-I had been thinking about heading to the theatres to check out the Borat movie, but now I guess I might wait to see it on DVD. This is likely what I would have done anyway because with my current schedule and financial situation movies in theatres just don’t make sense.
-One should be very leery of the IMDB top 250. Hasn’t it struck some of you as strange that there are so many films from the last 5 years on the list. A movie gets a bit of a buzz and it shoots right up to no. 2 or 3. As the years go by it seems that this list has become less representative of good movies and more of big hits. A little bit of credibility is maintained by a few classics being spread throughout the list. I guess I should keep in mind that it is pretty open about the fact that it is based entirely on user votes and not dictated by movie gurus.
-About two hours ago I woke up from a short power nap and found myself completely disoriented and unable to think. It was a very strange and unpleasant experience. Hopefully this is not the beginning of a trend, because if it is I might have to give up the almighty name or just learn to deal with a few minutes of disorientation.
-My union meeting this afternoon was very informative. While I might not be the strongest union man my current feeling is that if I am going to give up 2% of my wages to be a member I should at least have a say in how they represent me and try to get them to fight for good things in our to be negotiated collective agreement.
-Earlier this afternoon, while visiting Val, I helped her out with her grocery shopping. While in the store I decided that I needed a few new herbal teas to replenish my diminishing stocks. Fortunately, the grocery store we were visiting had a better selection that the one that I typically frequent. After a few minutes of contemplation I selected a pretty standard peach herbal tea and a rooibos/lemongrass mixture. This last choice is a bit of a gamble. The last time that I had a rooibos tea I was quite unimpressed. But as I sit hear and smell it as it steeps I believe that I may have made a good choice. I will let you know.
Crap, it turns out that nice smell was not coming from my tea but another source. The tea actually smells a bit funky, just like the last time I had it. I guess I really shouldn’t expect that much from something made from boiled twig bark.
Yup, still tastes like boiled twigs. It is unfortunate that I keep buying less that tasty herbal teas, at this rate I will have quite a collection by Christmas.
-I haven’t heard from Greg or Rick since they each moved to their respective ends of the earth. If they want to contact me to let me know how they are doing it would be appreciated.
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7 comments:
I've learned to ignore a lot of the movies in the top 250 on IMDb, but what really struck me about Borat is that it got there in a week.
The IMDB 250 is definitely extremely suspect ... I wouldn't be surprised if movie companies pay teenagers to keep voting for certain flicks, just so they can move up on the list
It is certainly open to that type of manipulation.
On the other hand, the list could just be a product of run of the mill advertising manipulation. People are told that they should see a movie and that it is good, so they go and, what do you know, they like it.
I have always wondered exactly what goes into people think a movie is "good" or "bad." I believe that the situation that I described exactly what occured with the LOTR movies. People had been subjected to a multi-year publicity campaign that told them that this was going to be a very important series of movies. When people finally got to see the movies they certainly didn't go in with a clean slate. I certainly remember how gauche it became to say that one didn't like these movies, was any of this to do with the fact that we had been told for years that they would be amazing?
When I worked at an independent theatre in New York I certainly had the impression that people were there because this was the latest thing in their set. To keep current with their group they had to appriciate certain things, be they movies or books, or pieces of art. It was very superficial, and in many ways rather upsetting.
I agree with Rahlious in that the top 250 is a good list from which to pick a movie. In general defining a "good" movie is very hard. If in the future many movies are made to reap the success of LOTR but are all much worse, then LOTR clearly becomes the best of the genre.
I was under the impression that each IMDB account was allowed to rate each movie once, perhaps I am wrong on that. However, any internet list based on indivual opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
The important thing to look at when using the IMDB Top 250 is the number of votes that gave the particular movie its rating. I have long felt that the problem with this list is that it weighted all ratings evenly, with no interest given to the number of votes which produced the rating. While I can see this being necessary for a new list, the Top 250 has been around for a number of years and IMDB needs to create a minimum vote count to qualify for inclusion.
Even though I often disagree with ratings on this site, it is still my first and my primary resource for finding a good film title. With so many movies being made these days, the majority of which are highly inferior works, it is important to get a little help wading through the mire.
I believe that there is a complex weighting formula for votes, embodying the concept of a minimum number as well as a few other factors.
You're absolutely right, I had completely overlooked the mathematical fine print.
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