Excuse me for sharing my opinion....

Right. So no one should argue about why any film is better than another.

And Vash should recuse himself from all votes? Yeah, no. He is mostly doing that anyway and breaking ties. That's pretty typical of how things work for the president of any board which conducts business.

Zmaj, simply because you state that "saying that 'opinions are subjective' is a sign of insecurity." multiple times does not in and of itself make it true. Especially in this case when I am curious about the motivations behind your statements not at all concerned about the statements themselves. You assert your opinion so strongly with intoned insults at those who might differ with it that it demonstrates that you do not wish to have your opinion challenged.

TomB was quite a bit more authentic in his response and I respect his point of view.

I enjoyed The Matrix immensely. When it came out I expected a great special effects movie but I was pleased by the additional aspects of a cool story, good actors (Fishburne, Pantoliano, Moss, Reeves, Weaving), and great surprises.

Jeff and goldie may think I'm trolling, but I genuinely believe that Circle was a better film than The Matrix. To me, both fall into basically a purely entertainment based film (shallow, escapist - which can be good). And I came out enjoying the Circle more. Or more appropriately tolerating Circle more.

The Matrix is just an average film that gets a stupid amount of hype for no reason.

both fall into basically a purely entertainment based film

Oh fuck no Tom. The matrix:
1. Changed the game for Sci-Fi and action films. In a time when you have so many sequels and adaptions it was something new. Most later action films just try to steal from the matrix.
2. The religious references and references to other stories are off the charts. There are so many small little nods and details that make it far more craftful.
3. The characters are just better. Neo is pretty compelling, the supporting cast is great and even the villain has a point.
4. It actually raises big questions about the nature of reality, technology, being in the rat race not to mention the analysis of the Matrix as a trans narrative.

A different video that's a lot shorter than that other one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETlQqHAaY_k

Also tom...do you think I could change your mind with a 30 second version of an hour long video?

##vote circle

I keep forgetting I'm arguing with college freshmen...

But still, it's worrying. What will happen to civilization once people like Biojay or Vashta become mature, assuming that ever happens? I mean, they think that a mix of bad SF pulp and Hong Kong moves raises big questions about the nature of reality. What can one expect from such people?

Well, I guess they'll never be anyone important anyway.

You're wrong, Jeff. This isn't the board of a business. This is the OFFICIAL GREATEST MOVIE TOURNAMENT. Our standards are far higher than that.

Tom - I suppose I can't convince you if you have *that* negative of an opinion on circle.

Tell me - what's a movie that would beat it? That was more than just base entertainment for you, and is in this tournament.

Zmaj, please come down to earth and remove the stick up your ass.

We're not - or at least I'm not - saying that the Matrix is gonna win this tournament. It is philosophical, but not profoundly so. Hardly any movies are. I wouldn't even put it at the top of its genre. But to some extent, it does make you think. And it did set a trend in action movies, so it must've done something right there. It certainly was more influential and better done than it's competitor, which is all that matters here.

Literally every movie this round besides V for Vendetta and The Matrix I would vote for over Circle.

Seeing as I'd vote for most of those over V for Vendetta and the Matrix too, that's fair

I actually just watched Circle for the first and only time right now. It was enough to keep me into it until the end, but the end was pretty lame. It is definitely *not* worth voting for IMO.

I really find it annoying that there are so many people who are voting for it as a protest vote or whatever the reason. I mean, sure, you can if you want.

But Circle is *not* a good movie. It had to be released straight-to-video-on-demand because no one would distribute it. That probably should have disqualified it from the start, but Vash was nice enough to let it slide.

And now the trolls are making a mockery of the process for it.

Real mature.

Jeff -- it appears Vashta purposefully included some really bad movies (ie Rubber + ) to be funny but it could come back to haunt him if they win. As to people 'trolling' the competition - you do realize the audience right? ;-)

Shouldn't voting for this round be over anyway?

##Vote Circle even harder

Oh I didn't include them to be funny, I included them because they were supported to the point of backlash or had somewhat decent reviews.

Also, no HR, it was less than 48 hours.

No it wasn't... Monday 6am BTC is when it went up. 48 hours from that is Wednesday 6am BTC... I posted that at Wednesay 2pm BTC; a solid 56 hours later than the start. Though it's now 11:30pm.

Yes, but phases end at like 6:30 PM EST.... Speaking of which phase has ended.

Those goalposts just moved faster than during a Trump speech.

Anyway

Final Vote Tally
GROUP A
Godfather: 13
Ben Hur: 0

Citizen Kane: 4
Good Will Hunting: 7

GROUP B
Monty Python: 9
Big Trouble: 0

Casablanca: 7
When Harry Met Sally: 8

GROUP C
Rubber: 10
V for Vendetta: 7

Das Boot: 3
Alien: 12

GROUP D
Raider’s of the Lost Ark: 11
2001: 1

Matrix: 10
Circle: 13

Godfather, Good Will Hunting, Monty Python, When Harry Met Sally, Alien, Raider's of the Lost Ark, and Circle move on.

And with that, to follow through on the words I said I while ago. Trolls have won, y'all can find a new GM. I'm sure they'll be less biased.

I think that means Circle wins the tournament.

You forgot Rubber. Rubber moved on too. We should probably just open up Circle v Rubber and let that decide it.

Including Circle and Rubber in a 'best movie competition' in the first place was unfortunately bound to lead to one of them winning the competition... saw that happening right away.. now i just wish i could see when i'm going to get trashed in a dip game from a mile away

(and btw - i had no prob with tie breaking procedure - how else to break a tie other than TD deciding?)

This is why we can't have nice things.