Win a Million Dollars

Netflix, according to a NYT article from today, is giving a million dollars to anyone who can make their movie recommendations more accurate. Right now, a lot of recommendation systems use a database that was compiled by the University of Minnesota called Movielens. When I started using it years ago, the recommendations were a little hinky because no one else used it. It's pretty good now, but functions mainly as a nag. I have never seen Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler and Movielens keeps telling me that I'll give it 5 stars. It makes me feel guilty every time I log on.

Anyway, if you have some brilliant idea about how to make Netflix work better, send it in to them. And, if you've never logged onto Movielens, give it a shot. Warning: you can lose hours of your life rating movies.

Ok, first and foremost, one must take into account the demographics. On one hand, you have those die hard moviegoers, and on the other, you have those who have nothing better to do. Anyway, history has proven that a movie is only as good as the buzz surrounding it. Although, this is not always the case. "Superman Returns," for instance, had mixed reviews, yes, but it went on to earn more than $200 million dollars domestically, and this can be attributed to the franchise's past success. I, for one, was a huge fan of the original, and though I went into this with much skepticism, I came out with a new perspective. It has everything I was expecting and more! Like "Superman," the new crop of comic book heroes seem to be a given when it comes to box office glory. Though these movies may lack substance, they more than make up for it with action.

Moviegoers flock to theatres to watch movies that provide a sense of escape from the normalcy of their everyday lives. They make us believe in the unbelieveable, and take us places that do not exist outside this reality.

In order to get to the heart of a "true" moviegoer, we must acknowledge the "escape" factor. We must instill in them the idea that to live is but to dream, and to dream is but to imagine a place unknown to all but the "truest" of dreamers. And, well, movies make us do this! The good ones do anyway!