How do you rate films? (out of 5 stars? from 1 to 10?)

Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
I like the ten scale. I realize that Ebert's accepted 4-star scale is really just a 9-pt. scale in disguise with all the halves and the inclusion of 0.

Problems I Often See With People's Ten Scales

[list=*]
[*]The entire scale is not used.[/*]
[*]"1-7 sucks and 8-10 is good" binary.[/*]
[*]People give 1's and 2's to movies they are angry and disappointed at rather than ones that are actually bad.[/*]
[*]They give out 10's too easily. To the point where 9's and 8's don't mean anything.[/*]
[*]They don't give out enough 10's to the point where only a handful of movies are on a golden pedestal.[/*]
[/list]

My Rating System

1 (Abhorrent) - Like snuff, smut or nazi propaganda film.

2 (Terrible) - No merit, either in concept or execution. A total trainwreck.

3 (Bad) - Downright unpleasant. Waste of time. Don't watch.

4 (Mediocre) - Had a good idea or two somewhere, but is boring and unoriginal.

5 (Decent) - Middle of the road. Neither good, nor bad. Entertaining but not recommendable.

6 (Good) - Positive. It may not be really memorable but it's still an enjoyable experience.

7 (Very Good) - Recommended. Has some flaws and what-if's, but nonetheless it's quality.

8 (Great) - Highly recommended. Stands out as one of the best films of its genre in the year.

9 (Excellent) - Near flawless. Realized and achieves everything it sets out to do. It is among the best in its genre.

10 (Masterful) - Not perfect but 100% realized. Innovates greatly, displays a mastery in film-making or is otherwise is replicable.
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