Filmmaker turns Qurator

Director Thomas Ikimi launches film review app to combat trolls

by Amber Wilkinson

The Ghostbusters remake was subjected to "review bombing" by some
The Ghostbusters remake was subjected to "review bombing" by some

Legacy: Black Ops director Thomas Ikimi has launched Qurator, a new app for film fans that aims to validate reviews through a gameplay element in a bid to stop trolls down-rating a film they want to protest about but haven't seen.

It's a problem that has been dogging ratings sites lately, with films like The Last Jedi, the Ghostbusters remake and Black Panther all facing "review bombing" on Rotten Tomatoes to such an extent that they introduced a new "verified score" last month for those who prove they have bought a cinema ticket.

Qurator takes on the challenge by adding a gaming element. In order to rate a movie, users first take a quiz about the film - comprised of questions from other movie fans. The app gives you two chances to pass on a sliding scale, so if you fail to reach 51 per cent on the first attempt, you have to score at least 75 per cent on the second go to be able to offer a rating. Users who fail to make the grade have to qualify on five other, different films before they can have another attempt at the first.

Ikimi said: “I was a movie fan long before I became a filmmaker and I wanted to create something that not only celebrated film fans but also solved the issue of the integrity of film reviews and ratings.

"Qurator democratises the process and allows every fan to have an equal voice as long as they show a basic threshold of knowledge on a film. Now trolls have to work harder and our system allows fans to discover great films via other fans as their reviews populate their individually built movie club feed. It’s just a totally new way of movie discourse for the people that matter most; the audience.”

More information about the app can be found at MyQurator.com

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