New Ranking Promotion Through the End of February 2011

ANOTHER PROMOTION!!

We are running another rankings promotion from January 10th through the end of February.  We will be giving away four (4) more Amazon gift cards to certain members in a Rankings promotion during the rest of January and February. We loved all the activity during the promotion in November and again we hope to dramatically increase the number of rankings per category to benefit everybody looking to discover great movies.

This time around we are awarding the 4 gift cards to the members that rank the most additional categories (with at least 5 entries per category) during the promotion period.  We have benchmarked the number of categories that each member has ranked so far and you can see those results after the main rules below.  Prizes paid will be as follows:   

First Place        $40 Amazon gift card
Second Place   $25 Amazon gift card
Third Place      $15 Amazon gift card
Fourth Pace     $10 Amazon gift card

Now there are a couple of rules you need to be aware of in the Promotion.

1. Only category rankings with at least 5 movies will be counted as a ranked category. We prefer that members fully rank a category with all of the movies they like that applies to a category, but you must have at least 5 valid movies in a ranking to be counted.

2. Your rankings will not count if it is clear that you are just randomly inputting movies or using the same movies on all your rankings just to increase the number of ranked categories. We understand rankings are subjective and we will allow latitude if it is clear you are making an effort to create actual rankings for each category, but we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to disqualify any member that we believe is trying to thwart the spirit of the contest to create bulk rankings with bogus rankings.

3. Rankings that are clearly copies of another member just to increase rankings will also be disqualified. That is not to say that you can't have the same rankings as another member because we know that will happen. But if all of your rankings appear to be simply copied from one or more members in order to quickly increase your total rankings, you run the risk of disqualification, again at our sole discretion. Bottom line, just make an honest and valid effort and you shouldn't run into trouble.

4. You do not need to be an existing member to participate, but you do need to register to become a member if you are not yet a member.

5. You still need to adhere to the normal Terms of Service of the site. So, please take a read through those Terms to avoid running the risk of disqualification or losing your account.

6. Several members that are affiliated with the site are not participating in the promotion and they include Tonto, brooklyn77, CallingDrBombay, Brewster, Roundersbuzz and Keysersoze.

7. Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees as well as all additional costs that may be incurred.

8. In the event of a tie for any of potential prizes, the member with the most ranked categories will be deemed the winner.

9. See below for some additional contest terms.


Below we have included a benchmark of categories ranked by each member as of January 9th for calculating the results of the promotion. January 10th will be considered the first day of the Challenge and any rankings today will count toward the promotion.

So here are the number of ranked categories for members (with at least 5 ranked entries) as of the end of January 9th. All members not listed below or in Rule 6 above will be deemed to have one ranked category (when calculating the increment) as of the end of January 9th:

Categories Ranked as of 01-09-2011
garv  266.00
david_mikec  205.00
TheHollywoodRevue  44.00
MDotMovieMan  22.00
Izzy  15.00
filmforager  12.00
MosaicMan  10.00
LolitasClassics  10.00
john49  8.00
24hourstomidnight  8.00
Pokernutz  8.00
Evil Dead Junkie  7.00
Clarabela  6.00
blogcabins  5.00
rebzombie  5.00
The Resident Film Snob  5.00
DEMayo2     4.00
DVDSpinDoctor  4.00
goodoldparanoia  4.00
hal0000     4.00
Red  4.00
AaronIMTV  4.00
The Media Bunker  4.00
filmgeek  3.00
mugison  3.00
nicola-t  3.00
eangevine  3.00
TheOpinionatedB  3.00
amiableamy  3.00
sreejithkamalanayanan  3.00
bitchinfilms  2.00
Dancinghotdogs  2.00
GloriaOliver  2.00
J_Jammer  2.00
Joeeholman  2.00
MyFilmHabit  2.00
utsav  2.00
writer89  2.00
All other members deemed to have ranked 1 category as of January 9th.

Best of luck everyone and get ranking!!

Additional contest/promotion terms and conditions:
10. Rankings after 02/28/2011 will not count toward the promotion.

11. JT Webmedia Inc. and its site, Rankography.com are not responsible to any interruptions of internet service either for the Rankography.com website or any of its members access to the internet. In the event of such an outage of service for Rankography.com, such time will be lost from the promotion and NO additional time will added to the promotion.

12. All winners will be notified via the email address provided during site registration. If the winner does not respond within five (5) business days, another winner will be selected. Failure to respond to the notification email within five (5) business days shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize.

13. You acknowledge and agree that JT Webmedia Inc and Rankography.com have the right to publicize the winners of the promotion awards using the Usernames registered on the Rankography.com website.

14. The contest is null and void in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law.

15. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to terminate any contest at any time without prior notice.

16. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to alter any contest rules at any time.

17. By entering a contest, you conclusively are deemed to have agreed to be bound by these contest rules and terms and conditions as well as by any rules specific to such contest. This is an irrevocable condition of entry.

18. No purchase or payment of any consideration is necessary to enter the contest.

19. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right to require the winner to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award.

7 Great Films You Likely Didn't Know Existed

Discovery was the main reason we started Rankography.  We thought that if lots of knowledgeable movie fans started ranking their favorite movies in different categories, then we could find great unknown movies.  Well, for me at least, that has been true in spades.  Since we launched in May, my Netflix queue has tripled in size and I have watched many outstanding movies that I found on others' rankings.

I thought I would highlight 7 of the best "unknown" movies that I found during the last several months.

Sin Nombre (2009 - Mexico)
Stark drama about two Honduran teenagers, strangers brought together on the epic journey to the United States through Mexico.  It is a graphic depiction of gang life in Honduras and the utter desperation to get to a better life in the US.  If you can handle stark gangland dramas, in the vein of City of God, this is a very good film.



The Thin Man (1934)
I have garv to thank for highlighting this Classic on several of his ranked lists.  This is a murder mystery comedy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.  This pair had such great comedic onstage presence together that there were several sequels to this movie.  In total, the pair went on to partner for 14 films.  They are naturally funny together.  You will also enjoy the different attitudes toward drinking.  This movie came out right after the end of Prohibition and you can tell by this timely film that the country was ready for a party!




Eastern Promises (2007)
Many of you may have heard of this Russian mafia movie, but given that it only cleared $16 million at the box office it is probably new to most folks. I found it on the rankings of the best Gangster Movies and I was not disappointed. This is an unraveling story about a young girl that dies in child birth after a brutal beating from an unknown abuser. The cast is excellent, including Viggo Mortenson and Naomi Watts, but Armin Mueller-Stahl really steals the show as the cold-blooded family patriarch.




Meet John Doe (1941)
Talk about bad timing, Meet John Doe is a Frank Capra/Gary Cooper meeting that was released in 1941, the same year as Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Hitchcock's Suspicion and How Green was My Valley. As a result, it has not survived in classic lore as well as many other movies, however this is one of my favorite Gary Cooper movies. The story is a bit of a feel good Depression-era film about how an unknown guy can change the world if given the chance.  If you like Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, I think you will also like this one.




Darkon (2006)
Okay, I am going a little off the beaten path for this one.  Darkon is a documentary about LARPers (Live Action Role Playing gamers).  I have never played these games and frankly watched this film because I wanted to understand what they people were thinking.  However, the film-making in this low budget documentary is so good, that I felt myself hanging on the outcome of a major fake battle between to opposing sides.  The camera angles, musical score and editing are very cool.  It creates an illusion of watching a real Fantasy Adventure movie.  You can watch this one on Netflix and its a fun watch.  I highly recommend you check out this hidden gem.




Runaway Jury (2003)
Runaway Jury is the biggest box office success in this list.  It grossed about $40 million at the box office, but that is still a paltry sum and means very few people have seen this excellent courtroom drama.  The cast is outstanding Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz and John Cusack.  It is a look into the backroom drama in jury selection and jury management in the big class action personal injury lawsuits.  Gene Hackman is excellent as a ruthless jury consultant for the defense.  As if the acting and drama were not enough, the plot takes some interesting twists and turns that is very entertaining.  This movie is right up there in my Top 5 courtroom drama films.




