The Best Web Sites for Movie Fans - Part 1

Get ready for summer blockbuster season with these 15 movie sites and blogs, offering a daily fix of news, reviews, spoilers, and more.

by Jennifer L. DeLeo - PC Magazine

When to comes to watching movies, there's nothing like the movie-theater experience: the overflowing tub of popcorn and fake butter, the awesome surround sound, and the humongous screen. Escaping into an air-conditioned movie theater to enjoy the latest blockbuster is one of the joys of summer.

Even before hitting up the local cineplex, though, moviegoers tend to already know which movie they're going to see. According to the Motion Picture Association of America's Theatrical Market Statistics 2007 report, 73 percent of moviegoers use the Internet to research films before going to the theater. Consequently, they are more likely to see a movie on opening weekend and go to the theater more often, too.

So what kinds of Web sites and blogs are moviegoers frequenting to learn about current and up-and-coming films? PC Magazine explored the various resources available on the Web and combined them into a handy moviegoer's guide. Our search is divided into six dedicated categories: reviews, news, facts, trailers/spoilers, social networking, and blogs.

Check out our favorite movie sites and blogs before heading out to the first blockbuster of the summer. And don't forget the extra butter!

MOVIE REVIEWS:

1. Rotten Tomatoes

http://www.rottentomatoes.com

Rotten Tomatoes has gone through several changes over the years, but it remains one of the best resources for movie reviews. Seven million monthly readers flock to Rotten Tomatoes to read more than 850,000 movie reviews, which are aggregated from various media outlets such as Hollywood Reporter, Newsweek, and Variety. Film buffs can also get their daily fix of movie news, movie trailers, photo galleries, and more. Currently in beta, Rotten Tomatoes will expand its site to include more video, a faster-loading homepage, and a better assortment of photos.

- Best Feature: Each film is scored by the "Tomatometer," which Rotten Tomatoes describes as a system that "summarizes the opinions of respected film critics into an easy-to-use percentage," from fresh to rotten ratings.

- Worst Feature: Some elements of the site load slowly.

2. RogerEbert.com

http://www.rogerebert.com

There's no more thorough and honest film critic than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Roger Ebert. On his own comprehensive Web site, Roger Ebert shares his more than 5,500 reviews written for the Chicago Sun-Times, the most recent being for The Incredible Hunk (2.5 out of 4 stars) and The Happening (3 stars). Every other Sunday, Ebert looks back at films that he deems Great Movies, and re-reviews them.

- Best Feature: Roger Ebert's movie criticisms, what else?

- Worst Feature: The site isn't as intuitive as it could be.

3. The Four Word Film Review

http://www.fwfr.com

What's unique about this movie reviews site is that no more than four words can be used. Some example reviews of Kung Fu Panda are: "Slacker Black repels attack," "Bear is grasshopper," and "Saving Valley? Panda fu!" The site has over 272,000 reviews and features over 25,000 films. An amusing element of the site is the clue balloon in the upper right hand corner. From the four words provided, guess which movie it is describing. Click on Clue if you need some help.

- Best Feature: The addictive nature of brainstorming four-word reviews!

- Worst Feature: The forums could use a little more life.

MOVIE NEWS:

4. Film.com

http://www.film.com

Owned by media service provider RealNetworks, Film.com is a tabloid-like site for movie fans. From the latest entertainment news and gossip, to fun articles like Adam Sandler's best movies, to Film.com's audio movie reviews, it's easy to spend a whole afternoon on the site. Peruse the DVD section for what's new on DVD, what's coming soon, and which DVDs the staff is talking about. If you're a TV buff, get all of your TV news here, too.

- Best Feature: The "What We're Talking About" section under Movies offers a candid look at the best and worst movies.

- Worst Feature: It's difficult to find movie news.

5. First Showing

http://www.firstshowing.net

A 2007 PC Magazine Top 100 Undiscovered Web site, First Showing is offers a complete list of movie release dates, movie news from various sources, and an archive of reviews written by the FirstShowing.net staff. Interviews with the likes of director Peter Segal and actor Ben Stiller also make the site an interesting read.

- Best Feature: Stay on top of movie releases by adding them to your Google Calendar.

- Worst Feature: The list of theater events is restricted to the Colorado Springs area only.

(CONTINUE...)

*** From: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2320861,00.asp