How fitting that a film about as contentious a topic as the death penalty would find its way onto our list of the most contentious films of all time. The Life of David Gale, Kevin Spacey and director Alan Parker‘s “issue film”, has found as many passionate detractors and supporters as capital punishment itself, scoring an admirable 48.63 FCQ (Film Contentiousness Quotient — details here).

Spacey stars as the titular character, a man who’s (possibly) been falsely accused of murder and sits on death row. Kate Winslet is an intrepid reporter named Bitsey Bloom (automatic 5 points off my score for that name), who has to rush against the clock to try and save Gale’s life. Will she make it?! Nail-biting excitement!

Or… overblown ham-handedness. Reviews were brutal (Ebert gave it 0 stars), but despite the extremely poor critical reception, a large proportion of Criticker users have given The Life of David Gale excellent marks. What do you think? Were the critics right? If you’ve seen the film, choose now!

The Life of David Gale

• Terrible! (62%, 13 Votes)
• Great! (38%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 21

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Here are a couple battling opinions from Criticker users.

cweiselberg: “Awesome twists and turns. Spacey is amazing as always. This is a really awesomely twisted flick that I would advise anyone to watch.”

Spin73: “A stupid, stupid movie that seems to completely undermine whatever point it was trying to make. Wasted performances all around. Check out Ebert’s review.”

In the last poll, you voted on Igby Goes Down, and even though I don’t agree with the outcome, it’s heartening to finally see one of these polls end with a negative balance. Igby was terrible!

Buy The Life of David Gale here

And here’s our up-to-date list of the top 10 most contentious films at Criticker:

1. Eyes Wide Shut – FCQ 57.72 – Poll Result: GREAT!
2. Across the Universe – FCQ 57.36 – Poll Result: GREAT!
3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – FCQ 54.72 – Poll Result: GREAT!
4. Stay – FCQ 52.49 – Poll Result: GREAT!
5. The Butterfly Effect – FCQ 49.84 – Poll Result: GREAT!
6. Saw – FCQ 49.24 – Poll Result: TIE!
7. Brotherhood of the Wolf – FCQ 49.09 – Poll Result: GREAT!
8. Chicago – FCQ 48.75 – Poll Result: GREAT!
9. Dumb & Dumber – FCQ 48.66 – Poll Result: GREAT!
10. The Life of David Gale – FCQ 48.63 – Poll Result: Pending>!

For the second time in a row, a much-loved & much-hated musical takes the stage in our list of contentious films: 2002′s Oscar winning Chicago. Its FCQ is pretty high, at 47.28. (FCQ is the Film Contentiousness Quotient — details on the math can be found here).

It might be surprising that the film which was chosen as the year’s best is so controversial amongst Criticker users — but considering that it’s chock full of sparkly song and dance numbers, perhaps not. Musicals are films which rarely appeal to everyone, but Chicago’s haters are unusually full of vehemence. Amusingly so, in fact.

Chicago’s plot is pretty simple: a couple of murderesses scheme and compete for fame from within the penitentiary. But of course, the plot is mostly there as a structure to connect the various musical numbers. The cast includes John C. Reilly (arguably, the show-stealer), Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Queen Latifah, all of whom sing and dance with varying degrees of success.

This was Rob Marshall’s first film, and although the Best Picture Oscar must be nice, he’ll only truly be able to sleep well if Criticker users decide once and for all, whether Chicago was great or terrible. So, which is it?

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Here are a couple battling opinions from Criticker users.

Sapphire: “Flamboyant, sizzingly sexy retelling of the classic Bob Fosse stage musical. Superlative in every way. Great cast (Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah & John C. Reilly). The most striking performance, though, belongs to Catherine Zeta Jones (who also won an Oscar). Her Velma is a force of nature that can not be denied.”

jenna: “THE WORST MOVIE IN CINEMATIC HISTORY! A DISGRACE! RUBBISH! INSULTING! STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT! ”

In the last poll, you voted on Across the Universe, Julie Taymor’s musical tribute to the Beatles. By a decent margin, it passed the test… it’s GREAT!

And here’s our up-to-date list of the top 10 most contentious films at Criticker:

1. Eyes Wide Shut – FCQ 56.91 – Poll Result: GREAT!
2. Across the Universe – FCQ 56.18 – Poll Result: GREAT!
3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – FCQ 55.41 – Poll Result: GREAT!
4. Stay – FCQ 51.86 – Poll Result: GREAT!
5. Dumb & Dumber – FCQ 49.84 – Poll Result: GREAT!
6. Saw – FCQ 49.81 – Poll Result: TIE!
7. The Butterfly Effect – FCQ 49.6 – Poll Result: GREAT!
8. Brotherhood of the Wolf – FCQ 49.37 – Poll Result: GREAT!
9. King Kong – FCQ 49.1 – Poll Result: GREAT!
10. I Am Sam – FCQ 48.37 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!

