Movie News and Discussion

Five simple categories:

• The movie was great, I definitely want to see it again
  • Examples: Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight, Only Lovers Left Alive
• The movie was great, probably no need to see it again, though
  • Examples: The Man from Earth - I loved the movie and I think it's brilliant, but it's not funny (which is not a criticism, it's not meant to be funny), no acting to be amazed of, the premise was simple, se watching it again won't give me anything
• The movie was okay, not gonna watch it again
  • Similar to the above, except the movie will be probably forgotten over time because it just wasn't anything groundbreaking in any way, can't think of an example, I've forgotten
• The movie was bad
  • Examples: Twilight
• The movie was so bad I didn't finish it
  • Examples: Monster in the Closet, Rubber

Following are examples from the link:

1/5 - So bad I couldn’t finish.

2/5 - Bad movie that I did finish.

3/5 - This is where most of the movies I see get placed. They’re alright with some/notable flaws.

4/5 - Good movies that do something at a near flawless level. Be it acting, directing, cinematography, or script/dialogue.

5/5 - Good movie that is nearly flawless at all/or multiple levels.

1/10 - Beyond awful. These are the sort of films that are so painfully imbecile that you wonder how they were even made. You question the mental skills of everyone involved. These can be films so bad they are good at points.

2/10- Awful. Nothing about the film is good.

3/10- A pretty bad film. Very flawed. However there could be some shots/lines/small moments that I might enjoy.

4/10- A flawed movie but I can tell what they were going with. You can tell effort was put into the movie however it is pulled down by one significant (or a few minor) flaws.

5/10- A bit average and forgettable. These can be very flawed (but still a great time at the movies) or just extremely unspectacular (but still well made).

6/10- A movie I enjoyed but was flawed/not particularly spectacular. I might not bother watching these again but I would admit that they are good.

7/10- Something that is a little flawed but I had fun with the film. I would definitely watch the film. The film is good enough that I can forgive the flaws as it's still a good time at the movies.

8/10- A very solid film. Nothing bad about it but nothing revolutionary. Sometimes I put flawed films here (only minor flaws however) if they do something fun/creative with the medium or really affected me emotionally.

9/10- A film that affects me on an emotional level and/or does something new/creative with the medium however there are a few very minor issues with the film e.g. some shots I don't like, cliches, some lines not hitting.

10/10- Masterpiece. This film affected me on an emotional level and/or does something new/creative with the medium. There is not a single thing wrong with the film. Every line of dialogue hits, every shot is perfect and the music is fantastic.

10 — Incredible in every way. Innovative, emotional, technically impressive. (The Exorcist, 2001) 9 — Almost perfect. There may be slight flaws, but they barely matter. (Terminator 2, Sorcerer '77) 8 — A great all-round film. Not a classic, but excellent. (Forbidden Planet, The Rocketeer) 7 — Very good, excellent in many ways but with some shortcomings. (Lethal Weapon 4, A Nightmare on Elm Street '84) 6 — A good film. Nothing special, but I'd give it a recommendation. (Mad Max '79, Octopussy) 5 — Equally good and bad. (Terminator 3, Timeline) 4 — Mediocre. Not objectionable, but definitely not good either. (Superman III, Children of the Corn '84) 3 — A bad film with a few good aspects. (Sharknado 4, Ghostbusters '16) 2 — A handful of mediocre elements, generally disgraceful. (MegaForce, Piranha 2: The Spawning) 1 — Awful in every way. (I Am Here....Now, Swamp Zombies)

I have a very complex rating system that I apply to every film I see. It ends up as a score out of 100, built up from scoring points in different categories.

I subdivide into 3 groups first, Enjoyment (50pts available), Quality (40pts available), Rewatch-ability (10pts available). Most of these are subdivided in some fashion, such as Quality: Writing, where up to 5 points can be awarded.

Here are 3 examples of scores as I record them.

The Fellowship of the Ring 92 (E48 Q36 R8)

Mary Poppins Returns 72 (E43 Q25 R4)

GI Joe: Retaliation 42 (E23 Q17 R2)

Most films I see score above 40, so it's a fair argument to say there is a dead zone in the rating system, but in reality a film should reach a bare level of quality so scoring under that threshold is a real indicator of a something really shit.

Update: Regarding your Avatar question. My system allows an individual's personal level of enjoyment to be scored in addition to the fundamental quality in a given film, so even a film like Avatar that you don't like as much now will still be able to get a respectable score from the other categories.