather I’m interested this time in exploring how where we see a movie impacts our feelings about that movie." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

"Just when you thought it was safe to head back to the Flickchart Blog, another Reel Rumbles is here to determine once and for all what is scarier: a murderous great white shark on the loose in a small fishing village or a lone member of a mysterious alien race haunting the jungles of Central America? Separated by twelve years and undeniable advancements in special effects, this looks, on paper, to be a match for the ages. But is it really that close? Does testosterone-fueled action and a Die Hard pedigree trump master filmmaking and deep characterization? Read on and find out in Jaws vs. Predator." - Flickchart from Bookmarklet

The Hangover; it did what It did well and took flight in the credits - RAPatton from iPhone

Ripping me in two. A film that was designed for mass appeal that also weaves game theory into the plot, or multi-level philosophical masterpiece. I think I'm going with Fight Club, but I'm not sure. - Jimminy, CoG of FF

I do like the music. The Dust Bros. are the business. *raises white flag* - Derrick

I hafta say, though, not a single non-English film in there? And only one non-American (Shaun of the Dead). I've got to be skeptical about that. Is the algorithm tweaked to account for films that haven't been ranked by that many people, but are highly ranked by everyone who has ranked it? - Jandy

best actor Lager - Robi

Well they were trying to upgrade this - http://www.ugo.com/movies... - The Amber

Blade Runner, easily. It defined a genre and wasn't aimed at people who had never heard of Zen Buddhism before. - Akiva

Blade Runner, no contest. - Rob H.