Virtually everyone else, of course, uses a star system. Most typically, it's a four-star system, though Rolling Stone sets itself apart from most others with a five-star system. I started my career in college working as a film critic for our newspaper, and then moved over to professional entertainment writing, so the four-star system is in my blood.
But after much debate with myself, and some wrestling with how to translate one system to the other, I will be revising my system. I am going to switch to the letter grade system; it just make sense when considering my professional identity and my goals for this site, which really combines my former dabbling in published film criticism with my continued aspirations of working in that field, and then rolling in my more than 13-year professional identity as a teacher - and especially a film teacher.
So how will I now "grade" films? Here's my breakdown to help you read future reviews. (At a later time, I will apply my translation to past reviews.)
A: Films receiving a grade of A will be those that I would have previously given a four-star review to. To receive this rating, I usually ask myself the following questions: "Does it seem that this film accomplished everything it set out to accomplish?" and "Does this film represent the very best of film making within its genre or within the body of work created by its director?" Notice that I try hard not to make it about how much I personally enjoyed it. In fact, many of the films I find myself able to watch over and over again when they play on cable (such as "Ted" or "The Proposal" or "Pitch Perfect") are nowhere near four-star films based on my criteria. Yes, of course, my satisfaction as a viewer in terms of interest and emotional or intellectual connection does factor in to my ratings system. It's just that I allow myself to enjoy things of lesser quality while maintaining the ability to be realistic about that lacking quality to you.
A-: Films receiving a grade of A- will be those that I would have previously reviewed with three-and-a-half stars. These films are films that I find to be "excellent," with only minor flaws or things I wish had been a little different. They almost hold up to yes answers for the questions I mentioned above. Sometimes, I default to this rating when I apply the litmus test of whether or not I can see the film as truly enduring or becoming a classic. That might not be fair because it's impossible for me to predict, but it crosses my mind.
B: B movies are three-star movies. They are solid and enjoyable in spite of their flaws. They are movies I would watch again. They don't feel like a waste of my time or money. They are what I'm hoping for when I go to the movies, and I'm pleasantly surprised when they turn out to be more. I tell my students that in the real world, most people perform at a B level. Exceptional people are A's, and a C is just average. Most of us strive to be a little better than average.
B-: B- movies are two-and-a-half star movies. Under my old review system, this is where I ranked the truly average films - the ones that had clear moments where I enjoyed myself, either in terms of a great scene or a strong performance or some moment or two that stood out. This is my "nothing special" category. These movies don't make me angry that I wasted my time or money, but don't get me excited when I think back on them. Often, they are frivolous entertainments that require none of the deeper-level thinking I enjoy. Many times, they are the "stupid fun" movies that make for enjoyable television viewing in years to come. There's something about these films that makes them a little better than "just okay," but just as much to keep them from being ranked higher by someone with a critical eye.
C: I'll use the C grade for movies that would have previously received two stars from me. This is where I start to get concerned with my new system because I tend to predict whether I will like a movie before I see it. I do this for fun, not for employment, so I often avoid films I know I probably won't like, whereas if I was doing this for a living, I'd be seeing a wider range of titles and probably dispensing the lower grades with more regularity. But a teacher dreams of giving all A's, right? This rating is about as low as I'll go before I really start complaining about a movie. These are films with a few charms but too many flaws to ignore.
C-: A one-and-a-half star film under my old system will get a C- under the new one. By this point, there are probably only a few things about these films that I enjoyed. Maybe it was one actor's performance, or one scene, or something about the concept of the film. But I can classify these films as the ones where I am constantly finding myself thinking about what I think could or should have been done differently to improve it. Since I'm a big fan of a well-written script, these movies almost always have what I consider to be poor scripts.
D: Yuck. D movies are barely worth calling movies. Under my star system, they'd get one star. The number one usually stands out for me when I give a film this rating, because I often give it to a movie that had only one thing I liked about it. As I mentioned before, I try hard to avoid even watching movies that would earn such a rating, but it happens sometimes. And that utter disappointment I feel when it does perfectly translates to this rating.
D-: This is a half-star movie. I give them to movies that are essentially garbage but receiving the benefit of my good humor on the day I review it.
F: You guessed it...this is a zero-star film. Garbage. The ones where I sit in sheer confusion as to how it cleared the studio gates for distribution and am so distracted by those thoughts that nothing at all rises out of the muck to attract and redirect my attention.
