Comments: Stepping Up Your Game
If I possessed the brainpower (and several lifetimes), I would compose a treatise expounding on the philosophical and psychological motivations behind the rationale for every one of my matchup decisions. My dizzying insight and erudition regarding film and the human condition would penetrate deep into the core of why, for example, Bandidas really is better than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. With each comment, my soul would be laid bare and another piece of the puzzle to discovering the meaning of our place in this vast and cold universe would be revealed.
Sadly, I may never attain that level of matchup commentary. Like most Flickchart users, I usually just write a brief explanation for my decision and move on. I attempt to offer some sort of reason for why I chose as I did, but the majority of my comments aren’t exactly thorough explorations into every aspect of each movie’s merits and shortcomings. Like, for example, my comment on The Fifth Element vs. The Devil Wears Prada:
“The Devil Wears Prada is better than The Fifth Element. Anne Hathaway is cute, Emily Blunt is hot and Ruby Rhod is nowhere to be seen anywhere in the whole movie. Some people might claim that Milla Jovovich is hot in The Fifth Element, but she looks freaking ridiculous and she talks like she’s mentally challenged. Goddamn I dislike The Fifth Element. The Devil Wears Prada doesn’t even have shooting in it, and yet it still wins.”
Clearly that is not an in-depth criticism. Fans of The Fifth Element are likely to call foul because I didn’t discuss the visuals, or perhaps they may feel that I misinterpreted Milla Jovovich’s performance. But, hey, I made an honest effort to share my thoughts in a nutshell. Is that really enough, though? If a person is going to make a comment, just how thoughtful does it need to be?
Usually, the primary reason I comment on a matchup is to get the gears in my brain working. Like, if two movies come up that I feel roughly the same about and I can’t make an instinctual decision. Recently, for example, I had Show Me Love, a movie about Swedish teenage lesbians, come up against Star Trek: First Contact . If not for Flickchart, I may have went my whole life without ever comparing those particular films. But there they were. At that moment, I realized that I liked both of them about the same, or, at least, I believed that I liked them both the same. But then it occured to me that Show Me Love struck a truer chord than First Contact. Sure, that scene in First Contact where Picard tells Worf, “I think you’re the bravest man I have ever known,” gets me choked up every time. But there could very well be a real-life lonely teenage lesbian living right down the street from me, while the chances of a Borg attack are minimal. Here is how I resolved the matchup:
“Show Me Love is a fairly typical sort of love story, aside from it being about teenage lesbians. It succeeds because the feelings of loneliness and longing the main character experiences seem genuine, and I suppose many people can relate on some level. First Contact feels rather trifling and absurd by comparison, so I guess Show Me Love is better.”
With that comment, I think I became a little more human. It helped me understand that even the best Next Generation Star Trek movie didn’t capture the angst and joy of life as touchingly as a couple of Swedish teenage lesbians. I can only hope that my comment will help someone else put these two movies into better perspective.
Perhaps, then, the best way to stay sharp is to try to find meaning in seemingly incongruous matchups. Other people’s comments can be used as a springboard. For example, I came across a comment from another Flickcharter for Aliens vs. Repulsion that offered an interesting take on the characters, so I tried to expand on the idea. I’m not sure if I did, but it helped me look at the two movies in a different way. Another person’s Pretty Woman vs. King Kong matchup comment was a little less focused, but I still felt compelled to add something to it based on what I thought it meant . Actually, the countless matchup combinations available provide ample opportunity for making some really whacked-out or clever connections between movies that could very well revolutionize the way future generations interpret film. Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
When I look at the massive number of comments for Back to the Future vs. Ghostbusters (some of which are quite elaborate), I envision a time not too far off where even the most nonsensical, obscure matchups draw a flurry of impassioned commentary. It doesn’t really matter if comments are profound, or even if they make sense, but just that they offer your own unique perspective, I figure. I find myself rewatching movies that I’ve forgotten about just so I’ll have a decent comment ready in the event that one day I encounter them in a matchup. I even leave matchups sitting on my computer for days at a time just so I can rewatch the competing movies to refresh my memory. The best part about Flickchart is that it motivates me to think about the movies I’ve seen so I can step up and justify my reasons for liking or disliking them through comments. If you work at it, you may even reach an epiphany like I did with Show Me Love vs. Star Trek: First Contact. The next time you get a matchup that doesn’t immediately make sense, just dig deep within yourself and an enlightened comment will spring forth.