And God Spoke... (1993)
And finally we end with a comedy way, way off the beaten path.  And God Spoke...is a hilarious mockumentary in the tradition of This is Spinal Tap.  It follows the drama of a film-making team as they try to produce their latest film with the same title.  There is a lot of the normal behind the scenes mockumentary comedy, but the characters carry the day.  Stephen Rappaport really stole the show for me.  His character is so over the top that you actually feel like he believes what he is saying at time.  It is amazing to me that he has not been cast in other comedic movie roles since this movie.  Andy Dick also has a very funny cameo appearance as Abel to Lou Ferrigno's Cain -- you can imagine where that is going.  I was laughing out loud by myself watching it on my computer through Netflix!  Unfortunately, there is not an embeddable trailer, but there are a couple of clips available on youtube.

The 7 Best Baseball Movies

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In tribute to the baseball playoffs which are in full swing, I thought I would highlight my favorite seven movies about baseball and the fall classic.  If you want to add your own two cents, you can rank the category here.  And also check out our member rankings for other great Sports Movies.

Before I get started, lets talk a little bit about criteria.  I was looking for the baseball movies that gave me the best appreciation of the players that played the game and/or made me feel good about the game.  These are not necessarily the most technically accurate or most humorous, but rather these are Movies that embody the spirit of the game.


7.  Eight Men Out - We start with a downer film, but yet a very good movie that honestly portrays the early days professional baseball.  Eight Men Out follows the story of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox, nicknamed the "Black Sox", who threw the World Series for a big payday from gamblers.  Feeling spurned by a miserly owner, most of the players on the team conspired to lose the Series that they were heavily favored to win.  The film also follows the brilliant play of Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was part of the conspiring group but who chose not to cooperate and actually had a brilliant series.  It is a very good period piece on the early years of professional baseball.


6.  Bull Durham - This hilarious romp follows the players at the Durham Bulls minor league ball team, in particular an up and coming Pitcher (Tim Robbins) and a washed up Catcher (Kevin Costner).   Then you throw in sexy Susan Sarandon trying to woo both players and it makes for a fun filled romp around the bases.  


5.  A League of their Own - Following the All American Girls Professional Baseball league which was formed during World War II, this poignant film is both funny and touching.  Tom Hanks is brilliant as a "has been" alcoholic Manager that inherits a girls team, the Rockford Peaches, near Chicago.  It follows his transformation from reluctantly accepting the "insulting" job to gaining respect and admiration for his team of female players.  Geena Davis plays the teams star and Lori Petty is outstanding as her "overshadowed" younger sister.  The cast includes Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell and Jon Lovitz, who all give their career best performances in this one of a kind classic.


4.  Bang the Drum Slowly - One could call this tear-jerker a Brian's Song for baseball.  The movie includes a young and unknown Robert DeNiro as a rookie catcher who has been diagnosed with Hodgkins disease and is playing in his last season and Michael Moriarty as a veteran pitcher who befriends him during this sad but beautiful movie.


3.  Pride of the Yankees - I don't know what it is about Gary Cooper but I just love watching his movies.  There is a comfortableness in his roles that is just a joy to watch.  Of course, then you give Gary Cooper the role of Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest stories in baseball history, and it is a combination that is tough to beat.  The film follows Lou Gehrig's rise from a shy rookie to the baseball legend that he became.  Cooper delivers Gehrig's famous farewell speech, after learning he has an incurable degenerative disease later named Lou Gehrig's Disease, with such grace that you really feel as if you were there.


2.  Field of Dreams - I am not a huge Kevin Costner fan, per se, but this is Costner's seminal work -- in Field of Dreams he paints his masterpiece.  I love this movie and frankly it was really hard to pick a number 1 and a number 2 between my two favorites.  The movie follows the life of a couple in Iowa struggling to save their family farm but it is really much more.  The film is an exploration of four "unfulfilled lives" seeking one last shot at redemption, the tragedy of Shoeless Joe's brilliant career tainted by the Black Sox cheating scandal and of course America's love of the game of baseball.  The final scene in which James Earl Jones delivers his oration on America and baseball is also one of my favorite movie scenes ever.  The richness of his phenomenal voice, the cadence of his voice...I can listen to it over and over.  "If you build it, they will come Ray...they will come, Ray...they will come to Iowa for reasons they cannot even fathom..."   You can listen to this beautiful speech on Youtube.


