Movie Rating System
I grade movies on a bell curve. This means that about half all movies will get a 3/5 -- right in the middle. A film has to do something exceptionally good or bad to get above or below this mark.
A 1/5 is terrible. Don’t even bother. If a friend wanted to watch it I would decline.
A 2/5 is good in some ways, but actively bad in other ways. If a friend wanted to watch it I would stick around for some parts, but not the whole thing.
A 3/5 is good. I enjoyed it, but it’s nothing special. If a friend was watching it I would happily rewatch it in its entirety.
A 4/5 is a movie that is surprisingly or particularly good in some way, with no major detractors. It’s a film I will actively seek out to watch again.
A 5/5 is a film that is exceptionally good on multiple levels, and to fix the sum of it's flaws would not make it a measurably better movie. These are the all-time great films within their respective domains.
TV Show Rating System
Because shows are so much longer than movies I am unlikely to rewatch any of them, no matter how good they are. Regardless of whether the program aired on a traditional broadcast network or elsewhere, like Netflix, this is my rating system for programs that are episodic in nature.
A 1/5 is a show that I didn’t even finish. I always watch at least a few episodes, but if it’s bad enough there’s no reason to waste my life on a bad show.
A 2/5 is a show that I didn’t finish but I might pick back up in the future.
A 3/5 is a show that did just enough to keep me watching, but wasn’t exceptional beyond that.
A 4/5 is a show that kept me excited to watch each episode, or at least most of them.
A 5/5 is a show that I would rewatch (or have rewatched) in its entirety.
