You know the feeling: it's Friday night, the popcorn is ready, and you spend 45 minutes scrolling through streaming services, only to re-watch The Office because you couldn't remember that one sci-fi thriller your coworker recommended. The paradox of choice is the enemy of entertainment.
The Art of Organization: Building Your Personal IMDb
This isn't just a list of titles; it's a relational map of cinema. The "Movies" template goes beyond simple tracking by acknowledging that films rarely exist in a vacuum. They are part of franchises, universes, and eras.
- The Physical vs. Digital Divide: The On DVD boolean field might seem retro, but for collectors, it's vital. It separates what you physically own from what you've merely Seen.
- The Time Investment: Running Time (min) isn't just trivia. When you have exactly two hours before bed, filtering your "To Watch" list by duration prevents you from accidentally starting Lawrence of Arabia at 10 PM.
- The Alphabetical Backbone: The Category field, oddly populated with letters, allows for a physical shelf-style sorting system, or you can repurpose it for genre codes if you prefer a digital taxonomy.
Search & Retrieval: The Sequel Problem
The true power of this template lies in its relational fields: Follows, Precedes, Is A Version Of, and Is The Original Of.
Most movie apps treat The Godfather Part II as just another entry. Here, you explicitly link it to its predecessor. If you are tracking the James Bond franchise or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these links create a chain. You can look at Casino Royale and instantly see what follows it, ensuring you watch the narrative in order. The Is A Version Of field is perfect for tracking remakes—linking the 2021 Dune to the 1984 original—creating a rich, interconnected web of film history.
Curating the Archive: Priority & Tags
The Priority rating is your personal algorithm. Instead of relying on what a streaming service thinks you like, you rate how badly you want to see it. Combined with Tags (e.g., "Noir", "Cyberpunk", "Oscars 2024"), you can build dynamic "Smart Playlists."
Power Feature: Aggregation
By using Memento's aggregation feature on the Running Time field, you can see exactly how many hours of your life you've dedicated to the Fast & Furious saga. It’s a sobering statistic, but a fascinating one.