Open invitation to suggest film genres for our pre-launch movie rankings.

Please share the film genres you are interested in seeing ranked with us!

Our goal at Reel Fives ( www.reelfives.com) is to help you pick the top movies for each genre. Our focus is on rigor as well as on the ability to provide movie rankings and ratings within each different genre in film.  As mentioned in our previous post, we well begin by providing pre-launch rankings for two specific genres: zombie movies and superhero movies. However, our aim is to not only establish the top zombie movies or top superhero movies but to do so for as many relevant and established (or establishing) genres as possible.

Currently, in our beginning stages and until our website's launch, we will publish several pre-launch movie rankings on some of the more popular film genres. The reason doing it this way rather than waiting for the beta version of reelfives.com to be launched to publish the rankings is that there is a great deal of complexity and functionality that will be required by our system due to the level of data aggregation and analysis we anticipate. We are in collaboration with  custom exposure to develop this as soon as possible, but at the same time, are also very eager to generate the content that we are excited to provide to establish the top movies in each genre.

Therefore, after we generate our first set of rankings for establishing  the top superhero movies and top zombie movies, are there other film genres that our readers would like see movie rankings for? One way to think about is: for what category of film would I like to know what the best movie is? We are eager to find out too.  Please leave us a comment with your suggestions or send us an email.  Here are some of the genres we are considering, aside from superhero and zombie films, for conducting pre-launch rankings:

Post-apocalyptic movies Examples:  Mad Max (1979), The Book of Eli (2010), The Road (2009),  Wall-E(2008)

Disaster movies
Examples: Earthquake(1974),  Twister(1996), The Poseidon Adventure (1974), When Time Ran Out (1980), Disaster Movie (2008)

Sports movies
Examples: Rocky(1976), The Mighty Ducks (1992), Chariots of Fire(1981), Wrestler (2008)

Westerns
Examples: A Firstful of Dollars (1964), The good, the bad and the ugly (1966), Django Kill(1967), True Grit (2010), Unforgiven (1992)

Gangster movies
Examples: Pulp fiction (1994), The Godfather(1972), Casion(1995), The Departed (2006)


Identifying the top movies is our mission.
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Pre-launch Film Rankings: Super hero movies (Marvel v DC) and Zombie movies (AMC's The Walking Dead)

While the Reel Fives website ( www.reelfives.com) is still in development we plan to begin producing rankings and ratings for films and movies within selected genres. The broader and functional reel fives website, currently under development, will have a great deal of more functionality and rigor but in anticipation we plan to list preliminary rankings for movies based on their rankings or ratings across the web. Similar to what is done in sports with preseason rankings for the teams in each league, we will in some ways predict how movies within genres will be ranked based on currently available rankings and ratings information and well as relevant movie reviews. Of course, once our Reel Fives flagship website www.reelfives.com is launched these might significantly change.

The first two genres that will be covered will be zombie movies and super-hero (including comic book-based and more broadly defined) movies.

The motivation for Reel Fives providing pre-launch rankings to determine the best zombie films is the current attention and popularity growth to this genre.  AMC's show The Walking Dead has generated a substantial fan base for this genre through its ability to show the promise in this genre and bring to light the elemnents of the genre that contain mass appeal. Reel Fives will be publishing this first rankings article on zombie film in the coming weeks. Again, this will be based the top 5 ratings system from currently published ratings and rankings in anticipation of our more rigorous rankings that will be generated when our website is launched.

The motivation for Reel Fives providing pre-launch rankings to determine the best super-hero films is also the current attention to this genre.  Although this genre's general appeal has not changed significantly recently there are some titles being released in the next year that will likely have significant influence over where this genre stands and how super hero films are structured. After the growth in the super hero movie genre that took place following Iron Man (2008) through Marvel's lead up to and release of The Avengers(2012), along with the commercial and critical success of The Dark Knight (2008) whose popularity transcended significantly beyond just the super hero film genre, there has not been significant gain the popularity or devoted audience for super hero movies based on the titles that have recently come out,. These titles are largely sequels, and have had a relative lower level of commercial success as a whole (albeit Avenger Age of Ultron (2014) had among the highest revenues in 2014). Following Marvel's success in setting up a consistent and seamlessly interwoven representation of the Marvel Universe, DC comics has began to follow this model.  The highly anticipated  title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) will be the first film to create a modern cross-over of this type coming out of the DC comics Universe, which is as expansive as Marvel's counterpart. The success of movies based on DC comics super hero characters was historically greater than for movies based on Marvel characters. Batman(1989) and Superman (1978)  which were based on DC comic book characters were seminal in the genre and remain among the most highly regarded super hero movies. However, ever since the comic book boom of the early 90s (see this article on the comic book bubble of the 90s) movies based on DC characters, with the exception of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, have trailed behind those based on Marvel characters.  Therefore, we at Reel Fives view the upcoming introduction of Justice League movies, DC's counterpart Marvel's Avengers, with the soon to be released Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) as having the potential to significantly shift the super hero movie genre's landscape. Currently it is being reported from some sources, sensationally,  as possibly the most expensive movie of all time- not just for DC comic book super hero movies or just for the super hero movie genre. For these reasons we (Reel Fives) will be publishing our first rankings article on super hero films/movies in the coming weeks. Again, this will be based the top 5 ratings system from currently published ratings and rankings in anticipation of our more rigorous rankings for super hero movies that will be generated when our website is launched.

