Film Club - a trial run

meep

How about whoever gets the most comment thanks on this weeks discussion gets to pick next weeks movie, unless they've selected in the past N rounds.

This rewards people for insigtful commentary and encourages people to make the effort.


Or just leave it up to the netflix randomiser;
https://reelgood.com/movies/roulette/netflix

We couold initially discuss the parameter requirements (IMDB/RT score threshold, acceptbale genres) and take the leap!

Icaras

Fysh wrote: »

Alternatively, one of the mods picks e.g. 5 films as suggestions and people vote for one of them to start off, then after a couple of weeks of discussion a poster from the discussion thread is picked at random to suggest 5 more choices and people vote on them, then repeat from there.

I like this idea, could give best of both worlds, if you don't like the selection skip a week.

Exclamation Marc

Sounds good. I'm in!

SimonTemplar

I agree that starting off with Netflix is a wise choice. Once this gets up and running, mubi (https://mubi.com/) might be a good source assuming enough of us has an account. Its catalog is mostly classics and arthouse cinema from most of the decades.

The Black Oil

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

So, is anyone interested? Any thoughts on the best way of selecting a film?

Genre
By first letter
I feel _____ is under/overrated
This has been on my shelf/list for a while
Classic example of 70s/80s, etc.
This got me hooked on cinema
What sort of tone do ye call this?!

Plague Maiden

I'm definitely interested in the discussion part but, to be honest, the nomination/voting system seems a bit laboured. I'd prefer to have some knowledgeable person like Johnny select a movie each week and then we all discuss it. I've been part of film clubs before and, as strange as it sounds, the films themselves are often incidental. The discussion is what I'm interested in.

BuyersRemorse

Interested in this, but I don't have Netflix, and don't plan on getting it.

Something as simple as a Letterboxd list where people can add titles of interest that are widely available on streaming platforms. We could have rules barring the inclusion of certain types of films, no Superhero films for example. The list could be curated and changed on a regular basis with films then randomly chosen using one of the many online sites that will pick a number at random.

I think that a large part of what killed it before was the simple fact that most involved would not watch a film they had no interest in seeing which to me defeats the whole purpose of it.

Uncharted

I'd be interested in joining this if possible....
Not sure of the protocol.

Plague Maiden

[Deleted User] wrote: »

most involved would not watch a film they had no interest in seeing which to me defeats the whole purpose of it.

Exactly. I would respectfully suggest that those who know they are that way inclined should not join or express an interest in the group.

Sad Professor

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Any thoughts? If it seems a bit convoluted written down, I do reckon it'd be a decent compromise between popular vote and curation... popular curation, if you will If people would rather a trial run without that fuss, I'm sure myself or Sad Prof would be willing to kick things off before a process is formally formulated.

Yeah, we might be over-thinking this. No point coming up with an elaborate voting system until we know people are going to watch the film. I think maybe just get it started and see what happens. The two of us can spitball some ideas for the first film until we work out something proper. Lets stick to Netflix but try and pick something that strikes the right balance.

tigger123

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah, we might be over-thinking this. No point coming up with an elaborate voting system until we know people are going to watch the film. I think maybe just get it started and see what happens. The two of us can spitball some ideas for the first film until we work out something proper. Lets stick to Netflix but try and pick something that strikes the right balance.

I think that's the best idea tbh. Keep it simple and get it started.

pixelburp

Keep it simple, and possibly keep it to online services - for now. I think what might have killed previous attempts was that realistically it required folks to buy / rent a DVD of Film X; whereas at least now with Netlflix / Amazon (though let's be honest, Netflix has the best and biggest catalogue ATM) it should be easy for people to just fire up whatever choice the club made.

yabadabado

Can't we let the OP pick the first film with a few conditions (No superhero films etc)
Then whoever is involved in the watching and discussion of said film can add maybe 1 films to a list and we use random generator to pick next films.Remove/Add films as necessary.

tigger123

yabadabado wrote: »

Can't we let the OP pick the first film with a few conditions (No superhero films etc)
Then whoever is involved in the watching and discussion of said film can add maybe 1 films to a list and we use random generator to pick next films.Remove/Add films as necessary.