+: You might have noticed that I don't have any plusses in this list. But that doesn't mean I won't use them. Movies that receive an A+ will be those rare films that I consider to be as flawless as possible. They will be films that I can't imagine could have been improved upon in any significant way, movies I can imagine becoming classics. Movies that I would nominate for the Best Picture Academy Award if it was within my power to choose those nominations. They will be films I consider to be an example for all films within their genres. Elsewhere, I will use a plus when I find myself stuck between two letter grades. In those cases, I'll try to be clear about why I found myself in that place.
So there you have it. I hope to provide my readers with some cool new updates to my site in the month to come, but in the mean time, I'll start by making this update to the content itself. And, as always, I'd love to hear what you agree and disagree with when you read a review. Add your comments whenever you feel so inclined!
A-: Films receiving a grade of A- will be those that I would have previously reviewed with three-and-a-half stars. These films are films that I find to be "excellent," with only minor flaws or things I wish had been a little different. They almost hold up to yes answers for the questions I mentioned above. Sometimes, I default to this rating when I apply the litmus test of whether or not I can see the film as truly enduring or becoming a classic. That might not be fair because it's impossible for me to predict, but it crosses my mind.
B: B movies are three-star movies. They are solid and enjoyable in spite of their flaws. They are movies I would watch again. They don't feel like a waste of my time or money. They are what I'm hoping for when I go to the movies, and I'm pleasantly surprised when they turn out to be more. I tell my students that in the real world, most people perform at a B level. Exceptional people are A's, and a C is just average. Most of us strive to be a little better than average.
B-: B- movies are two-and-a-half star movies. Under my old review system, this is where I ranked the truly average films - the ones that had clear moments where I enjoyed myself, either in terms of a great scene or a strong performance or some moment or two that stood out. This is my "nothing special" category. These movies don't make me angry that I wasted my time or money, but don't get me excited when I think back on them. Often, they are frivolous entertainments that require none of the deeper-level thinking I enjoy. Many times, they are the "stupid fun" movies that make for enjoyable television viewing in years to come. There's something about these films that makes them a little better than "just okay," but just as much to keep them from being ranked higher by someone with a critical eye.
C: I'll use the C grade for movies that would have previously received two stars from me. This is where I start to get concerned with my new system because I tend to predict whether I will like a movie before I see it. I do this for fun, not for employment, so I often avoid films I know I probably won't like, whereas if I was doing this for a living, I'd be seeing a wider range of titles and probably dispensing the lower grades with more regularity. But a teacher dreams of giving all A's, right? This rating is about as low as I'll go before I really start complaining about a movie. These are films with a few charms but too many flaws to ignore.
C-: A one-and-a-half star film under my old system will get a C- under the new one. By this point, there are probably only a few things about these films that I enjoyed. Maybe it was one actor's performance, or one scene, or something about the concept of the film. But I can classify these films as the ones where I am constantly finding myself thinking about what I think could or should have been done differently to improve it. Since I'm a big fan of a well-written script, these movies almost always have what I consider to be poor scripts.
D: Yuck. D movies are barely worth calling movies. Under my star system, they'd get one star. The number one usually stands out for me when I give a film this rating, because I often give it to a movie that had only one thing I liked about it. As I mentioned before, I try hard to avoid even watching movies that would earn such a rating, but it happens sometimes. And that utter disappointment I feel when it does perfectly translates to this rating.
D-: This is a half-star movie. I give them to movies that are essentially garbage but receiving the benefit of my good humor on the day I review it.
F: You guessed it...this is a zero-star film. Garbage. The ones where I sit in sheer confusion as to how it cleared the studio gates for distribution and am so distracted by those thoughts that nothing at all rises out of the muck to attract and redirect my attention.
+: You might have noticed that I don't have any plusses in this list. But that doesn't mean I won't use them. Movies that receive an A+ will be those rare films that I consider to be as flawless as possible. They will be films that I can't imagine could have been improved upon in any significant way, movies I can imagine becoming classics. Movies that I would nominate for the Best Picture Academy Award if it was within my power to choose those nominations. They will be films I consider to be an example for all films within their genres. Elsewhere, I will use a plus when I find myself stuck between two letter grades. In those cases, I'll try to be clear about why I found myself in that place.
So there you have it. I hope to provide my readers with some cool new updates to my site in the month to come, but in the mean time, I'll start by making this update to the content itself. And, as always, I'd love to hear what you agree and disagree with when you read a review. Add your comments whenever you feel so inclined!
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