Identifying the best movies is our mission.
www.reelfives.com

Follow us on facebook and twitter!

We are now on twitter and facebook; the reel fives ( reelfives ) pages are:

https://twitter.com/reelfives

https://www.facebook.com/reelfives

We encourage all of our fans, especially dc fans (we are headquartered here) to find the best movies in your favorite genre through us.

The idea is to identify the best movies based on the top 5 movies that are reported for each genre, or in other words, each type of movie.  Reel Fives therefore is a compilation of top 5 movies  essentially serving as an aggregator. We hope to include broad movie and film genres such as drama, comedies, and science fiction to more specific genres such as kung fu movies, zombie movies, space movies, time-travel movies, horror comedies, buddy comedies, romcoms, robot movies and create feature movies (comic based and super-hero based) and will include news and new rankings and ratings information through these. In addition will also be providing the relevant information on current movies in theatres through these outlets. This will be a great place to find best movies in each of these genres.

We want to reiterate the distinction that although rocking potatoes covered everything entertainment, reel fives (reelfives) will only cover film. And unlike rocking potatoes that basically provided reviews for movies and tv shows (along with some summaries), reel fives (or reelfives) will focus on helping you pick out the best movie for each specific genre.

So come check out Reel Fives' social media outlets for the latest news and content. Note that while here at reel five we will provide movie news, the content on the reel five website and that on the reel five twitter and facebook outlets might be different because of the different platforms.  Fb/twitter reel five accounts might provide short news stories and real time  notices of new movie reviews, rankings, and ratings while the reel five website will be more inclined to more detailed reviews, articles, and discussion on movie/film  ratings and rankings (along with articles of current news).

Come visit us at:
www.reelfives.com

Reel Fives' Top 5 rating system: Introduction

The top 5 rating system is a different type of system that aims to develop movie rankings to capture the films that audience have highest regard for.  Our goal at reel fives is to establish a consensus on which movies are widely (meaning among everyone, not just critics) regarded as the best movies for each movie genre. It is currently under development.

The basis for film rankings under the top 5 rating system is that for each category (genre or sub-genre) each user will be able select their top five movies. This will allow us at reel fives to measure the percentage of user top fives that a movie is included in for a specific genre. We will use this information to rank movies.

The advantage of the top 5 rating system that we developed at reel fives is that it will allow for proper relative rankings among movies of a specific genre.  In our system all movies within a genre will be given consideration by the user.  In contrast, in systems where users provide each individual films a score or rating, the average rating for a movie might be greatly influenced by the number of users who voted on the specific movie. This makes it difficult to compare films when one movie has 500,000 ratings while another only has 1,000 ratings.  One would expect that the average rating (which would be the basis for ranking movies in this context) would be different for the movie that currently has 1,000 user ratings if instead it had 5000,000 user ratings.

However, it is not to say that the top 5 rating system is without flaws. One limitation of the top 5 system, in its rawest form, is that it has bias towards movies that everyone has seen.  An unknown 'gem' that few saw might not make many user's top 5 lists although, had they seen the movie, this 'gem' would have made it.  A second limitation of the system is that the lag in the incorporation of recently released movies that should rank highly. Although users might rank a movie currently in theaters fairly high, they will likely not immediately update their top 5 in our website. In addition, the many users will not have seen the movie when it is first released. For this reason here at reel fives we are currently also developing an adjusted ranking based on the top 5 rating system for each genre so as to overcome these potential limitations and any others that are identified. Our philosophy at reel fives is to provide a ranking system that is built as rigorously as possible.

