These Days, You Gotta Have a Sequel!

Good morning, world!

Wow, it's been over a year since I've posted an announcement.  Not that the site's been dead for a year--no, Mac, Monkey, and Timotei have kept us in good supply of reviews, and I've been tinkering under the hood for several months.  But there haven't been many new improvements over the past year, mostly because it was so tedious to change things in the old system.

"Old system," you ask?  Yes.  Old.  Old as in out-of-date, as in obsolete.  And now...  Extinct.

"So what is this system?"  It would be too obvious to say it's the "new" system, so let's just say it's Smart-Popcorn.com: Version 2.  And it's not that I just changed a few lines of code or slapped on fancier graphics...  Nope, I'll let you in on a secret: I recoded everything from the ground up!

Not that it's all finished.  No, it's never that simple.  I still have a lot to do.  For the next day or so, some of the most basic functions might not seem to work...  I'm working on them.  After that, you can expect us to steadily roll out new features, hopefully some that will involve YOU in the reviewing process:

• U-Review, a feature that will allow forum members to rate movies alongside the site critics, and compare the scores.
• Critic Report Card: Grade the quality of each review.
• Talk back...  You know what this is.  The talkback section will be integrated with the forums, and won't take long to implement--we've just gotta come up with a better name.

We'll also be offering an abundance of merchandise for all of the movies we cover.  Not only can you buy the DVD, but you'll be able to purchase posters, soundtracks, lunchboxes, bobbleheads, bedsheets, and of course, the official movie video game for whatever your current celluloid obsession may be.  The great news is: as you shop, you'll support the site.  Once we accumulate a little revenue, we'll be offering a number of contests and promotions that will make the site simply too fun for the Internet.

All of us on the staff hope that, with these changes, the site will thrive as an entertaining and informative hub for your moviegoing and film-fanatical needs.  If you have any suggestions for new or improved features, please e-mail us, or drop into the Suggestions board in our forums system.

If you're wondering why we rushed to release Version 2, you might be intrigued to look at the site's first review.  Written by yours truly on July 11, 2002, it was a review of Spider-Man.  It seemed only fitting that we roll out Smart-Popcorn 2 on the release of the most anticipated sequel of the year, sequel to the film that started it all for us: Spider-Man 2.  Expect to see some reviews reel soon, and enjoy the site!