(NOTE: Yesterday, I cranked out a lengthy comment for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre vs. Trasgredire. Feel free to use it as a comment response training tool.)
This post is part of our User Showcase series. You can find Chad as kingofpain on Flickchart. If you’re interested to submit your own story or article describing your thoughts about movies and Flickchart, read our original post for how to become a guest writer here on the Flickchart Blog.
I’ve considered the conundrum many times… Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull vs. Beaches, Koyaanisqatsi vs. Explorers, The Monster Squad vs. Psycho, Primer vs. Jurassic Park, Three Kings vs. Three Amigos!… all tough and strange decisions to make.
I agree wholeheartedly that finding the nuance of merit between films can open up some of the most peculiar recesses of the mind – of memories and observations. It’s nice to see that many are coming to the same realizations – and enjoying the process at the same time.
As the guy with the most comments on Flickchart, I love this post, and it brings me around to the one thing I really wish Flickchart had: an honest-to-god discussion board. Because I love discussing some of these matchups. There are certain ones that I feel compelled to go back and check, just so I can see what someone else has added to the discussion.
Apparently, I have a lot to say about my Flickcharting. Either that, or I’m just an obnoxious blowhard.
Well, one reason we don’t have a forum is we want the matchup discussions to happen in one centralized location on the site, instead of strewn amongst hundreds of forum threads.
That being said, I think it would be a cool feature to be able to see if any matchup discussions that you’ve commented on have had new comments posted. Perhaps we can create a notification system to let you know when these new comments arrive.
Another great idea – we’ll add it to the pile!
Great article. I love the discussions and like you, I love trying to find connections between perhaps quite dissimilar films. When I’m feeling a little tired of just plain ranking films, I challenge myself to find some new connection and add a discussion.
My other two reasons for writing comments are adding to any previously commented on match-ups if I come across them, just to add my thoughts to the debate, and if there’s an obvious connection between the films (same director or lead actor, comparing original to remake etc.)
Now you mention it, adding a discussion to ‘get the gears in your brain working’ seems like something I should be doing more of. When I spend an hour with a comparison in the back of my mind and with the flickchart tab in Firefox waiting for a decision, writing a comment could help me speed up the process…
@johnmason
I think that would make the site more participatory if discussions were easier to access.
@Nathan Chase
I’d like some kind of index that shows all the matchups that have been commented on. Like, so I could look up Soylent Green, for example, and see all the matchups with that movie that have a comment. Because there are so many possible combinations, some matchups may only occur very rarely, so no one else may ever get a chance to add more comments.
@Charlie Johnson
With movies that I feel roughly the same about, it does help to think of something to say for each movie in the matchup. I don’t always go for some left-field connection, but at least taking time to write something makes the decision process easier. A person should have at least one specific rationale for liking or disliking every movie, even if their reason is trivial. If I really can’t think of anything to say for a movie, I don’t rank it.
Sometimes I comment on a matchup just because it’s an obscure combination that might not come up again. Even if I don’t have anything interesting to say, at least the matchup will be there later if I do think of something.
@KingOfPain
Agreed – and it’s one of many things we plan to add to a revamp of the movie info pages so you can can see the top matchups for any given movie, or its most recently commented-on matchups. It’s coming!
You’re not an obnoxious blowhard, John, but if I hear one more time about how you don’t like Pulp Fiction … ;-)
Great post. I consider myself quite a heavy ranker, but quite a light commenter. I find it interesting to see that other people consider it an actual obligation to comment. I guess I assumed that the comments were primarily there so you could make jokes. The only time I really think to comment is when the choices are absurdly similar, like two movies in which Anne Hathaway plays a princess (Ella Enchanted vs. The Princess Diaries 2, I believe it was. And yes, I’ve seen both of them, which does not make me a bad person.) After this post I think I will step up my game a bit.
@Derek – you definitely should comment more – you’re the professional, after all…
Oops, I just realized I said I needed to step up my game, and that’s what the story was called. I knew there was a reason I had that phrasing in my head!
@Nathan – Challenge accepted!
@Nathan: I like your suggestion, and King’s as well. Would be cool stuff! I have often wanted a way to directly access discussions for a certain movie.
@Derek: I’ll try to restrain myself. ;)
To be honest, I’ve been wanting to give Pulp Fiction another try, but after Inglourious Basterds failed to “wow” me (I do consider it my favorite Tarantino film, though), it just seems more and more unlikely that I’ll get back to it.
I do suppose I should really see The Godfather, though….
Oh, and I have definitely added my share of bad jokes to the comments sections….