All this being said, the top 5 rating system and reel fives is not meant to replace other sources of rating information, such as metacritic and rotten tomatoes, but rather to provide an additional source of information about the relative popularity and quality of movies (specially within given genres).  In this sense, it is a way to reel fives to form a consensus on which the top movies are in each specific genre.

We are changing!!

Hi everyone, our blog is being resuscitated and getting a major make over! Starting with CHANGING ITS NAME TO:  Reel Fives from its original name, rocking potatoes.  Unlike rocking potatoes Reel Fives will only focus on film and will have a dual focus.  Reel5s will provide movie rankings as well as allow users to voter for their favorite 5 movies in each genre. This will be coming soon! It is under works.

An exciting new phase for this blog!

Currently the new blog and site, including the new film ranking system are under construction, so we will begin posting new content shortly.  

So...

Welcome to Reel Fives !

 www.reelfives.com

Kick-Ass and Human Nature (Kick-Ass Movie Review)

In a movie starring Tom Cruise, does Tom Cruise exist?

This rhetorical question demonstrates an important tenet of film theory. A film’s world is not our world, no matter how much it looks like it. Each film creates its own unique mythology. The characters have histories and experiences beyond what’s on screen. Thus, film, like literature, can be a powerful tool for studying human nature. It provides a control environment in which psychoanalytical artists can experiment with personalities, and then propose theoretical outcomes.

While this is true in all cases, better filmmakers embrace the power of the form and strive to present some new and interesting comment on the human experience. Few films over the years have left me eager to watch over and over again, to study the characters, to analyze the relationships, and to derive meaning for my own life. The first film to do this for me was Alex Proyas’s “Dark City." Others include Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece “Brazil” and Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman's “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which I watched twice opening day. This is no comment on the quality of the film, although I believe they are indeed excellent films. These are simply films that, to me, required further exploration and ultimately forced me to reexamine my own character.

The latest film to do this is Mathew Vaughn’s ultra-violent comic book adaptation “Kick-Ass,” which has haunted me since I first saw it over two months ago. By the end of that first viewing, I had that familiar feeling in my gut. I knew that it was special, and I was eager to examine it further. The film's theme is voyeurism. It asks important questions about desensitization to violence, detachment from our neighbors, and responsibility as citizens. Have instant gratification mediums like Youtube, reality TV and 24-hr news made us numb to the plights of our fellow human beings?

Subsequent viewings allowed me to preclude being distracted by the beautiful photography and to focus on the characters: the dialogue; the relationships; the body language; the numerous diagetic clues. Every piece is essential, whether a character’s clothing, a line of dialogue, a name, a prop.

The character of Hit Girl, portrayed brilliantly by Chloe Moretz, is perhaps the most interesting in terms of human nature. She is the product of an unconventional (to say the least) upbringing: Her mother died during her birth while her father (played by Nicolas Cage) was in prison for a crime he did not commit. As soon as Big Daddy (as he is known) is released from prison, he plots revenge on those who framed him, and he trains his daughter, Mindy, as his henchman.

He turns her into an unstoppable killing machine, in just her short 11 years. During her first on-screen battle, she slaughters a dozen bad guys in gruesome ways as the impotent Kick-Ass stares in disbelief. Three times she pauses, blood dripping from her blade, and she flashes Kick-Ass an uncomfortable smile. She’s showing off, obviously enjoying what she’s doing, but her smile reveals an emptiness. Big Daddy is fulfilling his vengeance, but Hit Girl possesses no such motive. She’s only doing what she’s always done, what her daddy taught her. How does she really feel?

In one scene, we see a cop handcuffed to the steering wheel of his car, which sits in the teeth of a car crusher. He screams and pleads for his life, but Hit Girl pushes the button making the machine turn. She looks on coolly as the cop’s blood splatters across the windshield, and she proclaims, “What a douche.” A funny line, sure, but important in conveying this character’s callousness toward death.

The character of Kick-Ass provides an interesting counter-variable to Hit Girl’s unapologetic brutality. He’s motivated by a genuine concern for his fellow man. His benevolent naiveté is captured in the following dramatic exchange between Kick Ass and three gang bangers after he jumps in to save a stranger:

Gang Banger: “What the fuck is wrong with you, man? You'd rather die for some piece of shit that you don't even fucking know?”

Kick Ass: “Three assholes, laying into one guy while everybody else watches? And you wanna know what's wrong with me? Yeah, I'd rather die... so bring it on!”

Meanwhile, observers are more concerned with capturing the brutal attack on their cell phones than getting help for the bruised and bloodied wanna-be superhero.

