imdb.co.uk > Reviews (59)

According to Wikipedia "The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information related to movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. IMDb launched on October 17, 1990, and in 1998 was acquired by Amazon.com."

Basically it can tell you almost all the details you could ever want to know about films and TV series that have been made and those still in production stages. You can search by title or actor, companies or character names, keywords or quotes.

Searching is easy, type what you are looking for in the box at the top and click 'GO'. imdb then will give you a choice of appropriate matches, you choose the one you want and it brings up the information you require.

When you bring up an actors details it will show you a date of birth, a brief biography, details of any awards and any relevant trivia or news items. It will then list below a comprehensive filmography which you can then narrow down according to certain criteria (keywords, genre, number of awards) using the menu on the left of the screen. Many imdb pages also provide links to other websites relevant to your chosen subject.

Similarly when you search for a film, it will show you information such as release dates, taglines, awards, plot summaries as well as lists of cast and crew. Also quotes, trivia and 'goofs' or outtakes. Also there are often pictures from the films and sometimes video clips.

All this is available to any user. You do however have to create an account to use certain features such as user comments and discussion boards. Where as anyone is free to view what others have written, you need an account to post reviews or opinions. It also allows you to create a profile and build lists of your favourite films and actors to share with other users. It is easy to create an account, you only need to enter your email address, sex, date of birth, postcode, country of residence and select a username and password. I presume this is so they can boot you if you abuse the service.

I use imdb frequently. I find it very easy to use as a quick reference to check who an actor I recognise on TV is before it drives me nuts, it's also really handy in settling arguments (Christopher Lambert was NOT in The Crow!!). Also when you hear a rumour about a film you would like to see being made you can follow it's progress on line, or if you notice an actor you are impressed with you can check what else he's done.

I also use the discussion boards quite frequently. There are general discussion boards such as 'need to know', where people can ask any film/TV related questions that are bugging them and if your a smarty pants you can answer some, and 'best and worst' where people discuss there most and least favourite things in certain topics. And more specialized discussion boards which are linked to the pages of films and actors. For example if you were an Arnie fan on his page would be a discussion board where you could discuss all things Arnie. You can save any boards you find interesting to your favourites to make them easier to get back to next time.

Posting is easy and on the whole people are friendly.

The only real down side to imdb is that it is that it is maintained and updated by its users. As an account holder you can update info on films, add character synopsis etc. While I am sure there is some moderation to prevent people putting total rubbish on there (for one thing other users wouldn't put up with it) and you can report anything you believe to be wrong on the site, it does leave itself open to some abuse. It also means that on some topics that are not too popular there is a lack of information.

imdb also has a slight trolling problem (for those who may not understand the term 'trolls' are people who post, on a message board for example, with the intent of being a nuisance. They may post deliberately provoking things, or insult other members, or just jam up boards posting nonsensical rubbish), but no more so than other similar sites, plus they can be amusing bless 'em. Poke 'em with sticks!!

On the whole I totally recommend everyone at least bookmark this sight you never know when it may come in handy.

Also posted on dooyoo.co.uk under the same username.