How I rate films

During the prerecording banter on the "Every commit is a gift" episode of the Changelog, we talked about films (which is no surprise considering I was on an episode of Backstage all about the John Wick trilogy). I mentioned the rating system I used for films and Adam requested I blog about it so that he could have a permanent reference to it.

  1. ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ I didn't get past the first 15 minutes
  2. ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ I gave the film an hour, then I gave up
  3. ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ I walked away before the end
  4. ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ I let my attention wander while I watched, but I still finished it
  5. ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ No regrets watching the film for free, but I would have been fine skipping it as well
  6. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ No regrets renting the film, but I wouldn't spend money on it again
  7. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ No regrets paying a full-price movie ticket, but I wouldn't spend the money to rent it again
  8. ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Paid for a full-price movie ticket to see the film and I'm willing to pay to rent it again if friends want to watch it
  9. ★★★★★★★★★☆ I would buy the film if it wasn't available for streaming in high-quality on a service I have a subscription to; no film can go higher than this based on a single viewing
  10. ★★★★★★★★★★ I have watched the film multiple times and I have no major qualms with it (and "major" can be awkward dialog or cinematography in a couple of scenes); I very likely own it in the highest fidelity possible

If you want to see how I have rated various films, you can see my ratings on my Letterboxd profile (I also have a Trakt profile, but that's only used for TV shows now).