Kick-Ass has the motivation but not the ability. Hit Girl has infinite ability, but little motivation. Where these characters intersect is where we can have a very interesting discussion about human nature.

When we’re first introduced to Hit Girl, her father is pointing a gun at her. He convinces her to take a bullet so she’ll know what it feels like (she’s wearing a bulletproof vest.) She asks her father if it’ll hurt, and he responds sympathetically that it won’t hurt much more than a punch in the chest. She then proclaims, very subtly, and for a good chuckle from the audience, “I hate getting punched in the chest.”

In a lesser movie this might be a throwaway line, but here it reveals a lot about this character. It tells me that, well, this girl’s been punched in the chest. Clues to her history are placed throughout the film, like when in their war chamber Big Daddy tells her “No more homework” before they go kill some bad guys. On her way out we catch a passing glimpse of this “homework”: a comic book.

When speaking to her father, she does so with absolute adoration. He loves her, and she reveres him. But when he dies in a horribly gruesome way, she doesn’t cry. Moretz, so impressive at such a young age, plays the scene as if she wants to cry, like she’s trying to force out a tear, but to no avail. This, of course, goes against our basic assumptions of human nature, but in her context it makes perfect sense.

The first time she exhibits the slightest bit of raw emotion is toward the end when she’s surprised by a helicopter kick to the face from a grown man (a disturbing image, no doubt.) She’s lying on the floor, dazed and confused, with blood pouring out of her nose. She reaches up to touch the blood with her fingertip, and she looks at it in both shock and deep insecurity. This might be the first time she’s ever bled. Moretz conveys profound emotion here, as we watch this character for the first time embrace her own mortality. She is at this moment pondering the meaning of her own life, a sense of purpose. Big Daddy might have trained her to kill, but he never prepared her to die.

So we have one character who commits selfish, brutal acts with little regard for humanity, and we have another who wants to save the world, but can’t. Where do you stand on this continuum? Where do you see our society as a whole? Where do you believe we SHOULD stand as members in a community? These are all complex questions that have been asked throughout human civilization. The answers are timely, but the discussion is timeless.

-this movie review for Lion Gate's "Kick-Ass" was written by Michael Fallik

Jesse has grown up (Breaking Bad : S3E8 "One Minute")

(image: AMC)

This episode marked a conclusion of Jesse's transformation.  Jesse is now a big player and seems to have his head straight.  He is no longer a lingering peon in the meth game.  The beating Jesse took from Hank in the first moments of this episode was the event that, in my view, propels Jesse to the next level. Jesse's new found direction is conspicuous and sufficiently believable to have (with a little nudge from Skyler) Walt bow down and for first time show him respect. This was definitely the most dramatically demanding episode Jesse's character has had and Aaron Paul nailed it.  The episode presented the longest monologues for Jesse's character, that I can recall, as well as the most intense emotional outbursts.  Jesse displayed his new found strength as well the fears and sadness that dwell deep inside.

On the other hand, all the steam that had been building up within Hank's character finally caused Hank to implode.  We met Hank as an almost goofy character in the first two seasons with a mean edge while at work. This season he had been trekking through darker terrain as he found himself closer and closer to catching Heisenberg. Being fired for misconduct and getting his badge taken away softened him up and threw him into a cloud a self-doubt and fragility. This culminated when he received the 'one minute' phone call and got into the greatest gun fight (with The Cousins) we have ever seen in this show.  It was reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino film.  It appears that psychic potato's prediction was right in that Hank was not killed off just yet (see last week's post).

And now for our first rocking potatoes farewell.  It appears that "the cousins" are gone.  You will be missed.  Thus far you were the best character(s) to be killed off in Breaking Bad.  We will miss your mute presence. We will miss your skull-tipped boots.  We will miss your ax-murdering ways. And most of all, we will miss your visits to that freaky chapel. RIP.

(image: AMC)

Also, it looks like Walter is becoming more and more careless about his ways.  He visits Jesse at the hospital, not appearing to be concerned with the dangers of being seen publicly.  He talks to him on the phone very freely.  This seems odd for someone who is coming so close to being caught.  On a sidenote, I just want to give some credit to Bob Odenkirk (Saul) whose character really livens up the show.  His silly antics and demeanor really balance all of the show's violence and dark areas.  If not for Saul the show might come off as too somber.

Finally, psychic potato has a prediction-- something bad is going to happen due to Walt essentially firing Gale. Psychic potato sees that Walt has underestimated Gale and that Gale will catch on to what happened and get back at Walt in a big way.