Don't think precluding certain genres is really in the spirit of a film club though. Whole idea is to have your tastes broadened a bit.

(I'm not really a fan of superhero either btw )

yabadabado

tigger123 wrote: »

Don't think precluding certain genres is really in the spirit of a film club though. Whole idea is to have your tastes broadened a bit.

(I'm not really a fan of superhero either btw )

It was just an example as I've seen it mentioned a few times, I'm a fan of them but would understand if they weren't included.

Raoul Duke

I think that it might be a good idea to link the film picked with a current film that's been released in the cinema. The link might be thematic, or same director / actor, or ...

That way you can piggy back on that film's advertising to generate interest.

shazzerman

This sounds like a great idea - I would love to be a part of it.

S.M.B.

Raoul Duke wrote: »

I think that it might be a good idea to link the film picked with a current film that's been released in the cinema. The link might be thematic, or same director / actor, or ...

That way you can piggy back on that film's advertising to generate interest.

The Last Picture Show podcast do this and then discuss the two movies in two separate podcasts.

Recent examples include

Infinity War and X2
Isle of Dogs and Chicken Run
I, Tonya and To Die For

Sad Professor

We tried doing two thematically linked films before. There was very little participation.

I'm interested. I've never done something like this before but I'd have someone curate a list of 3 films each iteration, then we vote on which to watch. That way the majority will be interested.

I suggest:
Rashomon
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3

SimonTemplar

Another suggestion is to do a movie from each year. A few months ago, I made of a list of one movie per year since 1975. It was a great way of catching up on old favourites I hadn't seen in ages, or movies I'd never seen before.

Maybe a mod would post a list of movies from a particular year and we vote which one to watch. Next movie will be from the following year and so on.

I'm not sure how practical that would be if we are sticking with Netflix though, although pretty much every movie is available to rent from iTunes or Google Play for about 4.99 or less.

johnny_ultimate

OK well for the time being myself and Sad Professor will have a quick chat about a possible first choice, and we’ll work from there depending on how it works / doesn’t

Drumpot

I would be interested in seeing how this pans out . . I would say I have a very broad pallet for entertainment. I can enjoy quite quirky movies like Cloud Atlas or Magnolia and popcorn flicks like the Marvel or Star Wars movies. I'm not overly fussy or snobby but can equally appreciate a quality movie on its merits.

I think Netflix is a great idea and wanted to say that I have been meaning to watch "thief" so its another angle we could take. People suggesting movies that they hadn't seen and see if there is any appetite to watch it.

johnny_ultimate

Howdy folks, film one has been chosen and dedicated thread is here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=107049212

While some of you may already have seen this one, we think it's a good opening choice - it's a little bit different, a little bit outside of the mainstream, and very interesting in terms of some of the filmmaking choices. Enjoy, and please do discuss

CastorTroy

I'll say one thing that puts me off a film when looking for something to watch is length. So while Ben Hur may be good, not everyone has that much free time.

So the next film will be posted next Sunday? Will check out this one at some point this week

Necro

Love the idea of this. Will sign up and get involved in a few weeks (on holidays at the mo) if ye'll have me at that stage :P

pixelburp

Maybe the actual discussion thread of the film(s) should be stickied. Otherwise I foresee inactivity killing the club by dint of the thread disappearing from view...

Sad Professor

pixelburp wrote: »

Maybe the actual discussion thread of the film(s) should be stickied. Otherwise I foresee inactivity killing the club by dint of the thread disappearing from view...

Maybe, though I always worry that stickies are more likely to be missed. They aren't visible at all on the responsive version of the site, for example. Even on the regular version of the site, I think a lot of people just glance over them.

Sad Professor

Just a heads up that for the next Film Club we'll be discussing Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach's wickedly funny family drama staring Nicole Kidman, which is also available on Netflix. Thread will go up next Thursday or Friday giving us all a good week to watch it and gather our thoughts on it.

In the meantime, the Good Time discussion is still ticking along. Everyone is welcome to contribute.