Ridiculous choices
Jan 24 '01 (Updated May 30 '01)
The Bottom Line My recommendation is for epinions to think through sets of categories before putting them up.
The categories and choices of responses within epinion movie review are frustrating. My film reviews are relatively detailed, probably overly detailed without them. Then I am confronted with category sets that are very poorly thought out”:
Will you see this film again?
The choices are
Never again
If I’m bored
Yes but I’ll wait for it on video
How about just “Yes”?! I want to see “Crouching Tiger” again on a big screen, for instance.
How about “Probably not” or “I doubt it?” in addition to the very emphatic “Never again”?
How did you see this film?
seems to be missing the category in which most of us see most films, that is in regular theatrical runs.
And how is “Yes but I’ll wait for it on video” an answer to “How did you see this film?” I hope there are not very many reviews being written about movies the reviewer is waiting to see in the future, on video or in a theater.
How complete was this film?
should also be skippable. The default should be a film in release.
Suitability for Children
How do I know? We used to be able to skip this field.
Are there any parents who want people who don’t know or care answering the question?
Movie Mood
Here, I frequently want to check more than one category, and sometimes find none appropriate.
(Plot Details, Bangs for Your Buck, Bottom Line, Would You Recommend to a Friend? seem reasonable questions with reasonable choices of answers)
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Update (2/12/01)
Ridiculous forced choices have proliferated further since I wrote this opinion. There are many films for which action, special effects, and suspense are irrelevant. Not all movies are empty-headed Hollywood action spectacles!
The "beta" epinions "design" includes a forced choice of "recommended" or "not recommended" that is ignored. Why is a field required that is overriden (by the number of stars)? There are a number of movies that I think are well made that I would not recommend to friends and a few with major problems that I would recommend to friends. So, epinions (in the unlikely event there's any there there paying any attention to mere "content providers), either drop the recommended field or count what is put into it!
Update (5/31/01) The fields are no longer mandated, but the gaps remain (for instance, no category for a stay between a weekend and a week in the travel reviews) in not-well-planned sets of categories.
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