Most people would probably choose to watch a mellow, romantic film on a rainy, Sunday afternoon; a blockbuster hit for a Saturday night, or maybe a musical. But what happens once a person has seen Autumn in New York for the hundredth time, or when he or she has learned the entire lyrics to My Heart Will Go On? Then it is time to get a movie recommendation, and what better way to do that than to go online, and get tailor-made movie recommendations. There are at least ten of these movie recommendation websites, but since they all work in different ways, how does one pick the perfect recommendation engine? Here is a look at five most visited, inventive or accurate websites.
Flixter
After signing up for a Flixter account, a user is asked to rate a dozen films, either using a simple one to five scale, or clicking on the 'I'm not interested' button. After enough movies have been rated, the system automatically gives you recommendations based on the highest graded movies. From then on, you can either choose to rate the recommended flick (if you've seen it, that is) or you can choose to place it into a neat 'Films I Want to See' list. The website has a cute design, with many pictures, movie trailers and filmographies to check out.
This may sound great in theory, but in reality, there is a big number of silly additions that Flixter packs that soon make using the website a hassle. A social-networking component is a nice touch, but there seem to be a lot of spammers on the website. Flixter will also often ask to invite friends to join the website. There are tons of games, surveys and personality quizzes, which may be fun for a while, but ultimately undermine what the website is really about.
Criticker
As opposed to Flixter, Criticker takes a different approach to movie rating, and it seems a little bit more professional. The website will ask to rate the movies on a scale from one to one hundred. The website has almost no design whatsoever, so navigating is usually rather simple, with movies being neatly categorized into genres. The social networking component is also present, in the form of an official Criticker forum, where movie lovers can discuss... Well, movies.
On the other hand, rating a movie on the scale that wide can be really annoying and take a lot of time. Another negative thing are the advertisements - Amazon and eBay links are integrated all over the place. Finally, although it is good that the layout is clean, the website could do with some sort of a design.
Spout
Spout is a large movie website which packs a lot more features than just simple movie recommendations. It has a large number of interesting articles, podcasts and groups, as well as a superior review-writing system (unlike on Flixter or Criticker, Spout allows greater exposure). The movies are rated on a scale of one to five. The design is clean, modern and engaging.
The major downside when it comes to using Spout is that the movie catalogue is not complete - there are quite a few bugs, missing movies, incorrect information, etc. Also, it takes a while to load, so dial-up users should pretty much stay away from this one, as they will be unable to use it in a timely fashion.
Jinni
Jinni has become all the rage lately. It is an ambitious project still in beta version, but the approach they take is innovative and a lot of fun. There, you can filter all the movies in their database by what kind of a movie you want to watch. The filters range from standard (western, historical), to truly humorous (bleak, life is a bitch). It is a great tool if you want some recommendations instantly. You can also rate the movies you have seen and get recommendations based on that.
The design of Jinni is amazing, though people with slower connections will probably have troubles using it. The movie catalogue is still somewhat limited, but with the website still being in its beta version, some of these flaws can still be ironed out.
Clerkdogs
Another beta movie recommendation website, with a very helpful system. At Clerkdogs, the user types in the movie he or she likes, and the website offers at least ten similar titles. The titles are hand-picked, and it is rather obvious that a lot of work has been put into this selection, since every alternative movie comes with a short comparison. If a member types in Grease, the website will offer the movie Fame as the best match, but also Hairspray, which is 'more jubilant', or Two of a Kind, which is 'less satisfying'.
Although at first it seems nice that you do not have to sign up to use Clerkdogs, it would still be nice to have a more personal experience. There is no option to rate movies, so Clerkdogs only works as a (great) tool to instantly pick what movie to watch. Although an impressive number of movies is in the system, there is still work to be done.
With a range of movie recommendation websites as wide as this, it comes to no surprise that it can be hard to choose between them. The best thing to do is to definitely try the ones that sound the best, and then to choose which one works best.
 |
