tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post2816363450657435350..comments2024-03-17T18:53:56.416-07:00Comments on Cosmic American Blog: The Two-Pronged Movie Review System Attackyoggothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-71843386994517705792008-02-01T13:05:00.000-08:002008-02-01T13:05:00.000-08:00Worst of all is Rolling Stone, which seems to awar...Worst of all is Rolling Stone, which seems to award every single album 3.5 stars out of 5 (except for new Dylan and Springsteen albums).<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't dismiss every star system as "trite and arbitrary" though. The most effective use of a star system is probably the All Music/All Movie Guide's. I think they've achieved a nice balance of providing the consumer with the information they'd like to know in a relatively nonjudgmental manner, while at the same time presenting a definite hierarchy of works that are more artistically valuable than others. Almost every artist will receive at least one 4.5 star rating to let the listener know where to start if they're inclined to explore, but when you see a 5 star rating on AMG, you know that you probably need to hear that album/see that movie no matter what.Little Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415022026000282965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-18356524861283790572008-02-01T12:25:00.000-08:002008-02-01T12:25:00.000-08:00This rating system reminds me of a Lucky Charms co...This rating system reminds me of a Lucky Charms commercial. Blue moons, green clovers, all part of this balanced breakfast!<BR/><BR/>In the video game related blog world there's a similar discussion going on about how games should be rated. Currently games are rated more on their economic value (replayability, length of game) rather than any artistic value. The current system seems so flawed it makes the star-based movie system seem like a venerable institution. Nearly every game gets a rating between 6.0-9.5, never higher, never lower. Now that's a crummy system.<BR/><BR/>I like both LE's idea and Ninquelote's. Die Hard (the original, let us never speak of that new one) could get 5 stars in my book for being an "action packed entertainment thrillride!! a must see!" but zero stars for artistic merit. I could live with that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-60548278521953816882008-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:002008-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00If you would insist on having a rating system, I t...If you would insist on having a rating system, I think there could be a marriage between both of your ideas (but don't run to Vegas or anything). <BR/><BR/>LE's system stated in Y's terms. The first rating would go at the top of the review stating whether the average moviegoer would be entertained by the movie or not. Have maybe a paragraph devoted to explaining why, and leave it at that. People who only care if they are entertained usually only have the capacity to read that far anyway.<BR/><BR/>You put your second rating at the bottom of the review. In between the two ratings you make your argument for the artistic merit of the film, what it is trying to do, and whether or not it achieved it.<BR/><BR/>Personally I find any rating system trite and arbitrary. An honest and educated review is much more useful. But Yoggoth is right, any movie can be good depending on the company you're watching it with. <BR/><BR/>Well, maybe not 'House of a Thousand Corpses'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-48385313714477795182008-01-31T22:42:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:42:00.000-08:00Well I only saw about 5 minutes of Speed and what ...Well I only saw about 5 minutes of Speed and what I saw was not nearly as entertaining as the absurd explosions and chase scenes in Bad Boyz 2.yoggothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-40862725073295351782008-01-31T22:33:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:33:00.000-08:00Who said you were the target audience for my syste...Who said you were the target audience for my system?<BR/><BR/>And did you really think Bad Boyz II was better than Speed?!?Little Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415022026000282965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-26525186130488920432008-01-31T22:19:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:19:00.000-08:00My approach would still allow you to say that Spee...My approach would still allow you to say that Speed is better than Bad Boyz II if you wanted to. I personally found Bad Boyz more entertaining but I have no desire to assign it a numerical value and then assign Speed a numerical value and compare the two. Like I said, if the movie doesn't reach a certain level it just isn't worth the effort to do something like that. <BR/><BR/>Sure, you could have two systems, stars and red balloons or green clovers or whatever, but what's the point? You either want to know whether you should spend $10 on a movie or which movie to spend your $10 on, or you want to hear someone's opinion about the artistic merits of a film. A star rating system does the first sufficiently and if you really care about the latter you read the essay that comes with it. <BR/><BR/>Honestly almost no movie ever released is worth $10 to me if I'm watching it alone-and many crappy movies are worth a lot more than they would be otherwise because of who I'm watching them with. Let's add a third rating-blue moons? This is getting sophisticated enough to be a videogame.yoggothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-9079479191068268342008-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:00Come again?The thing is, I think some blockbusters...Come again?<BR/><BR/>The thing is, I think some blockbusters can be artful, if not exactly art. And sometimes it <I>is</I> useful to be able to say, with some intellectual rigor, that Speed, for example, is better than Bad Boyz II.<BR/><BR/>I think what I am going to do is have one system which I might call the "film critic" system, where I try to judge a movie based on what it's trying to be rather than on what I want it to be - because I do see the value in that approach - and then have another system which I might called the "Little Earl" system, where I just lay down my honest gut reaction. I think to average the sum would be to cheapen the value of the method. But then again, what is a method if it isn't cheapened a little, really?Little Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415022026000282965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-4164876443320371482008-01-31T16:19:00.000-08:002008-01-31T16:19:00.000-08:00Any system that values The Life Aquatic below Step...Any system that values The Life Aquatic below Stepford Wives is prima facie useless. <BR/><BR/>If I designed a system there would be some sort of minimum artistic standard that a movie would have to achieve to even be considered on the star scale. Die Hard would get 0 stars. Not because I didn't enjoy it, I did whenever the Apple guy wasn't on screen, but because it simply isn't intended as art. It's proper value is measured in dollars earned and entertainment received. I would give it 0 stars and then recommend it to anyone who likes action movies. There is no contradiction in this system.<BR/><BR/>To quote Wittgenstein, "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." Those things worth giving stars to are the things we cannot speak about, for the things you cannot speak about are often the only things worth discussing.yoggothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-29727826538817141472008-01-31T12:29:00.000-08:002008-01-31T12:29:00.000-08:00Sure, you could use a multifaceted star rating sys...Sure, you could use a multifaceted star rating system, but couldn't you just average the sum to come to a final, combined star rating?<BR/><BR/>Maybe that's what Ebert does. Or maybe he just picks a number out of a hat. If his actual reviews seem to conflict some of his ratings, the latter seems just as likely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com