1.  The Natural - From a baseball perspective, this movie has it all; a young star, scandal, an amazing comeback and all the while great baseball.  Ultimately, I chose it over Field of Dreams because it was more fully a baseball movie than Field of Dreams.  What an intriguing story, Roy Hobbs, once a great young prospect that only plays briefly in the majors because of a shadowy scandal with a woman (Kim Basinger) ending in his being shot.  Then Hobbs attempts a comeback 14 years later to try to save a franchise from an "evil" owner.  All the story elements are there and then a brilliant cast including Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close and Wilford Brimley carry it home.  I can still call up the song every time I think of Hobbs climatic home run...Da Na Na...Da da duuuu.  It is a must see for any baseball fan.


Enjoy the playoffs and the World Series.

The Enjoyment Of A 3D Remake!

With a market flooded by 3D movies and remakes 2010 has been without a doubt the worst year for movies at the box office in a long time. Movies in 2010 have been boring, dismal, and nothing to tell your friends about. There have been a few gems in amongst the garbage pile, but there just has not been enough movie magic to keep audiences from yawning their way through the summer.

3D or Not 3D, That Is The Question
It seems more so this year then any other that the popularity of 3D movies has exploded beyond anyone's imagination. It is incredible to think that rendering images in a third dimension, a technology which has been around in some form since the 1950's. 3D in fact shared a popular trend during the 1980's up to the early 1990's when suddenly the fad so to speak completely died off. Now suddenly with digital film and increased budgets, more and more studios are starting to deliver their movies in 3D.

Is This What You Wanted?
These days I start to look at 3D as nothing more then a lazy way for studios to accommodate for their absolute lack of originality. When movies like Alice In Wonderland, Clash of The Titans, and The Last Airbender draw audiences solely for their 3D imaging then it really send the wrong message to studios that this is what the movie going public are looking for in their movies these days. No need to worry about a storyline, good acting, or anything resembling originality because we can always just go back, render the images in 3D and charge audiences 3 dollars more to go and see these lackluster movies.

Back To The Drawing Board
When all else fails these days with movie ideas, then it seems like studios have come up with the latest craze of remaking older movies for a new generation. Movies like A Nightmare On Elm Street and The Karate Kid are flocking the market and really offering up nothing new to the original ideas. In fact if you are going to go through with a remake that offers nothing new then the least they could be doing is making the movies fun to watch. The Karate Kid was all but boring with the exception of the acting from Jackie Chan which saved this dull remake from the dark abyss of forgotten movies. Mind you the movie along with many other remakes will soon be nothing more then the 3.99 purchase from the bargain bin at your local Walmart store.

A Guilty Pleasure
So take everything I have just written and call me an absolute hypocrite if you must because what I am about to say goes against everything I have been preaching. Last night my girlfriend Shaunna and I found ourselves at the theater to watch Piranha 3D. This movie is not only a 3D based movie, but it is also a remake on top of it all. The worst part of it all is I did not dislike the movie, in fact I found it rather entertaining to be perfectly honest. Piranha 3D which is written and directed by Alexandre Aja who you may know from his remake of The Hills Have Eyes or more recently Mirrors. It would appear to me that Aja had a very good understanding that the material he was working with was not going to ever be taken seriously, so when in doubt embrace your audience. Piranha 3D as a result of some quick thinking by Aja becomes very comical, graphically violent, and uses an over abundance of cheesy 3D effects to shock the audience. I mean where else can you see a fish swallow male genitalia on screen?

