2005-11-22

"Telling You What You Like"

I was surprised to see from comments that I come out as the top result for a Netflix-related Google search. In the process of digging that up, I also found this from the LA Times, which seems like a pretty good overview of what is happening in the field. There is mention of the inherent value of recommenders in a choice-rich selection environment, along with a discussion of the possibilities for adding social components.



2005-11-21

Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Movies He Likes

Atrios, following the lead of Amy H, has posted a list of 10 movies he hates, inspiring several others to post similar lists.

This is all well and good, but some of these lists are notable for the fact that some of those movies, nobody likes.

Over at Movielens, you can generate a list of the movies in descending order of the difference between the average rating and your rating (under "About Your Ratings"). In other words, which movies you appear to have a special distaste for.

  • Amarcord -- I saw this in a summer camp during high school, where one of the student teachers was attempting to run a Film Appreciation Society. It probably merits a re-evaluation, but I have never mustered the will, as later exposures to Fellini failed to inspire me.
  • Notorious -- I seem to have a particular dislike for well-regarded movies that fail to keep me wake.
  • The Killing -- I'm finding myself less interested in Kubrick with almost every movie of his that I see.
  • Jean de Florette -- I tried, I really tried to care about this story. I have found that pastoralism, especially of the French variety, just turns me off.
  • Forrest Gump -- Not that there aren't amusing moments, but I find a wistful look back to simpler times to be very tedious. See French pastoralism.
  • Naked Lunch -- Failed promise. I'm beginning to think that this list mostly consists of movies that weren't nearly as interesting to me as they were supposed to be.
  • Dead Man Walking -- I also find myself averse to socially-charged drama. Especially with Sean Penn.
  • Enemy Mine -- My only surprise at seeing this science fiction clunker on the list is that it means a surprising number of people actually like it (average rating is 3.5 / 5).
  • The Gay Divorcee -- Maybe I should find some other Fred Astaire movie to watch before writing him off, but this farce seemed to be constructed of cardboard and I just couldn't see the charm.
  • Midnight Express -- I get the feeling that things that really outrage Oliver Stone just don't get me agitated. We seem to be on the same page over Vietnam, but the plight of drug runners in Turkish prisons, the neglect to Jim Morrison's reputation, the Magic Bullet Theory, and the idea that Alexander failed due to homophobia ... same planet, different universe.

You can also generate a similar list of movies on the positive side. The movie I have a singularly inordinate fondness for: The Powerpuff Girls Movie.

I think that's enough sharing.