Here are my ratings of almost 1,500 movies (including TV shows, etc) I have watched on DVD in the last few years, and rated for my own purposes. References to seasons or disk numbers are not meaningful unless more than one rating is made for that title. Some of the movies include the year of release. Numbers following some titles are Netflix or other predictions of how I would rate the movie, as of the time of viewing. The Netflix star system is designed to make three of the five stars positive ratings (and thus encourage rentals). My reaction to that tactic was to hold my ratings down to mostly three stars (liked it), with a few four stars (really liked it) and a rare 5 star (loved it).My rating system is built around the Netflix five star system, but I have added decimals to make it more accurate. It essentially has evolved into a four star system. A 2.7 or lower movie is one I would not recommend. Ratings of 2.8 and 2.9 are marginal. From 3 to 3.2 are all right for those interested. From 3.3 on up are recommended. About 50 of the older ratings were done before I started using decimals and they are identified as "no decimal" and should be taken with a grain of salt, since a 2.7 and 3.3 movie would both have been rated three stars.
I have rated about 850 other films at Netflix, mainly for the purpose of helping the Netflix predictions of what I will like. I don't have a decimal rating record for them. I could make a list here of those which I top rated, but it might be best for me to first watch them again to see how they stand the test of time and then rate them on the decimal system.
Remember, these ratings are my current opinions of what I want Netflix to recommend to me, based on my most recent viewing of the movie, and also on my mood of that day. In years past I may have rated a movie higher, but recent viewing reduced my opinion. I am not rating based on the historical merit of the movie as of the time it was released. I chose movies to watch that I did not remember seeing which I thought would at least be marginally acceptable (2.8). Of the movies listed through 2009, I rated 84% at 2.8 or above. I think the toning down of my ratings at Netflix has enabled the Netflix prediction algorithm, which is calculated to one decimal, to quite accurately guide my choice of what to watch.
My movie ratings lists are now dated December 31, 2010, and are linked to in the blog side bar, both alphabetically and from high to low rated. The lists may be updated in the future. Some of the movies do not have a year listed, because the year was not included in all my lists I used in compiling this list. In the case of a TV series, sometimes the series is rated as a whole and sometimes the individual disks are rated. Direct any requests for clarification to me, Tom Blake.
I think I backed myself into a little corner with Netflix ratings. I tend to watch pretty good movies, so most will get a 4 or an occasional 3 from me based on overall quality as opposed to how much the movie really thrilled me on a more personal level. However, when it comes to giving out 5 ratings, I get real stingy because this is where I imagine my own "taste" is going to do the evaluating and thus be evaluated. Mood certainly plays a role in assigning 5 ratings. It's not uncommon for me to talk myself out of giving a movie a higher rating because I recognize that part of why I enjoyed watching it was because I was especially in the mood for a foreign movie, or an indie, or something with great scenery. Frankly, if I put a 5 on everything that really resonated with me as I watched it, many more of my 4 flicks would be bumped up--at least until I watched them again! That said, it's a safe bet that the BBC nature documentaries and Miyazaki fantasies aren't leaving the top of the heap anytime soon.
ReplyDelete(Wow. I just checked and discovered I've only rated 214 movies on my account. Pretty indecisive. Give 'em all 4s!)
Tom,
ReplyDeleteYour lists are impressive. I will use them to choose movies. I often wonder what I will do when and if I retire. I might as well keep working if I were to put the effort into my leisure activities that you have into your retirement hobbies.
I think, Anna, it would help you if you decide your purpose in rating movies at Netflix. Is it to recommend movies to others, or to help Netflix recommend movies to you. I chose the latter purpose. Since Netflix has three positive star ratings (3, 4 and 5), compared with only two negative (1 and 2), you and I both essentially have leveled the playing field by eliminating the 5 star rating. I strongly recommend maintaining your own score card on the decimal system, so you can tell a weak star from a strong star. This is what the Netflix algorithm does in giving you predictions.
ReplyDeleteIf your ratings are primarily for your own reference, then your tastes and mood are legitimate factors. Tastes stay fairly constant, but moods change. Taste will affect how we rate, while moods determine what we choose. If you choose to watch a movie and then decide you are not in the mood for it, it is not accurate to rate the movie down because of your mood. It's better to skip rating it until you watch it when you are in the mood.
Our ratings can help others who know our tastes. I have watched lots of movies with you and we know each other's tastes. John and I watched lots of movies together in college days and knew each other's tastes back then, which as I recall were fairly similar, so it will be interesting to see how his tastes and mine compare nowadays. Netflix vastly expanded our movie recommendation sources. By comparing our ratings with other members, the Netflix algorithm matches us with others who share our tastes and lets us know what they liked.
John, you can enjoy working if you work at what you enjoy. If it is called work, you get paid for it and you have to play by the rules. If it is called leisure, you don't get paid, but you make your own rules.
ReplyDeleteMy lists would be more helpful if for each movie they included the year, genre, language and length. Being a man of leisure, I can work on those revisions whenever I decide I would enjoy doing so, without being driven by the need to earn money doing it or constrained by someone else's rules of how it should be done.