I walked away from Piranha 3D thinking to myself that at least if nothing else Alexander Aja understood that he was making a movie for audience wanting to have fun at the movies, as a result the movie worked on every level and achieved what most 3D movies do not, and that is to entertain the audience. If your core audience is paying that much extra to see your movie then you need to give them enough to walk away satisfied. Piranha 3D is by no means for everyone, and nor is it about to turn any heads in terms of originality, but if a person wants to go to the movies and have a good time then I would have to recommend Piranha 3D solely for that purpose.

Originality
It is tough for me to preach originality and then also to attempt to explain my guilty pleasure of enjoying Piranha 3D but I hope that many or all of my readers will understand where it is I am coming from. Also if you are tired of the lack of originality in Hollywood then try to limit the movies you attend in theaters. Wait for video releases, Netflix rentals, etc or simply wait for the movies to come on to the television and watch them with family and friends at that point. This will force the overall Hollywood numbers down and hopefully get the studios to consider picking up some new and innovative ideas. I don't want to condone illegal downloading of movies on my site but I do feel that if studios want to avoid having this issue then they truly need to work on their original content to draw back their core audiences.

Also write letters, emails, and make your voice heard to sites and studios so that they start to get the message about their ability to fail the movie going public. There are some young new and ambitious film makers out there these days who are dying for the opportunity to get noticed, all we need to do is start directing our attention over to the lesser known movies.

Together we can make the movie world a unique and beautiful work of art like it once was.

Thank you for listening to my rants, please leave any comments if you would like to discuss this post further.

My name is Rob Munson and I say what I think and what I feel, and as a result the people always reply "Good Job Rob!"

Rob Munson (MDotMovieMan) is the former operator of the website M Dot Movie Man Reviews. Rob's new site Good Job Rob! is aimed more at articles revolving around every day life and life in the Hollywood scene. You can check out Rob's blog over at robmunson.blogspot.com. Rob has spent over 10 years working with movies behind the camera and on camera.

Quintessential Modern Movie Soundtracks

Utilizing the recent Rankography's Best Movie Soundtracks Composite Ranking list as inspiration, I felt compelled to highlight my top modern (post 1990s) soundtracks. For me, the best soundtracks manage to play like a favorite mixtape: While each song should contribute to the picture as viewed, the album should also stand alone as an exciting auditory experience.

Three contemporary directors stand-out as having keen taste in music: Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola and Quentin Tarantio. While many directors may not be involved with the soundtrack process (typically giving music directors 'free rein' to produce), it is clear that Anderson, Coppola and Tarantino have had strong direct and/or indirect influence at crafting their movie's musical experience. (And, why not given the strong (emotional, intellectual) impact music can have on the story?) Therefore, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite soundtracks from each of these auteurs.

Wes Anderson/Rushmore (1999): Rushmore is my favorite soundtrack of all time; great for almost any occasion, though highly recommended for road tripping cross country. While the original Rushmore soundtrack concept = 100% The Kinks, the final version included one Kinks track with a number of fantastic 1960's and 1970's songs. Most of the songs are by well-known bands - Faces, Chad & Jeremy, John Lennon, Cat Stevens, The Who - with some lesser-known artists - Unit 4 + 2, The Creation and Zoot Sims. Moreover, Mark Mothersbraugh's score elements are effortlessly woven within the 60's/70's pop music.

Other great Wes Anderson Soundtracks: The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Sofia Coppola/Marie Antoinette (2006): Marie Antoinette is a double-disc with amazing musical range: rock and electronic atmospheric music, 1980s new wave and post punk rock/pop, with a dash of period baroque pieces. The music - specifically the 1980s stuff - juxtaposed with the film elements (18th century France) is aesthetically brilliant. The Maria Antoinette film teaser-trailer (Age of Consent, New Order) is my vote for the most innovative and interesting use of music in a recent trailer.

Other great Sofia Coppola Soundtracks: Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides

Quentin Tarantino/Grind House, Deathproof (2007): A while ago I caught the Sundance Channel's ICONOCLASTS with Tarantino and Fiona Apple. Given Apple's musical background, lots of the conversation revolved around Tarantino's extreme passion for music (and extensive vinyl collection). This is not surprising; the Pulp Fiction soundtrack seemed to revitalize the soundtrack genre in the mid 90s. The Deathproof soundtrack may be lesser know but is just as genius. Tarantino continues his trend of including audio clips from the film and focusing on just plain cool rock songs (mainly 60's and 70's). Some high points include: Jeepster (British Glam Rock Band T-Rex), Down in Mexico (The Coasters), Baby it's You (Smith (not The Smiths)) and Staggolee (Pacific Gas & Electric).

