IMDB is shutting down its message boards!

[21st Century Man]

The thing is you learn a lot of trivia on the message boards.  Where else can you have a discussion about a movie like 1928's Howard Hughes film, The Racket.  Nowhere.  I agree that there are a lot of trolls on the message boards to newer films but my focus is older films and trolls are infrequent on those boards.

[Ciardelo]

I'm surprised that some don't understand that the message boards are very different from "reviews." The message boards were good for discussing confusing plot points for instance. Perhaps not a huge part of the movie, but a little quirk in the storyline that might not have made it into a given reviewer's consciousness.

It's a little nuanced, I'll admit but for example I had to go to the message board for the movie "No Country for Old Men" where the bad guy seemingly disappears from a scene in a locked hotel room.

Oh well...just another instance where trolls and "chan attitudes" destroyed something nice. 

[ItsOver]

Don't worry, my dapper Squirrel friend. One day, our story will be told!

Could we pickup the pace on this?  We're not getting any younger, especially if we have furry tails and like to hang out in trees.

[21st Century Man]

I'm surprised that some don't understand that the message boards are very different from "reviews." The message boards were good for discussing confusing plot points for instance. Perhaps not a huge part of the movie, but a little quirk in the storyline that might not have made it into a given reviewer's consciousness.

It's a little nuanced, I'll admit but for example I had to go to the message board for the movie "No Country for Old Men" where the bad guy seemingly disappears from a scene in a locked hotel room.

Oh well...just another instance where trolls and "chan attitudes" destroyed something nice. 

Exactly. Well-said, C.  I guess some new improvising techie will take advantage of IMDB's mistake and in 10 years they will be the new IMDB.  It is a damn shame though.

[Ciardelo]

Exactly. Well-said, C.  I guess some new improvising techie will take advantage of IMDB's mistake and in 10 years they will be the new IMDB.  It is a damn shame though.

A damn shame. I also agreed with your point about the little trivia nuggets that bubble up. I also collect Old-Time Radio shows and some of the crossovers with various actors are interesting. Sometimes different versions of a movie might have been made--sometimes with different titles. The message boards were a good place to discuss the different versions and merits of each.

[21st Century Man]

A damn shame. I also agreed with your point about the little trivia nuggets that bubble up. I also collect Old-Time Radio shows and some of the crossovers with various actors are interesting. Sometimes different versions of a movie might have been made--sometimes with different titles. The message boards were a good place to discuss the different versions and merits of each.

Right, I would generally go to a message board to see if there is dvd or blu-ray of a more obscure film like the original One Million B.C. with Victor Mature and Lon Chaney  Jr. or when one might be coming out.  A pretty bad movie by the way but it kicked off Mature's career. I finally just taped it off of TCM and watched it. Too bad they didn't have the budget to hire Willis O'Brien for that film.

And as you said, various cuts of films exist. Examples would be the original Lost Horizon or The Devil and Daniel Webster.  Or there might be a censored copy of a pre-code film that is widely shown and one might wonder if the original uncensored version is available for viewing.  You find all of this stuff out on the message boards and not in the reviews unless you dig deep into them.

[zeebo]

... the trolling output going through the roof there ...

Especially obvious and hilarious in their own way were all those brief, poorly written 10-star reviews of sucky movies.  I admit I fell for a few of those back in the day but soon learned they were just shills.

[zeebo]

They seemed to be the last two honest reviewers.

They were great, but both imho eventually got seduced by the hollywood machine though.  I remember being so bummed when I saw them at some red carpet event the first time.  In the old days, they were the outsiders, the rumpled renegades that loved above all else movies themselves, not all the glitz and glam surrounding the stars, and they'd call out lame movies or bad performances without hesitation. 

[JesusJuice]

/tv/ on 4chan has some good discussions if anyone is interested.

There's way too much black cock on that board. The weird thing is that it's Australians posting it all.

[Zetaspeak]

The thing is you learn a lot of trivia on the message boards.  Where else can you have a discussion about a movie like 1928's Howard Hughes film, The Racket.  Nowhere.  I agree that there are a lot of trolls on the message boards to newer films but my focus is older films and trolls are infrequent on those boards.

Exactly, it's not that important for newer films as there's other boards to talk about new releases or box office.

What I really liked from the IMDB is for older stuff and obscure TV and movies

I remember about a decade ago something jarred my memory of a short lived early 2000 Bruce Campbell TV show called "Jack of all Trades" . It was campy as heck but I thought it was amusing. I saw it being discussed on IMDB board and even a push to get it on DVD and other cool discussions. It such an obscure show that I doubt you'd find a place of like-minded fans just by random chance, having a big side like IMDB and a sub-site like it's forums was great recourse .

[MV/Liberace!]

i am going to be the opposite end here and say its no great loss...sure you could get some extra info ..but only from time to time..the boards had deteriorated over the past couple years with the trolling output going through the roof there that actually make bellgab look like the friendliest place on earth

i didn't even know imdb had forums.

[21st Century Man]

i didn't even know imdb had forums.

Go to any movie and scroll down to the bottom of the screen.  A few threads show up.  Click on one and there you are.  They really needed to redo the forums and bring them up to date but they nevertheless provided much info.

[Rix Gins]

i didn't even know imdb had forums.

Me neither.  I only use it to see if certain actors/actresses have kicked the bucket, or not.

