Review-a-thon

This is a Review-a-thon call to fill up missing reviews for the Top Movies here at listal. It makes our community look pathetic to have 1,000 people listing an item, and not a single review.

I'm gonna list some of the Top Watched films that still don't have a single review, so please, if you've seen it (and I know you have, hence why they are Top Watched), do try to post a review on it. This goes out to all frequent reviewers, as well as virgin reviewers. :)

Shrek - Done! - Thanks DefenderOfKnowledge
Forrest Gump - Done! - Thanks Grand Assault!
Finding Nemo - DOne! - Thanks me ;) and Chibiyusa!
Kill Bill Volume 1 - Done! Thanks Grand Assault
Jurassic Park - Done! - by Me
X-Men - Done! Thanks chibiyusa!
The Incredibles - Done! - Thanks Grand Assault.
Charlie and Chocolate Factory - Done! - Thanks Me ;)
Toy Story - Done! Thanks chibiyusa!
Shrek 2 - Done! - Thanks Me ;)
Pulp Fiction - Done! - Thanks Grand Assault
Bruce Almighty - Done! Thanks me ;)
Catch me if you Can - Done! Thanks Vix.
The Gladiator - DOne! Thanks me;
Truman Show - DOne! Thanks Grand Assault.
Independence Day - Done! Thanks Vix.
Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban - Done! thanks chibiyusa
Saving Private Ryan - Done! Thanks Grand Assault.
Minority Report - Done! thanks me ;
Raiders of Lost Ark - DOne! Thanks Vix!
Indiana Jones and Last Crusade - DOne by me

Men In Black
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/5096

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/11288

The Lion King
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/17157

The Mask
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/2844

Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/13429

Mrs Doubtfire
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/3036

Silence of the Lambs
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/4106

Batman
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/353

Meet the Parents (could use a proper review)
www.listal.com/viewproduct/movies/6864

and that should be all that we'll shoot for in this review-a-thon

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Let's give ourselves a week and see if we can pull together to accomplish this challenge. Remember, we don't need a thorough siskel & ebert style analysis of the film - just your overall opinion of the film as well as some of your favorite scenes and moments, and whether you recommend it or you think it's pure crap.

Perhaps, to get more people into the habit of reading and writing reviews, we could post a few of our own within this thread? The idea being that the boards may, at the moment, be the main place folk to look for others' opinions on stuff. Hopefully, posting some reviews here may encourage others, who may not otherwise write their own, to get into writing their own - first on here, then on the item pages. Besides, I quite like the idea of a thread where we can all recommend - or warn against! - stuff we've watched/read/etc. Forgive me if I'm hijacking your thread, Prelude, but this seems the ideal place to do it. So, I'll start, if I may ('cheating' slightly, by pasting in a review I've already written on the item page.

This is a review of Genesis of the Daleks, a classic story from the original series of Doctor Who:

Whilst Terry Nation's previous Dalek tale had been highly derivative, offering nothing new to Dalek mythology, here he offered something altogether more original; not only expanding on Dalek history, but rewriting it. The result is a challenging, highly moral tale, easily transcending the programme's early evening time slot.

Nation had originally conceived the Daleks as allegorical Nazis, and never is this more apparent than it is here. We're presented with a world ruined by a thousand years of total war, with both sides on the point of collapse, but continuing regardless (calling to mind Hitler's insistence that Germany should fight to the end, even if it would be destroyed in the process), each seeking the annhilation of the other (reflecting Hitler's war of attrition with Russia, and the liquidation of the Jews). The Kaleds have a strict doctrine of racial purity, exiling those who have been genetically damaged by the war's chemical weapons - whilst the Thals round them up for use as slave labour. The allusions to World War Two, and Nazism in particular abound, and if anyone could be uncertain as to the story's themes and roots, then they're made crystal clear in the way the story is presented visually: clicking heels, ranting fanaticism, a stark underground bunker, fascist salutes, stormtrooper-esque uniforms, and so on...

Wisely, the war isn't depicted as a battle between "Good" and "Evil", as might be expected from some of Terry Nation's previous morality tales. Instead, both sides are shown to be equally ruthless in their prosecution of the war, yet each retaining some sympathetic characters, too. Even the Kaleds' different social groups - the military and scientific elites - aren't easily distinguished in terms of black and white moral terms (even if their uniforms *are* black and white, respectively!). Kaleds from both divisions have moral choices to make, and they don't all decide their loyalties lie with the side you would expect them to choose if this was a lesser morality tale. The Doctor isn't free from moral dilemmas, either, and he has a particularly difficult one to grapple with: can he destroy the Daleks at birth, re-writing future history with an act of genocide? Obvious the answer may be, but this doesn't stop the scene from being the series' defining moral moment.

Where the Doctor hesitates, it is clear that Davros, had he been in the same position, would not. Highlight of the story, the Daleks' creator is amoral and ruthless; even willing to sacrifice his own people when the government moves to interfere with his Dalek project. Far from being a one-dimensional madman, however, Davros is clearly a brilliant thinker and scientist. Not troubled by such "afflictions" as conscience, scruples or ethics, Davros is a man who will persue a line of thought simpy because it fascinates him, and because he's interested in where it will go, regardless of the consequences for other people. He is, however, ultimately a victim of his own success, and is eventually exterminated by his own creations - in a scene which sees their "actual" birth, the Daleks assert their own superiority, Davros's failure to allow them to feel pity condemning him.
Technically, too, Davros is a brilliant creation; the combination of excellent design, and a layered performace from Dalek voice artist Michael Wisher combine to form a compelling character, somewhere between man and Dalek. Davros must surely rank as the greatest villain the series ever produced.