Other great Quentin Tarantino Soundtracks: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2

You can check-out Rankography for a full composite list of Movie Soundtracks and more...

Introducing Composite Rankings!

We are introducing Composite Rankings for any category with at least five member-ranked lists.  We already have over 20 categories with Composite Rankings.

The Composites are calculated using a weighted scale, meaning that if a movie is rated #1 on somebody's lists it is going to receive more points than a movie ranked #5 on the same or another list.  So both the number of times a movie is ranked and the placement in the rankings are factors in determining the Composite Rank.

Here are the Composite Rankings for some of the most popular categories so far:

Comedies from the 80s - This golden age of the Comedy Movie yielded so many great movies that inevitably some really good movies get left of a list of the Top 30.  The Top 5 on the Composite currently includes Caddyshack, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Blues Brothers, This is Spinal Tap and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Animated Films - Animated films are no longer just chidren's movies, adults love them too.  Here are the Top 5 from the Composite for this popular category; Shrek, Up, Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Wall-E.

Horror Comedy - Our growing list of movie blogger members created this category and have filled it with some outstanding ranked lists.  Proving their deep knowledge of movies, the movie bloggers' have created lists with many interesting movies that I had never heard of such as Otis, Machine Girl and Idle Hands.  The Top 5 on the list were Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Re-Animator, Scary Movie and Fido.

Musicals - I have to admit I was surprised by the popularity of this category, but that is part of the charm of the site; users decide what is popular.  This category has an interesting blend of classic movies such as Singin in the Rain and newer cult classics such as Cannibal! The Musical.  The Top 5 Composite Musicals are Singin in the Rain, My Fair Lady, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Band Wagon and The Sound of Music.

It will be fun to watch how these Composite Rankings change over time as more and more members rank the categories.

Should we Blame Ourselves for the Lack of Originality in Hollywood?

My god I am sick of the remakes and endless cycle of sequels coming out of Hollywood the days.  It seems that for every truly original movie, such as Inception or Dinner for Schmucks, we have at least 4 or 5 remake/sequels.  Do we really need to remake a movie, like Halloween or Let the Right One In, that were both incredible the first time around.  What does the medium gain by doing it?  I would say nothing.

However, should we actually be looking in the mirror to find the reason for this proliferation of trash?  Is it the direct result of all these "free movie download" ads and links I see whenever I google the word movie?  I am not a free movie downloader - both out of principle and a supreme fear of spyware and viruses, but clearly thousands of web-users are.  I can't help but think that Hollywood's sudden aversion to risk is related to the increased activity in "free movie downloads".

I have not back-tested the data to compare the number of remakes and sequels in the last two years to that of 10 years ago, but it certainly feels like there are a lot more now than there used to be.  It is also a very popular topic in the movie blogosphere.  Whether or not the incidence has increased, one thing is for sure -- if the profit is driven out of the movie business, the quality of the product will suffer.

Some artists will continue to create movie masterpieces without a thought of earning a profit, but even they would not be able to lose money making movies over the long-term.  I am a huge believer in free speech, but not copyright theft.  I believe in paying fair value for a product and downloading movies for free is theft. 

So please think about the future of the movie industry the next time you go to download a movie for free.  Whether your favorites are big-budget action movies or low-budget human interest stories, the quality will suffer if we don't let the artists make money.

Highlighted Ranking Profiles for new Movie Bloggers

One of the cools things about Rankography is the deep knowledge of the members its attracting. Many movie bloggers have been joining the site and creating new categories and great rankings. I wanted to highlight some of the ranking profiles of members which have been adding a lot of value.

