I am making this post in light of a dramatic change that will become effective on this site immediately. I am completely overhauling the rating system for this site. I've felt for awhile that the way I grade films was too vague and rigid, so now I'm altering it to ascertain a much more accurate scoring of films.
Each film will now be graded based on five categories. The categories are the following:
Plot (P): How complicated and/or interesting was the story itself? Do I care about the characters and their endeavors? Am I watching the film to see the plot through or just because it's entertaining? The plot is a crucial part of every film. Note that a plot can still garner high scores if it's very simple if it works in the case of the movie. A brainless Transformers movie wouldn't score high here but something like Valhalla Rising would because sometimes simplicity is what's called for.
Acting (A): If I'm going to take a film seriously, it needs to be well-acted. There's no dodging this stone. The actors who portray the characters are entirely responsible for the overall believability of the movie and believing in the movie is a vital piece of the overall experience.
Cinematography/Visual Quality (C/VQ): I put a high value on how good a film is visually. This is what separates a simple plot from a work of art. Most notably, I'm looking for films that's shooting is experimental or challenging and an image and color palette that's just appealing to the eye. Anyone can point a camera but only a master can make it dance. Scoring low here won't ruin the movie, but scoring high could save what would otherwise be a mediocre experience. Sometimes it's better to show and not tell and this is where it counts.
Innovation/Style (I/S): Who wants to pay to see the same thing every year? Not me and a film that steps out and tries to do something unique is highly admirable. Generally speaking, I'm grading the uncommon and special aspects of the film. It's not difficult to show a bunch of guys beating each other up, I want to see a pioneer of something. I want the film to be it's own film and not be borrowing from the thrift shop of cheap tricks just so it can be made.
Entertainment Value (EV): Lastly, there's entertainment value which is just as straight forward as, did I enjoy the film or not? Did it keep me interested throughout or did it trail off at times? When it comes down to it, this is what films are supposed to do, entertain, so it's important not to forget to give credit where it's due.
All of these criteria are graded on a scale of 1-10 allowing for fourths of a point (.25s). Once those have been graded properly, the five ratings are averaged together for a final total which will be the film's score. The final score is rounded to the nearest hundredth but can be any decimal it wants. (Ex. 8.62 would be allowed but 8.618 would be rounded to just 8.62).
So look forward to the new reviews and seeing this new system in use. Now that you have this helpful guide to refer back to, you'll have no trouble getting the exact opinion for each and every film.
- Cheers.
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