Criticker Movie Blog » Forum Watch

Forum Watch – Children Being Killed

mpowell — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:59:30 +0000

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

Forum Watch: Your Best PSIs

mpowell — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:16:30 +0000

Does everyone at Criticker tend to get the same films at the top of their PSI lists? That’s a suspicion I’ve always had, and there’s definitely a lot of overlap. To a certain extent, that’s expected; great films are great films, regardless of who they’re being recommended to.

But I was surprised and heartened to see the variety of 100 and 99 PSIs reported by members in a thread post dedicated to the topic. We get classics like 2001 (for those few cinephile that haven’t seen it), and obscure gems like Sátántangó and A Tanú.

Have you seen A Tanú? If so, you’re in a very select club

Reading through the list had me compiling a mental checklist of films to rent, and eventually I had to stop! What’s at the top of your PSI list? Don’t forget that subscribers to Criticker get their PSIs updated every single day, in addition to a no-ads version of the site.

Forum Watch: The Dinner Game

mpowell — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:45:27 +0000

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

Forum Watch: Best Performances

mpowell — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:41:36 +0000

Hey, do you have about 30 minutes extra in your life, you’d like to spend remembering some of the greatest acting performances of all time?

Then head over to the forum, and read through this great thread started by Bojangles, dedicated to cinema’s Best Performances.

Joyously free of bickering and blessed with bountiful images of the performances, this thread is one of our favorites currently in action at the forum. You won’t be able to get far, without discovering a new must-see film, or being reminded of a great performance which you’d like to revisit.

Go check it out, and make sure to contribute your own favorites!

Forum Watch: What films have you watched the most times?

mpowell — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:24:16 +0000

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:

Dumbo, Pete’s Dragon, The Brave Little Toaster, The Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood, Robin Hood Men in Tights, The Princess Bride, Overboard, Rocky IV, Tommy Boy, Big Jake, The Cowboys, City Slickers, Muppet Treasure Island, Annie, Kelly’s Heroes, Nacho Libre, Little Manhattan, The Argon Quest, Three Amigos, Rocketman, George of the Jungle, Master of Disguise, Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Rascals, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, Almost Heroes, Under Seige, Jeremiah Johnson, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Man Who Knew Too Little, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Scamper the Penguin, Behind the Waterfall, Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, The Seventh Brother, Rigoletto, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Speed, and Westworld.

I’ve seen all of these at least 20 times! Mostly when I was younger .

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?

Forum Watch: Your Favorite Scene

mpowell — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:18:52 +0000

The Criticker Forums are a great place to both share your own thoughts, and learn a lot from other knowledgeable people. When you see a topic like Your Favorite Scene, started in October 2009 by frederic_g54, you can be sure that you’re in for a treat.

The scenes picked out by the community are great… terrifying, amazing, stylish and hilarious (often, unintentionally). Famous scenes from Psycho, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, 8 1/2, Dog Day Afternoon, There Will Be Blood, Au hasard Balthazar… so far, 4 pages full of cinema’s most classic moments. Most contributers take the time to embed a YouTube video, which adds a lot.

Check out the discussion. You’re sure to find some forgotten favorites and discover scenes you’ve not yet watched. Make sure to add your personal faves!

- 10 Weird Things You Can Buy From Amazon

Forum Watch: Favorite/Least Favorite Holiday Films

mpowell — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:33:32 +0000

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

Forum Watch: Top 10 favorite films

mpowell — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:06:10 +0000

There is nothing that people love more than list-making. That’s meant literally… people love making lists more than hugging their own children. Top 10 lists, particularly, are hugely popular and spring up everywhere, on every conceivable topic.

In fact, the only Top 10 list you’ll never see, is the Top 10 Things People Love More Than Top 10 Lists (really, Google it: No Results).

So, it was just a matter of time before someone broached the topic on Criticker’s forums. Since BullyFanatic planted the seed in July, there have been 3 pages full of additions. A lot of the usual suspects show up (Kubrick, Tarantino), but there are some odd entries as well (Hula Girls?!)

Shows up a lot

The lists make for a few minutes of fun reading, so head over there, and don’t forget to contribute your own!

- Lego Lamps and Lights

Forum Watch: District 9

mpowell — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:51:01 +0000

One of the most surprising hits of the summer has inspired a lot of discussion at the Criticker Forums. District 9 came out of nowhere with a bunch of unknown actors and immediately landed on the tentative versions of many Best Of 2009 lists. At Criticker, it’s gotten even more traffic than Tarantino’s long-awaited Inglourious Basterds.

The District 9 forum thread was started by user frederic_g54 at the beginning of July. From the very beginning, it’s a pretty contentious discussion and quickly dives into ideas like, “Is it valid to defend or rip films you’ve not yet seen?” (My response to that is definitely yes).

So whether or not you’ve seen the movie, feel free to join the discussion and contribute! The Criticker Forums can always use some fresh insights.

- Vote for your favorite Disney Villains

Forum Watch: The Top 20 Most-Ranked Movies on Criticker

mpowell — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:37:29 +0000

#1 with a bullet

It hasn’t taken long for users to discover some of the cool new things you can do with Criticker’s new & improved Film Database. One of those new features makes possible a forum topic started last week by djross — a discussion of the 20 most-ranked films on Criticker.

We can see from this list that only 2 out of 20 are more than 10 years old (Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction), and both of those are 15 years old. Does the list tell us much about the Criticker membership? No doubt it says something, but probably nothing that could not have been predicted in advance. But keeping track of this list would be one way of tracking the evolution of Criticker and its membership.

Interested in seeing which films are the most frequently-ranked at Criticker? Examine the list yourself, then join the conversation. Don’t forget, that this ordering feature can be used in conjunction with other filters — for example, it’s now easy to see the most-ranked Japanese horror films!

Of course, while simple popularity is no indicator of quality, I’m not ashamed to admit that I love everything in the top 10! What about you?

- Formula 1 Valencia