DVDSpinDoctor
Is a movie blogger who has ranked many categories and added the Vampire categories (and no none of the Twilight movies appear on his rankings). On his ranking profile he has highlighted his rankings for Westerns, Vampire Movies, Gangster Movies and Foreign Horror Movies. Here is a sampling from his Foreign Horror category:

Audition
Vampyr
Let the Right One In
Host, The
Witchfinder General


Hal0000
Hal0000 publishes the Hal0000 movie review blog. He created the interesting category Bourgeois Satires and also ranked WWII Movies, Westerns and Musicals on his ranking profile. Here is a sampling from his WWII Movies list which included several interesting Japanese selections:

Army of Shadows
Human Condition, The
Cranes are Flying, The
Kanal
Best Years of Our Lives, The


Lolita's Classics
Lolita publishes the classic film blog, Lolita' Classics. She publishes reviews exclusively about classic movies so she brings a different perspective to Rankography. On her ranking profile, Lolita her rankings of Dark Suburban Dramas, Courtroom Dramas, Movies that Prove Promiscuity is Dangerous and Musicals. Here is a sampling from her interesting list of Musicals:

Band Wagon, The
Meet Me in St. Louis
Gay Divorcee, The
Easter Parade
Great Ziegfeld, The


Garv
Garv is a movie blogger who publishes the uniquely titled Booze Movies blog. Garv created the Booze Movies category at Rankography and also included his rankings of Horror Comedy and Westerns on his ranking profile. Here is a sampling from his ranking of Booze Movies:

Barfly
Lost Weekend, The
Thin Man, The
Animal House
Withnail and I

How to Use Rankography movies

We want to welcome you to Rankography and provide this overview of some of the key features of the site and how you can use it for your own benefit.  Rankography is a site for its users and created by its users. You create the categories, you choose the movies in a category ranking and you order them (drag and drop) depending on how well you like them. Right now we are focused on Movies but in the future we will add other “meta” categories and we will ask you the users to help us pick them.

Discover Favorite Movies of Other Members you Like

The Front Page provides an easy way to browse through member's rankings.  Each member's ranking profile shows 4 categories they have selected to highlight and you can see their favorite movies in each category.  You can quickly determine members that have similar tastes to your own then find movies you have not seen that they recommend.

Discover More Movies in a Category

So, let’s talk about what you can do with the site. I happen to love movies with “surprise endings”, but of course you can’t just search for movies with surprise endings on the web or at your local Blockbuster. So I created a category called Surprise Endings. As other members rank that category, I will be able to see their rankings and discover other  great movies with surprise endings.  In the future, we will be adding a composite ranking for each category that averages results from all user rankings.

Share and Compare

Much of the idea for the site was born out of our experiences ranking movies with friends. The site facilitates those discussions virtually. Once you have ranked a category, like Gangster Movies, you can easily share it with friends using the site’s tools. You can also create a widget and display it on your favorite social network (e.g., facebook) or add it to a blog. What a great way to start a discussion or debate with friends.

Promote your Blog or Movie Review Site

There are many great benefits specifically designed for movie bloggers and reviewers. Rankography is an easy tool to create favorite lists in a category. It can be a broad category like Best Comedies or a more focused category such as the Best Comedies about High School. You can publish your own ranking to your website and you can also promote your website with a quality link and description on your profile page. Here is my profile page for your info. There is also a Group feature that allows several bloggers in a genre, such as Horror, to create a public or private category for a group.

Database

We have a large and growing database of movies. We currently have over 3,000 movies in our database. We created the initial database based on a number of factors that might indicate their likelihood of ending up on a ranked list including, box office success, award winning, critical acclaim, specificity to a genre, notoriety, etc. However, you can add any movie that is not included in our database. An added movie can immediately be used in your ranked list (no adult movies – they will be deleted), but will not be added to the entire database until approved by us. The approval process helps us maintain the integrity of the database and prevents duplicates, misspellings and other errors that could frustrate our users.

We hope you enjoy using Rankography and get lots of benefit from the site. One of the great things about social networking sites, like ours, is that the benefits of the site grow for all our users as more people join. So if you like the site and enjoy using it, please tell your friends. If you have suggestions to improve the site, please feel free to contact us.