By Sean Kelly
Sean's # 1: Donnie Darko
A common feature of many movie sites, such as The Internet Movie Database, Yahoo Movies, Flixster, and even Cineplex.com, is the option for users to rate the films they see. Most use the traditional five star system, though IMDb uses ten stars and Yahoo Movies uses letter grading. However, if you are like me, you find that you often give the same rating to multiple films and it can be difficult to decipher which of those films are better than the others. It is that issue that is at the core of Flickchart, a new site (currently in the invite-only beta stage) that allows you to rank, not rate, your favourite movies. I just got into the site and I can tell you that it’s addictive.
The process of the site is very simple. When you log in, you are presented with two random films. Your task is to click the film you like better. When that is done, you are presented with two more films to rank. After doing this for a while, the site will generate a list that supposedly ranks your favourite films. I have to say that once you get into the habit of choosing films it can be hard to stop. However, after a while (say after you’ve ranked a few hundred films), you will find that the films’ changing positions on the ranking really slows down. This is where filters come in. With the filters, you can focus on a certain year or genre, or you can even opt to sort out your top films.
The site also features a social networking/discussion aspect. You can add fellow movie buffs to your friends list and you can even have discussions about certain pairs of films. Taking a quick peek at the current top ten discussions, you can see that people discuss everything from whether Ghostbusters is better than Back to the Future to the age-old debate comparing the cinematic “masterpiece” Saw to Lost in Translation.
Sean's # 3: Brick
As much fun as the site is, I can’t say that it isn’t without any flaws. I admit that I purposely “rigged” my top twenty by making sure to always pick my favourite films whenever they came up. Also, the site doesn’t give you the option to skip the current choice, with the reasoning being that part of the fun of the site is that you must choose. However, the site does give you the option to say that you haven’t seen a film, which works as a de facto skip button. Speaking of the “did not see button,” even though it’s there, it doesn’t stop people from ignoring it and ranking films they haven’t seen anyways (I admit, I accidentally did it once or twice). Since the ranking is for your own personal list, I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. However, the site does have an overall list, and if enough people rank films dishonestly, that list may be seriously affected.
Another flaw I noticed is that the site sometimes repeats pairings. Theoretically, one should keep picking the same film each time the pair comes up. However, since I go through so many films on the site, I’m sure there were moments when I picked one film at one time, only to pick the other film at another.
I’m sure some of those concerns may be addressed before the end of Flickchart’s beta stage. According to the trailer for the site, Flickchart is expected to be open to the public by September 9. In the meantime, if you want to join the beta, just head to flickchart.com and enter your e-mail address to request an invite, or find a friend already on the site and ask them to invite you (sorry, I’ve already used all of mine).
To conclude my review of the site, I will share my current (as of this writing) top twenty films on my Flickchart:
Sean's # 9: Shaun of the Dead
1. Donnie Darko
2. Memento
3. Brick
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. Scent of a Woman
7. Garden State
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Shaun of the Dead
10. Mystic River
11. The Wrestler
12. The Sixth Sense
13. Moulin Rouge
14. The Usual Suspects
15. Halloween
16. Scream
17. Hamlet (1996)
18. Trainspotting
19. American Beauty
20. Pulp Fiction
That’s it for my thoughts on Flickchart. Happy Ranking!
I do have to say that my flickchart had quite a few changes since I wrote the article. For example Shaun of the Dead is now at #6 (Donnie Darko and Brick are still at the same rank).