Description

Launched in September 2009, Flickchart is the brainchild of web programmer Jeremy Thompson and web designer Nathan Chase. The impetus behind the site's creation came from an argument over the placement of Pulp Fiction

Pulp fiction

Pulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...

 and The Empire Strikes Back on the Internet Movie Database

Internet Movie Database

Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...

 Top 250. Thompson and Chase concluded that the limitations of star and number based movie rating systems failed to produce accurate "Best Movie of All Time" lists. Flickchart was designed to remedy the issue by forcing users to decide between two random movies repeatedly until an accurate list is created, rather than rating each movie individually. This approach is intended to encourage users to seriously consider which film they actually prefer. In Thompson's words, regarding the decision process, “Hopefully you’re reliving some of the scenes in your mind and you hate making a definitive pick".

Critical reception

Reactions to the site from film bloggers and other observers have been generally positive. Barb Dybwad of Mashable

Mashable

Mashable is an American news website and Internet news blog founded by Pete Cashmore. The website's primary focus is social media news, but also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets...

 describes the site's "game-like premise" as "rather addictive". Jeremy Smith (a.k.a. "Mr. Beaks") of Ain't It Cool News

Ain't It Cool News

Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...

described himself as hooked after 15 minutes and obsessed after four hours, but stated "Is the process flawless? Hardly." He then explains that films of inferior quality can get stuck near the top of a person's rankings and be hard to dislodge through the random dueling process, because the film must have the right duels against superior films, in order to move downward to its proper place in the rankings. In a June 2009 article, Scott Weinberg of Cinematical called it "easily the coolest movie website of the year" and described himself as "tickled, fascinated, enamored and addicted". The site's addictive qualities have also been given a negative spin, at least humorously, by Cole Abaius at the blog Film School Rejects, in which he contended that Flickchart would "ruin your life." "Why will it ruin your life?" asked Abaius. "Because it’s going to take up all of your time, and all you’ll be doing is tearing your hair out and clicking".