For example, here is how I grade my movies:

5-Star System:

ZERO = So awful, its equivalent of smearing dog feces on a blank film reel!

* = Terrible/God-Awful/What the f*ck!?!?!? (Examples: HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING, ARMAGGEDON)

** = Mediocre/Waste of Time (Examples: HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, BAD BOYS, etc.)

**1/2 = Watchable/Average (Exp: X-MEN, HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES, EPISODE 3)

*** = Good/Recommendable (Exp: CONSTANTINE, SALVADOR, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS)

**** = Great/ (Exp: THIRTEEN DAYS, DePalma's SCARFACE, BATMAN BEGINS)

***** = Masterpiece/Can't Get Any Better (Exp: RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS, etc.)


Tell me folks how you philosophically grade your movies?

BOMB: Among the worst ever made; no overwhelmingly positive qualities are found here at all (i.e. 2 Fast 2 Furious).

1/2 *: Absolutely terrible, but perhaps with one positive quality or generally not terrible enough to be classified with the worst of the worst (i.e. Sin City).

*: Shows evidence of competenence in one area or another, but nearly everything fails (i.e. Dodgeball).

* 1/2: Slightly tolerable even in its dispicable state (i.e. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

**: Half of the film's qualities are good, but the other half are unbelievably poor (i.e. Cinderella Man).

**1/2: Mediocre; usually unmemorable, often lacking either overwhelmingly positive or negative qualities, and sometimes exists merely as frames of film (i.e. Star Wars Episode III).

***: Good; usually ridden with flaws, but still comes close to achieving what its intended goal was and is quite watchable (i.e. Hero).

***1/2: Great; a few great flaws or many small ones keep it from transcendence (i.e. City of God).

****: A masterpiece (i.e. 2046).

I'll put more recognizable examples for each rating rather then the best film from the rating.

**** - Excellent film that is a masterwork, and has only one or two flaws at most. [ex. The Godfather;Citizen Kane;Taxi Driver;Once Upon a Time in America;Le Samourai]

***1/2 - A great film. Not many flaws, and not quite a masterwork. [ex. Collateral;Bullitt;Fight Club;For a Few Dollars More;Batman Begins]

*** - Can range from a good film in the lowest meaning to a very good film that just misses greatness. [ex. Home Alone;Beyond the Sea;To Live and Die in L.A.]

**1/2 - A decent film, but it falls too short to be good. [ex. Sharky's Machine;Old School;Out to Sea]

** - A mediocre film that may have some good qualities, but is very flawed, which brings the film down. [ex. The Boondock Saints;Batman Forever;The Recruit]

*1/2 - A poor film that is heavily flawed and has few redeeming factors. [ex. Identity;Enough;]

* - A Horrible film that has hardly any positive qualities. [ex. Man on Fire;The Dead Pool;Dodgeball]

1/2 - Just above the worst ever, one, maybe two interesting things about it, although it's flaws cloak it. [ex. Fast and the Furious;Cry Blood Apache]

ZERO - Among worst. Horrible trash that deserves to be raped, burned, shot, and shit on. [ex. You Got Served; From Justine to Kelly;Crossroads;Jaws: The Revenge;2 Fast 2 Furious]

It should be noted that some of my ratings can be on par to a /10 scale, which I hate using.

**** = 9-10/10
***1/2 = 8.5/10
*** = 7-8/10

Zero = What were they thinking? (You Got Served)

* = Terrible (Napoleon Dynamite)

** = Mediocre (Dodgeball, Ready To Rumble)

*** = Very Good (Office Space)

**** = Great (Scarface)

***** = Excellent (Once Upon A Time In America, Psycho, Patton)

If you're going to use stars, I'm against saying four stars is a masterpiece. Then you need to go out and define a masterpiece...

My star rating is as follows...

These range from zero to four stars; half-stars are not used. Four stars marks a film of outstanding and lasting quality, a milestone in cinema history, remarkable for such aspects as direction, writing, acting, cinematography or some other aspect of filmmaking technique. Three stars indicates a film of excellent quality, but cannot be given four stars due to a lack of cinematic importance, or the film is simply too much of an acquired taste to be classed as a wide-appealing masterpiece; or, on the other hand, a film worth seeing only for historical reasons. It can also be interpreted that three stars indicate three strong, unrelated reasons for admiring a film. Two stars is a generally entertaining or engrossing film of high production values; perhaps an underrated small feature or an overrated classic, or even a provocative film deemed too gratuitously controversial or limited in its audience appeal. A one star film marks either a watchable second feature or a disappointing film which should have been better, if it was to be made in the first place. No stars indicate a totally routine production or worse: they may be watchable, but no merit is to be found in doing so, and are at least equally missable.

Half stars disgust me.

An easier way to interpret my ratings:

Four stars: see it.
Three stars: see it.
Two stars: read my short summary/review to decide whether to see it.
One star: see it if you're a fan...
No stars: seek other advice before seeing it.

Thanks for reading,
Mick

I rarely evaluate movies quantitatively (Stars or out of 10). Even when I do so, it is generally inaccurate. But these are the criteria I use to grade movies:

1)Genre fit - If I can classify a movie into straight genres, I expect some matching basic qualities: For eg, Action movies should have plot, Drama should be about characters, musical should tell a story etc, etc.

2)Characters - How unique they are from other movies. Is there a character arc? Do they grow? If not, is there a good reason for that, or is it just sloppy writing...

3)Influence - How much do they influence me personally. Are there some scenes or dialogue that I will never forget?

4)Scope - Did the director/screen writer make/write this movie with a grand idea? Or was it just a dirty commercial venture?

5)Technical - Good editing or photography etc.

I only have two categories: Films I like/Films I dislike.

Very scientifical.

From best to worst

***** = Outstanding masterpiece. This film couldn't get any better. If it isn't already a classic, it will be in the future.

****1/2 = Amazing. Almost perfect, sure to go down as a great film through the ages.

**** = Great. Very hard for it to get any better. Minimal dislikes involved.

***1/2 = Very entertaining. A bit short of a masterpiece, but worth a viewing none the less.

*** = Mediocre movie. Entertaining, amuzing, likeable, but average.

**1/2 = OK. Nothing special. There may be a few entertainment values to it, but watch with your own veiwing agression.

** = A bit crappy. I wouldn't recomend it right off the bat, but if you're looking for something so bad that it becomes almost humorous, this is your best bet.

*1/2 = Horrible. Stay away.

* = Disaster. Don't rent it, don't buy it, don't watch it on TV, don't see it in a theater. The worst expirience I've ever had with a movie.