How I Rate Movies

The main goal of this site is to inform you, the reader, about media that I think is worth your time. While most reviews come with a short description of what I did and didn't like, I also make sure to include a star rating to help you quickly understand how I felt about a movie.

My rating is a grade between 4 and 1 stars. A high score indicates a strong recommendation, the middle two are "yes but" and "no but" respectively, and the lowest is reserved for movies I absolutely couldn't stand.

Rating movies with this method can be tricky. There are plenty of popular movies that don't do it for me, or widely panned movies that I love. It's important to remember that my rating is not a measure of something's objective goodness; it's whether I thought it was worthwhile and think people with similar tastes will as well.

It's also worth noting that my ratings skew high: I get to choose what I watch and I tend to choose things I think I'll enjoy. Keep that in mind when you see how many things earn a 4. It's a very different grade than a perfect 10 on something like IGN's rating system.

With that out of the way, let's go through what exactly each score means and provide some concrete examples!

: Yes!

A 4 star rating is both my highest and my most common score. Movies in this bracket can be recommended emphatically. They may not be perfect, but I never felt bored while watching them. A 4 usually means that a movie excelled in multiple areas and the result is more than the sum of its parts. Another way to earn a 4 is to succeed so highly in a specific area (such as performances or direction) that any concerns are dropped by the wayside; they didn't stop my enjoyment.

If you want to see the absolute cream of the movie crop, you can check my list of movies that were been the best thing I watched that year

Here are some recent movies that earned 4 stars:

Ruthless People

A delightful comedy of errors with a blast of an 80s cast. Fun to see ZAZ write/direct something with a single plot running through it.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Tense and well acted. Fun inside look to the way NYC trains work. Heavy action, but keeps it moving. Could have maybe done more with the characters (and thinks about it) but it still works as a mostly-action outing.

My Old Ass

Surprisingly touching. Mixed drama and comedy well. Good performances out of a young cast. Had low expectations, but really enjoyed it.

: Yes, but...

Most movies that earn a 3 could have been a 4, but something held them back. Maybe it was a plot that didn't quite line up, poor pacing, or too many jokes that didn't land. Whatever it was I was annoyed enough about its shortcomings that I have to qualify this recommendation with a "I liked it, but wish they hadn't done XYZ".

Here are some recent movies that earned 3 stars:

The Merry Gentlemen

A charming premise supported by characters who are very patient and good sports about it all. Weird lack of chemistry between the leads, but not a bad time!

Zero Hour!

Cheesy and contrived, but has good bones. Occasionally tense, some goofy lines, and generally good performances. It's remarkable how much of Airplane! came straight from this.

A Haunting in Venice

Well acted, atmospheric. Definitely creepy, with cool lighting and cinematography. Story was pretty good but I'm not sure the solve was fair.

: No, but...

Welcome to the bottom half! Movies that earn a 2 have more hits than misses, but there are redeeming qualities. It can also mean I would have scored it higher, but I was so put off by something (such as plot holes or distracting performances) that I couldn't rate it higher. If you're a fan of this genre you might still find the movie worthwhile, but I'd start elsewhere.

Here are some recent movies that earned 2 stars:

Our Little Secret

A decent premise that was never quite fun enough to be truly fun. Wasn’t much christmas magic. Chenoweth is great as always and it’s nice to see Lohan doing things again.

Fame

Exhausting theater kid energy. Had some interesting perspectives on everyone's journey through their art and the paths that can take. But, felt disjoint, with too many characters. It also just seemes like drama for drama's sake- they just kept throwing bad things at these kids and everyone seemed miserable. It's ending was especially unsatisfying- it's a song where the ensemble pretends like everyone is fine when all evidence from the film points to the exact opposite. Whole thing was a real slog.

The Kentucky Fried Movie

Has some good gags, but the pacing felt off. Some segments are dense, but others are more air than joke. Most of the time, it felt silly for silly's sake. You can see the inspirations for Airplane, but it definitely wasn't there yet.

: No!

The lowly 1 is my rarest rating. Because I mostly watch things I (hope to) enjoy, for something to earn a 1 it's got to really fail across multiple areas. As long as a movie has reasonable plot, cast, or artistic direction, I'll usually find enough to like about it that it earns a 2. Earning a 1 means I feel bad for having spent time on this movie at all.

Here are some recent movies that earned 1 stars: