Updating My Movie Rating System

When I started this blog there were two things I wanted with regard to movie reviews: to have a standardized review format and to have a simple rating system. The reason I came up with the five finger movie rating system was its simplicity. I had looked at using a star system, even using toxic barrels to represent stars and which would fit with my pseudonym. The problem was I didn't really have a way to integrate the graphics for such a rating system with this blog.

For some reason it came to me to use fingers instead. I don't need graphics since most of us have our own built-in graphic (the hand if you needed help with that) and I think most of us, at least in the western world, understand the difference between giving someone the finger and giving them a high five. So I came up with the five finger movie review rating which is not too different from a 5 star review.

My rating of movies expressed from 1 to 5 fingers, hence the name 5 Finger Movie Review. The more fingers, the better.

• 5 Fingers = Exceptional. A classic. It's a high five!
• 4 Fingers = A very good movie.
• 3 Fingers = Good. Could be better, but worth a watch.
• 2 Fingers = Not a good or entertaining movie, or otherwise flawed.
• 1 Finger = Poor. Stinker. Turkey. The bottom of the barrel. I give it a finger!

I've never been particularly fond of a 10 point or 10 star system such as is used on IMDB, but I concede the greater range of such a system. I did not want to use more than a 1 to 5 rating and certainly not a complex rating system. I also did not want to use a half system because half a finger just seems kind of weird.

This has proven an effective system, mostly. Lately though I have reviewed several movies which I have rated as 3 fingers, yet don't feel that they are equal, even though they fit with my rating system is a broader sense.

What I have been considering is incorporating a 'Plus' option into my rating system. The rating system will be the same. The only difference will be the 'Plus' will signify the movie offers a little more than its means for the rating; such as a movie that I don't think was well made but still is entertaining, or the obverse where the movie is pretty well made but lacks much entertainment value.

This should only affect 2 and 3 finger ratings. 1 and 5 finger ratings have no variance as they are, respectively, either the bottom of the barrel or the top of the heap. I reserve the option to add a 'Plus' to a 4 finger rating, but presently can't think of where that might apply.

I want to keep my rating system simple. This is a way of having a little wiggle room so to speak without actually changing the system. Being that I have added comments to my ratings in past reviews to sort of tweak the ratings where I felt it was necessary, I don't believe I need to update those reviews. Of course your feedback is invited.

Toxic Fletch