This film is rated...X?

I don't like my film rating system.

In theory, I like the idea of an "out of 100" scale much more than any "star" or even letter grade system. