Defining my Rating System

Introduction

As a reviewer, the most difficult thing for me to do has been to rate movies. I mentioned this at the beginning of my top ten list because some of the movies that I rated 4.5 or 5 were lower on the list than others I had rated higher. I am trying to refine my rating system because I am the type of guy who either really likes a movie, kind of likes a movie or doesn't like a movie at all. With this kind of mindset, I have been trying to be as fair as I can to movies, and I know I have rated some too high and others too low in the process.

I have been giving some thought into not using the five star system and doing something way different. I was actually thinking of doing a color system in which I assign certain meaning to some colors. However, even that comes down to the five star rating system. Everything I can think of ultimately converts to it.

What I would like to do is have a smaller amount of wiggle room within the five stars. There are so many times where I rate it as a three meaning that it is good, but then I think "But three seems kind of harsh, maybe I should give it an extra .5." Maybe it's because I am naturally a pretty nice guy who does not like to be harsh or unfair.

The bottom line is this: I overcomplicate things, and I have decided to define my rating criteria for you so that it is less of a complication for me:

1 Star: Avoid this movie! If you see this rating from me, it means I do not think this movie is worth seeing even when it comes on television. A movie will have this score if I could tell little to no effort was clearly placed. There may be some exceptions to this. For example, I might give a movie this score if I find it very offensive.

2 Stars: Wait for it to come on television. I would not go out of my way to watch this movie again, but if it is on television one day, it might be worth at least watching. There was some effort put into this movie, and it is often entertaining at moments. It is just not worth going out of your way to see.

3 Stars: Watch it on Netflix or Redbox it. It was a decent flick that had me entertained. I would probably see it again, and it is something I would recommend. However, do not worry about seeing this one in theatres. It is good, not great.

4 Stars: See it in theatres at matinee price. This is a very good movie. Go ahead and go see this one in theatres. However, the quality of the movie is not good enough to where I would recommend it at full price.

5 Stars: See this movie at full price. This movie is just an all around great film. By all means go see it. I would never advise someone to skip the matinee price because I believe in saving money. However, if you can only make it to a nightly showing, go ahead and see it. You will not feel like you have been cheated.

I will see how the ratings go according to this criteria I have set. I may one day actually combine the 4 and 5 stars just because there really is not a huge difference between seeing it at matinee and full price. However, I like keeping it at five stars because it gives you enough detail about how I thought the quality of the movie was.

Top 10 Best Movies of 2013

As the 2013 comes to an end, it is time to look at the great movies that came out this year. This is a list of my top ten. These films are the ones that had me in awe and reinforced my decision to be a reviewer.

You may notice that the ratings are not very consistent. A movie I gave four stars may be higher up than another movie I gave five stars. There are a two reasons for this:

I am fairly knew to film criticism, and I am trying to refine how I rate movies. This is actually the most difficult thing for me about doing this. I often see a movie and think "Holy cow, that was a great movie!" or "Man, that was bad!" Other times I think "This movie would have been so much better if they would have just changed certain aspects." Coming up with a rating that reflects these opinions and is completely fair to the quality of the film is very difficult for me. I have been debating changing my rating system for 2014.

Another reason for the inconsistency is because of retrospect. There have been times I give a rating and realize I should have either heightened or lowered it. This usually happens as I watch and read other reviews, which I try not doing until after I have reviewed the movie myself. I actually have manually changed some ratings on this blog, but most of them are the same as they have always been.

And so without any further ado, here is my list of the top 10 movies of 2013.

10. "Ender's Game"

"Ender's Game" is a very interesting movie. It is about a fifteen-year-old genius named Ender who is selected to train for leadership role in the Earth's defense against an alien race that is speculated to return. The premise is really interesting, and the ending blew my mind.

The film is a little slow at the beginning, but once it starts going, it is very entertaining. It features some good child-acting, impressive visuals, and an interesting premise. It is definitely worth seeing.

9. "Gravity"

"Gravity" lets us know how it would feel to be stuck in space with nothing but your spacesuit, the limited oxygen you have in your tank and another astronaut who knows how to use a jet pack, which also has limited fuel. This movie had me at the edge of my seat for a good portion of it. There was also a particularly poignant scene near the end that I really liked. 

One thing that impressed me about this film is the director knew the premise was not meant for a long, complicated film. It is a very simple storyline with a very short length--90 minutes-- and a lesson smoothly placed at the end.

8. "Thor: The Dark World"

"Thor: The Dark World" gives Marvel fans exactly what they have come to expect: action, adventure, comedy and well-defined characters. What works for this movie is how well it further develops Loki. Tom Hiddelston's portrayal of the god of mischief is so fun to watch in all three films he is in. In this one, we learn more about this character's motivations, and some of his actions further puzzle us. He is a complex character, and I look forward to seeing what happens with him next.

7. "Frozen"

To tell the truth, I thought the first part of this movie was a little too much like "Tangled." It was the way the movie wrapped up in the third act that really impressed me. This movie took the next step in a recent trend Disney princess films have been setting since the days of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." This film takes the traditional "Cinderella" style movie, satirizes  aspects of it, and turns it on its head. It really is an overall brilliant film!

6. "Prisoners"

This movie is no where to be found on this blog because I saw it during a transitionary period, which is a long story that I will explain further in a later post. Basically, I was debating whether I wanted to do a blog or make YouTube videos. I tried doing this one as a video review, and I had a really hard time with it. That is partially why I decided to start this blog. I never got around to doing a written review of this one.

This movie stars Hugh Jackman, Terrence Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal. It is about two little girls who go missing, and it is about what extremes some parents will go for their children. Jackman's performance is what stood out to me. He has been great in everything I have seen him in, and this one is no exception. He constantly does horrible things that actually impede the investigation. However, you cannot really judge him because he is in a terrible situation that I would not wish on my enemies. Jackman plays this believably, and while I have not heard whether or not he has been nominated, he definitely deserves an Oscar for this role. 

This is worth seeing, but I must warn you that it is not the movie for the faint of heart. It is intense and dark.

5. "Captain Phillips"

This movie reminded me why film is such a great art form. It is about something that actually happened. Tom Hanks plays a captain of a cargo ship that gets ambushed by some Somali pirates who take the him captive. It is something that had been read about in newspapers and talked about on television. However, until it was actually put onto the silver screen, there has never been a way to empathize with Captain Phillips in as powerful a way as you do seeing this movie.

Hanks did such a good job at portraying just how scary this situation had to have been, and the actors who played the pirates were terrifying. There is a scene at the end where Hanks showed me just how powerful an actor he can be. I am not going to spoil it for you, but you will know it when you see it.

4. "Saving Mr. Banks"

This movie is about the creation of "Mary Poppins." Actually it is not so much about how the movie was made as it is about how the film rights were obtained so that Walt Disney could adapt it into a film. It is a very interesting film that explains the life P.L. Travers, the author of "Mary Poppins." It has some very touching moments, and it adds depth to a classic film that I watched all the time as a kid.

3. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

About halfway into this movie, I realized that there is really very little wrong with it. It improved upon the mistakes that were made in the first film, namely that the camera was still and focused. Furthermore, I actually like how these films were adapted. They took a book that was done in first-person point of view and made it into a movie that shows the perspective of many other characters.

From beginning to end this movie was very entertaining. It is not so much about the Hunger Games as it is about the aftermath of some choices the characters made at the end of the first film. A lot of people's lives are in danger unless the characters react a certain way, and that leads to some intense situations.

2. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Peter Jackson will be known in the history of cinema as the one who took some of the most complicated books and adapted them onto the silver screen. Not only did he just do it, but he did it right. Both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" films are masterpieces that I will watch 20 years from now. 

There are so many great things about this film, but I am just going to point out the main aspect that had me coming back to the theatres willingly: Smaug the dragon. I said this in my review, but he is without a doubt the coolest dragon I have ever seen on screen. He is HUGE, he is menacing and he is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. 

1. "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

It is weird that a "Star Trek" movie would win out over a Middle Earth movie in a list that I made. I am much more of a "Lord of the Rings" fan than I am a "Star Trek" fan. However, when comparing these two movies,  "Into Darkness" had a slight edge over "The Desolation of Smaug." 

That edge was the pacing. "Into Darkness" had a very quick pace that had my attention from beginning to end. While "The Desolation of Smaug" was probably better in this aspect than its predecessor, I felt that "Into Darkness" did a slightly better job.

A complaint I have heard about this movie is that it is very similar to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." I have never seen it, so I could not tell you whether or not it is.

What I can tell you is this movie is almost perfect! The visuals are impressive, the acting is good and the villain is menacing. This film introduced me to Benedict Cumberbatch, who has become one of my favorite actors over the course of this year. He has such a huge on-screen presence. He is formal, calm and calculating. Whenever he is in a scene, he seems to overshadow everybody else. 

Another thing I like about this film is it did a good job at being complex without overdoing it. There end up being a couple different antagonists in this film, and the way it is done is easy to take in.

This film also develops the relationships established in the first film even further. In particular it does this with Spock and Kirk's. By the end of the film, their relationship is at a different place than it was at the beginning.

You may notice that a full review of this film is also not on this blog. That is because it came out before I started reviewing movies, and I have been busy reviewing the films that are in theatres already.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Review

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a fun, upbeat movie with a good message.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a man who does not like to take risks. He is still single, and he is not very social. His job, working with negative photos for "Life" magazine, requires him to work with only one other person in a secluded area.

Mitty constantly fantasizes about being a more adventurous person who takes risks. Through his day-to-day routines and conversations, he constantly daydreams about how his life would be if that were the case.

The story starts during a transitionary period for "Life" magazine. The company is downsizing as it prepares to end its run of magazines and focus on the Internet.

The final issue is slated to come out, and the head photographer, Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), gave Mitty the negatives for the issue. However, the one that was supposed to be used for the cover--what is described as the "quintessence"--is missing, a fact that could mean Mitty's job.

After being unable to find the photo, he reaches out to Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"), a woman who also works for the magazine, for help in tracking O'Connell, who probably knows where the photo is. However, it is impossible to find him. He never carries a cell phone, and he is constantly on the move to take more pictures.

Melhoff encourages Mitty to do what he can to reach O'Connell. Mitty embarks on a dangerous international adventure to find the photographer so he can retrieve the final cover photo of "Life."

Watching this movie, I found myself excited to see where he was going next. His travels lead him to some very interesting situations involving intriguing characters. Walter Mitty himself is an intriguing character, and it is entertaining to see his reactions to other people.

Ben Stiller does a good job in the title role. He is known for being in comedies. He is perhaps best known for his over-the-top performance in "Zoolander" in which he satirizes the modeling industry. He also does a good job in more subtle, quirky roles as in "Meet the Parents."

This is why he is perfect as Walter Mitty. He is a shy character with subtle quirks. However, when he has his visions, he is slightly over-the-top without being unbelievable. Stiller does a good job making real Mitty and fantasy Mitty the same person. The only difference between the two is his dream self takes more risks.

Mitty has a definite character arc. Both Stiller and the writers did a great job showing the audience that the title character in the beginning is a different person at the end. It is interesting to see this all play out.

One of the techniques for showing this arc is the film's use of one of the main ad placements: eHarmony. As Mitty has more experiences, they show up on his profile, and he is able to get attention on it. Patton Oswalt ("Ratatoullie") plays the customer service representative for the company, and it is through him that we find this out.

A lot of times ad placements are awkwardly forced into movies. There are shots that are so obviously done to make money that it is laughable and distracting. The eHarmony placement was not bad. The company is mentioned several times, but Patton Oswalt brings comedy and charm that makes it palatable.

That is not to say that there were not some awkward ad placements in this film. Papa Johns obviously paid the filmmakers a pretty big sum. The writers tried to blend it in as an important part of Mitty's backstory, but this plot point feels forced.

A reason it did not work is the backstory is not clear. His character is developed in that we know he does not like to take a lot of risks. However, it is also revealed that he is good at skateboarding. This is a skill he has been able to do since he was a child. When his father died, he started working at Papa Johns, and things changed for him. It is never explained why Papa Johns and his father's death changed him so drastically, which is why the Papa Johns ad placement felt forced overall.

I also found that Mitty's fantasies were just okay. They are obviously meant to be funny, but I felt the filmmakers tried to hard in these segments. The funniest parts are when Mitty is having real-life conversations. He is a quirky, likable character from beginning to end, and some of the situations he gets into are very funny.

Each event in this film does a great job illustrating the lesson this film tries to teach. It is about how life is not worth living unless you take some risks. Most of what Mitty does is extreme, but the basic idea is well executed.

This movie gets three and a half out of five stars from me. It definitely has its flaws in some shameless ad placement and forced plot points, but it is a charming movie with a good life lesson. If you are looking for something to see with your family, I would recommend seeing this.

Content: Rated PG. There is very little language. The only part that parents may have a hard time with is when one character calls another an offensive word. There is one instance in which sex is mentioned, and that is when a character says "make love" in reference to the song "If You Like Pina Coladas."

Topic for Comment: What movie has the most annoying ad placement you have ever seen?

This is something new I am doing on this blog. I made it as easy as possible to post a comment. You are welcome to say anything you want even if I do not agree with it. However, I have two rules: do not demean other people including myself and do not say cuss words. If you do so, I have no choice but to delete your post. It is nothing against you, I just want to keep my blog appropriate for all ages.