OP-ROB Revival Updates

What’s Changing:

• Full-length reviews will be infrequent, standard reviews will be limited to 50 words and released in groups of 5

• OP-ROB TOP 50 will be revamped

• New “ALL-NBA” rating introduced 

• RODMAN designation introduced (Rating System tab revised)

Reasoning:

• The goal of OP-ROB is to provide a usable, approachable list of film reviews and recommendations. While I will aim to write a lengthy review monthly or bi-monthly, a capsule review format will allow increased coverage and output.

• A Top-50 film list needs room to grow and evolve. Perhaps the best comparison for this would be the NBA theme! Thirty years ago a player like Wes Unseld was on the NBA Top 50. Now, he might not crack the Top 75… Similarly, time allows for re-evaluation. Russell Westbrook is an apt example of this point. In the past ten years, Russ’ actual value is better understood through advanced metrics and the performance of his various teams. The same goes for movies. 

• Thinking about the old rating system, I decided that there needed to be another category between ALL-STAR and LEGEND. The bar for LEGEND ratings simply needs to be higher. Plus, there should be a stronger rating for goofy, but exceedingly enjoyable movies. A good example of this would be the previously reviewed “Zootopia” (received an ALL-STAR, deserved better, but not a LEGEND). Movie ratings are never going to be an exact science, but ALL-NBA will both safeguard LEGEND as well as create a space for stand-out crowd-pleasers.

• Have you ever seen a movie that was thoroughly unenjoyable yet still worthwhile? Perhaps the topic was inherently repulsive? “Room” 2015. Or the story was downright depressing? “Oslo, August 31st” 2011. Or maybe the film was philosophically abhorrent? “The Birth of a Nation” 1915. Sometimes we encounter these types of movies: Worth watching, excellent in many ways, but not exactly “recommended”. Hence, the RODMAN tag!