How Do You Rank?
Kazi and a few others have had some questions regarding my ratings of books and movies. Obviously, this is something that is completely subjective, but I’ll try to describe how I come up with my ratings.
Books
For a long time I dreaded reading because I just couldn’t find a genre that held my interested long enough to finish a whole book. Then I read an article posted at the library that stated that 70% of readers polled didn’t read entire books and only 40% of those readers who did typically read books from cover to cover. Hm. I’m not alone. But then I discovered audio books and that all changed. Now, I base my opinions on the following criteria:
- Is the subject matter interesting to me?
- Is the pace good or did the story drag on forever?
- Is the plot solid and well conceived?
- Is the story engaging; does the author pull you in?
- Did I enjoy the book?
Some examples of books and their ratings that I have read or listened to:
- DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (5 of 5)
- The Jester by James Patterson & Andrew Gross (5 of 5)
- Footprints of God by Greg Iles (4.5 of 5)
- Alaskan Bootlegger’s Bible by Leon W. Kania (4.5 of 5)
- Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (3.5 of 5)
- The Family by Mario Puzo (3 of 5)
- Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (2.5 of 5)
- Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz (2 of 5)
- Bad as I Wanna Be by Dennis Rodman (1 of 5)
- Atlanta Nights by James D. MacDonald (0 of 5)
Movies
Movies are much different to rate for me and that is why I give them a 10 rating instead of a 5… it allows for more of a "fudge factor" for those really odd movies that I still tend to enjoy. I have an appreciation for movie making as well as the story telling so I tend to rank some of them with regard to a certain artistic flair. Anyway, these are some of the things I look for in a movie:
- Solid plot lines with no gaping holes
- Believable actors correctly cast
- Stunning visuals and appropriate music
- Well written original stories that hold my interest
- Good story pace
- Well choreographed action scenes without too many cutaways
- Well developed conflict and drama
- Did my butt (or the rest of me) fall asleep while I was watching it?
Some examples of movies that I have enjoyed and ranked are:
- The Matrix (10 of 10)
- Office Space (9.5 of 10)
- The Godfather (9 of 10)
- Pulp Fiction (8 of 10)
- Enter the Dragon (7 of 10)
- The Crow (6 of 10)
- Pretty Woman (5 of 10)
- Shakespeare in Love (4 of 10)
- Chariots of Fire (3 of 10)
- The English Patient (2 of 10)
- The Phantom (1 of 10)
- Gigli (0 of 10)
This is hardly a comprehensive list of examples but it might help you understand where I fit in with other movie watchers. I love martial arts movies, historical fiction/fantasy (like Highlander) and Computer related Sci Fi (like The Matrix). Anyway, perhaps this will help explain why I would choose to watch House of Flying Daggers before I would see Legally Blonde. More reviews later... I have been watching a bunch of movies lately!
posted by Bonzai @ 12:33 PM
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