I remember seeing a preview for this film, back in 2004. A very serious Ashton Kutcher was to be taken very seriously as an actor, in some derivative sci-fi film. I yawned and forgot about it entirely, secure in the knowledge that The Butterfly Effect would be a terrible movie that everyone soon forgot.

So when an intelligent friend recommended it to me, I was incredulous. Quietly, I asked if he was joking… you’re all excited about that Ashton Kutcher flick, is that right? He seemed a little embarrassed, but stood by the recommendation. Since then, I’ve heard the same from a lot of people… and not just that The Butterfly Effect is kind of good, but that it’s really good. And now, here it is on our list of contentious films, with a high FCQ of 50.06 (that’s Film Contentiousness Quotient: details here). This means a ton of users loved it, and almost equal numbers hated it, without many in between.

So far, I’ve resisted watching this film. Apparently I trust my blind assumptions more than the effusive praise of my friends, and it precludes me from voting in this poll. So you guys have at it: The Butterfly Effect: Great or Terrible?

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Here are a couple battling opinions from Criticker users.

btyler: “The only reason I ever gave Ashton Kutcher any credit for being an actor was for this movie. That 70′s Show and Punk’d made him look like a complete idiot all the time, but this movie redeemed him. With that said, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. Such an amazing plot and great twists.”

Gr8Googly: “Outlandish melodrama with a silly yet vile story. Turn down the intensity a bit and it might fly but ultimately it’s sunk by the ridiculous story.”

In the last vote, we put Rocky Horror Picture Show to the test, and … well, apparently the readers of the Criticker Blog are far more into transvestite vampires than the general Criticker community, because it was overwhelmingly deemed “great”.

And here’s our up-to-date list of the top 10 most contentious films at Criticker:

1. Eyes Wide Shut – FCQ 58.51 – Poll Result: GREAT!
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – FCQ 54.98 – Poll Result: GREAT!
3. Dumb & Dumber – FCQ 51.14 – Poll Result: GREAT!
4. I Am Sam – FCQ 50.33 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!
5. The Butterfly Effect – FCQ 50.08 – Poll Result: pending
6. King Kong – FCQ 49.87 – Poll Result: GREAT!
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – FCQ 49.33 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!
8. Saw – FCQ 48.91 – Poll Result: TIE!
9. Stay – FCQ 47.72 – Poll Result: GREAT!
10. Contact – FCQ 47.27 – Poll Result: GREAT!

Although Winona Ryder has the starring role, Girl, Interrupted is mainly known as the film which unleashed The Angelina on an unsuspecting world. Perhaps that’s why the film has as many starry-eyed devotees as haters. But whatever one’s opinion of The Angelina, it’s hard to deny that She was luminescent in this role. She is good at crazy, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work.

But the film as a whole? It’s received a high Film Contentiousness Quotient of 45.36 (details on the math here), which means significant and equal numbers of users hated and loved it, without many in between. Some saw it as an honest and powerful examination of mental illness, though many critics derided its dependence on cliche and uneven storytelling.

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Here are a couple battling opinions from Criticker users.

virgored: “Excellent film, amazing performances and heart-wrenching example of the bonds we form regardless of environment.”

wig: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest never needed to be watered down with estrogen.”

Last week’s poll is closed and by a huge margin, Contact is redeemed. I… can’t believe it! Fine, Juergen, this time you win.

And here’s our up-to-date list of the top 10 most contentious films at Criticker:

1. Eyes Wide Shut – FCQ 58.76 – Poll Result: GREAT!
2. Dumb & Dumber – FCQ 52.62 – Poll Result: GREAT!
3. King Kong – FCQ 51.11 – Poll Result: GREAT!
4. I Am Sam – FCQ 49.77 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – FCQ 49.31 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!
6. Saw – FCQ 49.23 – Poll Result: TIE!
7. Stay – FCQ 48.46 – Poll Result: GREAT!
8. Brotherhood of the Wolf – FCQ 48.08 – Poll Result: GREAT!
9. I Heart Huckabees – FCQ 47.86 – Poll Result: GREAT!
10. Contact – FCQ 46.79 – Poll Result: GREAT!