Rating System

It has been suggested that I use a rating system with my reviews. I can appreciate the value of this as it is a clear representation of how much I enjoyed the film, but for some reason I've always had trouble assigning a number on a scale. So instead I will begin to include recommendations with my reviews. The following scale of recommendations will be used:

- Mary's Favorites: These are movies that I absolutely love, and can watch over and over again. I will be the first to admit that these favorites are usually purely entertainment movies, often falling in the action or comedy genres. These are the type of films that I pop into the DVD player when I don't want to think, or late at night when I can't fall asleep.

- Must See: This is pretty self-explanatory. These are movies that for some reason blew me away and I highly recommend that everyone gets around to watching them at some point.

- Entertaining: These are the movies that you're gonna walk away from satisfied, but you're not gonna be raving about them for weeks to come. If you've already seen all the Must See movies that are out, these are still worth going to see.

- Wait for the DVD: These are movies that have some merit, but simply don't warrant the expensive trip to the theater. A lot of comedies fall into this category, since they're fun entertainment, but without any big special effects, you aren't losing anything by watching them on the small screen.

- So Bad It's Good: There are certain movies that are made to be watched with large groups of friends. Movies that don't require you to pay close attention to every word, and that practically require you to make fun of everything that is happening on screen. Most commonly these are horror movies, but can include any genre. One shining example is Dragon Wars: a horrible film with literally no redeeming qualities. The only appropriate setting in which to watch this movie is with your loud and obnoxious friends who can turn anything into a joke.

- Waste of Money: As a former movie theater employee, I've seen a lot of these movies. When you don't have to pay for something, you often lower your standards considerably. So in the event that you're getting a free movie, perhaps on a date or movie night with the family, you won't completely hate yourself for wasting time watching one of these films, but you will be glad you didn't waste the $10.

- Waste of Time: These are the movies that should never have been made, the type that you turn off the DVD or walk out of the theater before it's even over. With no redeeming qualities, there's no point in seeing this type of movie, under any circumstance. Even if you think, "oh I've loved this director's other movies", or it stars one of your favorite actors, just don't do it. Resist the urge and save your time.


Hopefully this covers the full spectrum of films that I have or will see, but if I find something that doesn't fit any of these categories, I'll be sure to update. And scroll down, I'll be updating my previous posts to include my ratings of those films.