About a month ago, TheDenizen started what has quickly become one of our favorite topics on the forum: Children Being Killed. The topic is about exactly that — movies with scenes featuring children being murdered.

Any time a topic starts out with a warning like “hopefully people won’t be shocked and horrified by what I’m about to say”, you know you’re in for a treat. Upon seeing it the first time, I sighed, naturally assuming a wave of scorn and anger would follow. But that didn’t happen! A lot of users contributed films in which kids are hacked up, sliced to pieces and brutally, shockingly slaughtered.

What I love about this topic is the disregard to sensitive cultural norms. Criticker’s forums are at their best when the discussions veer off what we could ever have anticipated; and when they’re of questionable taste, it’s just a bonus.

So, if you’re interested in the brutal murder of children, head over the forum! And then take a cold shower, stare at yourself in the mirror, and soberly contemplate the state of your soul.

- Entertainment Blog

Some of our favorite topics at the Criticker Forum kick off because a user has just seen a film, absolutely loved or hated it, and wants confirmation of their views. That’s exactly what user Hopscotch did after watching the French favorite from the late 90s, The Dinner Game. He loved the film, and was surprised by a very negative review by a user over at IMDB.

Over the next few days, the community at the forum agreed that The Dinner Game is great, brushed on the subtitle debate, suggested a similar film (In The Loop) and unearthed the trailer for the inevitable US remake of the film, naturally retitled to make it palatable to our more juvenile sense of humor: Dinner for Schmucks. (“Schmucks! Har, gotta see it!”).

This is the way we like to see the Forums work! If you’d like, go over and join the thread. And if you’re not reading or participating in the Criticker Forums, you’re missing out on a powerful resource, and a lot of great conversations.

- DVDs for a Dollar

Now this is a great idea for a discussion, started a couple weeks ago by miss jesus — what film have you watched the most times?

In a short amount of time, this topic has really taken off, and already has 40 replies and thousands of views. Interestingly, the films we’ve seen the most frequently aren’t necessarily our “favorites”. A lot of it depends on a serendipitous union of TV scheduling and apathy.

Fact: 90% of humanity can recite at least 4 quotes from The Princess Bride

There are a lot of great responses, but no one quite matches the comprehensiveness of hopscotch‘s answer which, read aloud, is curiously poetic:

Personally, the film I’ve seen the most times must be The Dark Knight. But only because, last summer, I watched it in Spanish over and over and over in order to learn the language. The main consequence has been that I now speak Spanish in a deep, aggressive growl.

What films have you seen most frequently? Why not go join the conversation?

Here’s a timely topic for the holiday season! Melvin Smif has started a popular thread asking about everyone’s favorite and most hated Christmas movies. Some classic gems like It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story show up frequently in the posts, which currently number over 40 (though they take a weird turn for the political midway through). Die Hard is another film which appears on a huge number of lists — not the most traditional seasonal fare, but a great movie nonetheless.

John McClane spreads the holiday cheer

Will 2008′s A Christmas Tale one day make lists like this? This French film starring Catherine Deneuve is widely loved by Criticker Users, and might make a good choice for those getting tired of the old standards.

My personal fave, though it’s not awfully unique, is A Christmas Story — I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it. What’s yours? Go join the forum and share!

Amazon: It’s a Wonderful Life / Die Hard / A Christmas Tale / A Christmas Story