For a story of its length, Genesis of the Daleks contains very little padding, and cracks along at a reasonable pace. It is also a story in which every aspect - scripts, lighting, direction and performance etc. - are consistently excellent, combining to form something special. There are a few faults (for example: the giant clams are a bit daft, a couple of the cliffhangers are a little lacking, the "Total Destruct" button is clearly only a plot device - a point painfully emphasised by it's incongrous design, and the Doctor and co. spinning through space holding the time ring is a poorly-realised end to a brilliant story), but to dwell on them would seem rather churlish, considering the heights the story reached in almost every area. Consistently appearing in the top three of numerous fan polls (once having been voted the series all-time greatest story), it's easy to see why Genesis of the Daleks has such a great reputation. Over thirty years on and it still stands up today - not just as one of the Doctor's finest adventures, but as a slice of exemplary television drama in its own right.

I just make my reviews almost as i were to tell my friends a bit about the film.

Grand Assault, thanks a bunch for helping out. Anyone else wanna pitch to clear a few off this list?

It's not *that* big; maybe a magazine length review, I'd say. Still, as long as *someone* reads them, I'm fairly happy :-)

I've found myself hoping for the same, when people post cover blurbs as 'reviews', obviously just posting in bulk for the points. Ditto worthless one line 'reviews'.

well, more than half of the list is taken care of, but how about a bit of help from others? lol

if me and Grand Assault reviewed all films on here, we might as well start up a siskel & ebert type of website. :)

you posted 1.5 hrs ago

i better BUMP this thread to keep it alive from another weekend of NARUTO onslaught

MAN YOUR STATIONS, SOLDIERS!!! NOW!!!!

Tom? Where are you? You're our only hope... R2D2, send this message out to him...

yeah, where is he? it's been a while

reviving the Review-a-thon. anyone besides me and Grand Assault want to help finish off the 'top watched movies' reviews?

I reviewed Shrek. Kinda sucked though.

the review was great, dude. besides, anything is better than nothing. and nothing is better than comments like 'yo this movie sux0r' or 'this movie is great'. :)

I'd love to see user-editable cross linking for all items between other items in listal. PLEASE TOM, is this possible? You'd have a one up on even IMDB's database, as event they don't easily show if a film has prequels, sequels, or if its a remake or which book its based on.

This of the possibilities. Click on LOTR movie (any of them) and see link to the other 2 in the trilogy, as well as the animated version, as well as all DVD editions of the the film, and all versions of the classic books it was based on. SNAP! that would be the ultimate list site.

Update: moved 2nd list up to original...

i mentioned it several times already. Either Tom is working on something big, or he's enjoying extended summer holidays. lol .. either way, development of new features has been stagnant on listal since early spring, so i'll resume making suggestions once development looks to be active again.

Thanks Grand Assault for another review - Truman Show.

bump.. its the weekend, folks. lets give the reviw-a-thon one more big burst of energy to tackle outstanding movies. I got my eyes on Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator, maybe I'll do E.T. as well.

Finished up Finding Nemo review.

lol

ah well, the more reviews the better.. thanks, chibi!

another one bites the dust... 'Bruce Almighty'

i'm on a roll tonite! Gladiator is done too

and thanks Chibiyusa. keep 'em coming! :)

thanks again! p.s. I merged the two lists into one at the top. I think it's easier to find the ones that are done and not done yet.

updated first posting:

I added a few more to the list and that should be all for this review-a-thon. Maybe future ones might be theme based (James Bond review-a-thon) or topic based (Teen Comedy review-a-thon) or some other idea.

Still, I'm impressed, guys! we've polished off 16 reviews off the list and 14 more to go. Let's keep it up. We can do it.

message to Naruto fans @ listal. Since you guys are always on and never run out of things to say, how about helping the COMMMUNITY for a change, and maybe helping finish up some unfinished reviews? You do watch non-naruto things, right? :)

and it might show us you care about this site, and aren't just using it as your own private chat zone.

updated. you're on a crazy roll there. lol

but i think i'm calling it a night. might post one for Indiana Jones, Raiders, and Saving Private Ryan, if they're not done in a day or so. I can't believe no reviews yet on those. lol. they are my favorites.

thanks, Grand Assault. Saving Private Ryan is done.

Thanks Vix for that great Raiders review.

just finished up Minority Report.

Only 10 more to go! let's have a good push today and tomorrow and rap up this awesomely successful review-a-thon :)

thanks everyone, especially Grand Assault, Vix and Chibiyusa.

*non-naruto bump*

Good job everyone! I'm sorry I didn't get to join in but most of my reviews tend to be for less well-known items anyway, so meh. When I get internet back properly again I'll get back to work. ;)

you probably kept missing this thread coz it keeps getting buried by all the narutotards :)

nice to see you back online.

It might be another 2-3 weeks at least for home internet but I know for sure I'll have internet by the second week in September because thats when I move into student accomodation for university.. It thoroughly sucks.

I did notice that the boards have gotten much worse though and I don't even bother to read through much in my precious hour of internet time in the library.

I might do 'Last Crusade' and 'Meet the Parents' later today. Or the original Batman. I'll see what mood I'm in. :)

i'm slacking today. not a single review