[MV/Liberace!]

Me neither.  I only use it to see if certain actors/actresses have kicked the bucket, or not.

heh heh, yup, pretty much.

[21st Century Man]

Me neither.  I only use it to see if certain actors/actresses have kicked the bucket, or not.

I use wiki for that.

[zeebo]

I'm surprised that some don't understand that the message boards are very different from "reviews."...

Oops I think I was confused on this.  Are they only shutting down the boards, not the reviews?  Still sucks but only half as much if so.

[Zetaspeak]

Never knew IDBM had a forum.

I never went there much myself except to find when new seasons of shows started.

/tv/ on 4chan has some good discussions if anyone is interested.

Make an account there and tell em The King of King's sent you from bellgab

I could just imagine their Christmas movie reviews

Scrooge: "The ultimate Trump-like alpha male Scrooge is visited by three libtard ghosts who turn him into a Christmas Cuck. minus 5 stars."   

[MV/Liberace!]

I use wiki for that.

yeah, actually, i'm more likely to go there.  you can also google "<show name> episode list" to see everything you need to know about pretty much anything on tv from wikipedia.

[SciFiAuthor]

Movie criticism just hasn't been the same since Roger Ebert died. It's wasteland these days. The most I usually do regarding checking reviews now is check out Rotten Tomatoes but I was a regular viewer of Siskel and Ebert and would often read his reviews in the paper or online.

Very true. Ebert exemplified intelligent film criticism and review. You could say valid film criticism died with him because every time I read a review anymore it's either trashing something just to trash it or lauding something because we're supposed to or something.

[Ciardelo]

i didn't even know imdb had forums.

BellGab kills off another competitor.

[Rix Gins]

I use wiki for that.

Yup, that's good for that.  I watched a Perry Mason episode last night and IMDB gives a nice listing of all the cast members.  Episode was back in 1959 and surprisingly, a couple of the cast members are still alive.  Pretty old, though.  lol 

[Ciardelo]

Oops I think I was confused on this.  Are they only shutting down the boards, not the reviews?  Still sucks but only half as much if so.

I'm pretty sure it is just the boards. They need to keep the reviews for the studio shills to write.

[Ciardelo]

yeah, actually, i'm more likely to go there.  you can also google "<show name> episode list" to see everything you need to know about pretty much anything on tv from wikipedia.

But that isn't the give-and-take discussion you would have found in the IMDB forums.

[Ciardelo]

I guess you people don't know the Wikipedia entries are often just copied word-for-word reviews from IMDB? Who gives a crap about that?

[albrecht]

Very true. Ebert exemplified intelligent film criticism and review. You could say valid film criticism died with him because every time I read a review anymore it's either trashing something just to trash it or lauding something because we're supposed to or something.

My favorite are the "reviewers" at obscure papers whose words are used on movie posters talking about how good the movie is.
Eric Stevens of the East Peoria Community Express News says "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is "exciting......heart inspiring....makes you want to dance! Four stars!" Charles Woods of the Mississippi Courier-Journal calls it a "can't miss....shows how the human spirit cannot be broken..."

[21st Century Man]

Very true. Ebert exemplified intelligent film criticism and review. You could say valid film criticism died with him because every time I read a review anymore it's either trashing something just to trash it or lauding something because we're supposed to or something.

I used to get Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone magazine and they were both notorious for that.  No one's really replaced Roger since he died.  I like Michael Medved's movie reviews but he is no Ebert.  Now, I guess I get the biggest kick out of reading some of Rex Reed's reviews especially when he tears into a film.  He can be vicious. lol.  However he is old too.  There is just nobody coming along filling these people's shoes.  Just hacks.

[zeebo]

I'm pretty sure it is just the boards. They need to keep the reviews for the studio shills to write.

Ha yeah, they stick out like sore thumbs.  The dead giveaway are the one-word sentences like "Amazing. Inspired. Brilliant!"

Btw I just went to the boards and got an answer for something I didn't understand in Rogue One, and it was there!  Damn, great resource for little details that we're gonna lose.

[Zetaspeak]

For movie reviews, I normally go to Rotten Tomatoes and look at the consensus.

With movie reviewers, I don't think there's no right or wrong, people like what people like. You just got to find somebody that's got similar taste of yours in the past and you trust their opinion going forward

[SciFiAuthor]

I used to get Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone magazine and they were both notorious for that.  No one's really replaced Roger since he died.  I like Michael Medved's movie reviews but he is no Ebert.  Now, I guess I get the biggest kick out of reading some of Rex Reed's reviews especially when he tears into a film.  He can be vicious. lol.  However he is old too.  There is just nobody coming along filling these people's shoes.  Just hacks.

I think Leonard Maltin is still around as well. But there's not much in the papers or online publications for sure. I find that I get better, more honest reviews and analysis from YouTubers anymore, especially for modern sci fi movies. For the art and foreign films I like, I just go read Ebert's archives.

[SciFiAuthor]

My favorite are the "reviewers" at obscure papers whose words are used on movie posters talking about how good the movie is.
Eric Stevens of the East Peoria Community Express News says "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is "exciting......heart inspiring....makes you want to dance! Four stars!" Charles Woods of the Mississippi Courier-Journal calls it a "can't miss....shows how the human spirit cannot be broken..."

See, this makes me miss Gene Shallit. "What the hell was that?"