Ratings Explained

When you read my reviews, you will always see a short conclusion at the end, followed by a star rating. I don’t entirely approve of the star rating system, since there are so many things that go in to making a great (or terrible) movie. The handing out of points can somehow defeat the purpose of a review and simplify the process. By only checking the star rating, readers can miss the point the reviewer is trying to make and completely gloss over his or her justification of said score.

That said, I do use the star system because it somehow puts everything in context (however subjective); if the star system is used consistently, the ratings can give a reader a good overall view of the various qualities of a given movie. It can be useful, even though it’s flawed (plus, it’s fun). It doesn’t always make sense to tell someone how many stars you gave a movie; since everyone has their own frame of reference, this quickly becomes meaningless. So I felt it might make sense for me to explain the ratings system I use when I review movies.

I rate everything out of five stars, ranging from zero to five, with incremental steps of one half. This means I have eleven different ratings, and below I will try to explain what they mean, in the context of my reviews. Since movie viewing is very much a subjective experience with many variables, do take this with a grain of salt. The star ratings I hand out are not gospel. In fact, they’re even very much subject to change.

Getting no stars is quite an impressive feat. To do so, a movie must be absolutely terrible without redeeming features. It helps if it’s also depraved, offensive or disgusting. These movies can not be judged as art by any definition of the word. Avoid or suffer slow, painful death

Unwatchably bad. Not quite bad enough to warrant zero; maybe there was one thing to like about it, even though the rest of the movie was a complete trainwreck. They make you dumber, and should be avoided at all cost, unless you have a morbid fascination with trash.

These movies are generally a very poor effort on everyone’s part, and more than anything: disappointing in every possible way. Embarrassingly bad direction, script, and acting, and often a complete lack of engaging story. They can sometimes be unintentionally hilarious though.

Bad, but not necessarily embarrassingly so. Often falling in this category are movies that had the potential to be good, but everything about them was awful, incompetence stamped on their foreheads. These movies might infuriate you; I suggest you steer clear.

Disappointing but fair, ugly but certainly watchable. These movies can be big budget movies that were entertaining, but unoriginal and predictable. Or they can simply be movies that were an okay way to spend a couple of hours, but ultimately you don’t know why they made it.

This is obviously the “average” score. There is nothing in particular to excite, but there is nothing to offend either. Decent but often forgettable; sometimes overrated and unoriginal. Or maybe something just didn’t “gel”. I don’t generally recommend movies with a score lower than this.

Just above average. Typical genre flick, or something good but ultimately a little bit unsatisfying. Movies that seem to fall in this category include the surprisingly enjoyable, and the guilty pleasures. Or maybe they just have an actor you like. Generally well-executed; sometimes “meh”.

Good. Typically a genre film that impressed, or an original idea that could have been better. Likeable and impressive with high production values, but somewhat lacking elsewhere. Certain elements maybe didn’t work, but the overall result is positive. I give this rating to a lot of movies.

In this group, we find the very good movies. They are always solid, entertaining, and very well-made. Good acting, intriguing story, and usually makes for a movie that can be recommended to anyone. In my reviews, these are often accompanied by the word “wonderful”.

Movies in this category are “near perfection”. They can be really good movies that have not quite managed to achieve “classic” status yet, or undiscovered gems. These movies are excellent in almost every possible way, and often very close to getting that precious five.

The perfect five is generally reserved for masterpieces and classics. These movies have very few (if any) flaws, and can generally be recommended to anyone as a great piece of cinematic art. These are the reason you love movies. It’s rare that I give this rating to a new movie. To date on this blog, I have given this rating to these eight movies.