Great Site: Flickchart.com
If you consider yourself a movie fan you must check out Flickchart.com, a new site that ranks movies based on head to head match-ups.
Flickchart presents you with two movie posters and you decide which movie you like most and click on the poster. If you haven’t seen one or both of the movies there are buttons to click for that too. Flickchart continues to present these match-ups for as long as you want to keep ranking. As you rank the movies Flickchart builds your list of top movies. The more you rank the better your list gets and the more your votes begin to count toward the global list.
It can be a wildly addictive yet frustrating experience. It was all fun and games for me until Groundhog Day hit my number one spot. Groundhog Day is a no-brainer for my top fifty and perhaps even my top twenty – but number one? I don’t think so. It sat there for a long time as I patiently ranked movies. Even more frustrating was the occupation of that spot by a movie I didn’t even enjoy very much – Saving Private Ryan. I understand it was an excellent film and that’s why it sat there for a while. Clearly I voted for it instead of the movies against which it was matched, but I can name a couple dozen films I’d rank higher if I were putting together a list myself.
I guess that is what makes the process so compelling. You rank movies one against another and try not to let the list itself influence your judgement. You need to trust the system. Does it work? I have no idea but we won’t know unless we try it, right? Try it without letting your pre-determined ideas of what should be top on the list cloud your judgement. It can be harder to do than you think.
The most frustrating part of the Flickchart experience, by a long shot, is dealing with some of the match-ups. I know these things are subjective but I’ll share some of the most frustrating match-ups I remember seeing. Please note that this is NOT a critique the ranking system at all. I’ve not had a chance to really look at the data and see how things work. I’m sure the system has flaws but that is not what this is about. What follows is just a fun look at my addiction.
The Godfather v. Thelma & Louise
In my opinion The Godfather is one of the best films of all time. Unfortunately, it is matched up against a movie which I loved but have not yet had a chance to rank. Without a doubt I click The Godfather but my problem is that after almost 1200 rankings I have a list of more than 500 movies. When I click on The Godfather, what happens to Thelma & Louise? Does it drop all the way to the bottom of my list? In this case it went right to the middle of the list. I haven’t paid enough attention to notice if new movies always drop to the middle. In any case new movies that come into the rotation late have to fight harder to get to the top. A reverse of the Groundhog Day problem really.
Being There v. Planet of the Apes (2001)
Being There is another one of my all-time favorites (and I haven’t rated it yet) but I’ve never seen this version of Apes. No big deal, right? Just ask for the next movie. Well, I know what invariably happens in these cases. I am going to get one of those match-ups which people fret about all the time – two great movies with no clear favorite. Sure enough it happens again. Now I get Man on the Moon. In the end I decided on Being There because this match-up is not quite as hard as some I’ve seen but I’ve also not yet ranked Man on the Moon so it will drop down to a spot from which it must fight its way up the list.
Spy Kids 3 v. Superman 3
Really? I have to choose between these two? Okay, I’m making this one up but I’ve seen match-ups almost as bad which escape my memory. As I write this, another Flickchart user posts this on Twitter:
I hate choosing between 2 awful movies on @flickchart more than 2 great ones. Today: Underworld vs Exorcist: The Beginning.
@brandonRohwer
Who wants to vote for a horrible movie? and what movie on my list will drop below the “winner?” Worse yet, will the losing movie drop in at the middle and outrank half my list? I certainly hope not.
The Godfather v. Dumb and Dumber
You know what I think of The Godfather. I have not seen Dumb and Dumber which makes this similar to Being There v. Apes but this is worse. There is absolutely zero chance that I would vote for Dumb and Dumber over The Godfather – zero. So what’s the big deal? Just ask for another movie right? The problem is that I can avoid the problem I mentioned in the Apes match-up – I could pretend I’ve seen the movie and be done with it without risking another Man on the Moon situation. The problem with this approach is twofold. One, I will continue to see Dumb and Dumber in my rankings which will put me in this situation again and again. Two, it’s cheating.
It is not all frustration though. The best way to avoid these frustrations is to rank more movies and hope the system works. Once in a while I will try to refine my list a bit by choosing to rank certain genres, years, or from among my top movies. Like I’ve already said, I have no idea if it works but I am having a whole lot of fun trying. Clicking on movie after movie has proven to be far more fun than I could have possibly imagined. If you don’t believe me check it out today. Flickchart is planning for launch on 09-09-09 but is in private beta right now. Visit Flickchart.com today and submit you email for an invite. While you are waiting you can watch the trailer, check out my profile, and enjoy some of the fun by following along on Twitter and FriendFeed.