predicate.

UPDATE: 11 participants have nominated 29 different films. Will your nominations match theirs?

Hot Damn, time for a new predicate game. And this time everyone can play!

Some of you remember the old VH1 program, "The List," where B-list stars and other questionable musical talent hotly debated the best music in certain genres, etc. Here's how we're going to do it:

1. A List Category is announced.
2. All those interested in playing will respond to thelist at predicate dot org with their top three (3) items in that category.
3. The List Moderator (that's me!) will compile the results and release the results here on predicate.org. Nominees with multiple mentions on people's personal lists will only be listed once. Only the items themselves will be listed, not who nominated them.
4. Each player, in random order, will be allowed to strike one (1) entry from the list, and must name his reasons for doing so in the comments. This decision is total and final, no matter how much whining and gnashing of teeth is forthcoming from the wider group.
5. After everyone gets a chance to strike an entry, the remaining reduced list will be voted upon. Each player will be allowed to rank a Top 5 of the remaining list entries; #1 gets 5 points, #2 gets 4 points, and so on. Again, this information is sent to thelist at predicate dot org. Any extra entries get 0 points.
6. Your votes will be tabulated, and the group's decisions will be released for all to see!

So, what's our first LIST category, you ask?

***
CATEGORY QUESTION
***
What are the greatest general popcorn action films from the time period 1980-today?

Wikipedia defines: "Action movies are a film genre where action sequences, such as fights, shootouts, stunts, car/vehicle chases or explosions either take precedence or, in finer examples of the genre, are used as a form of exposition and character development. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero."

And to make this more interesting, we are going to constrain the Action Genre to the following types:

* General Action "Popcorn" Films

We should be EXCLUDING films that place "adventure, drama, gritty war realism, people in costumes with wondrous powers, etc" in the driver's seat over the above-mentioned fights, shootouts, explosions, etc, including:
-- Epic Science Fiction/Fantasy "Adventure" films
-- Epic Historical Drama "Adventure" films
-- Epic "Superhero" films
-- Overtly Dramatic Thrillers with "Action" elements (Godfather, etc.)
-- Grittily Realistic Dramatic "War" films (Saving Private Ryan)
-- Wuxia. Think "Jean Claude Van Damme is in, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is Out." There are plenty of martial arts movies where the good guy and the bad guy know MA, but not much else -- these are fine to include. If EVERYONE in the film is flying around karate chopping etc., you're in a martial arts film. We're looking for more action-oriented stuff.

I realize that some movies will fall perilously close to these constraints. If in doubt, put it on your list, but expect that it may not survive the culling process.

Let the games begin! I'll accept nominations at thelist at predicate dot org until Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, or thereabouts.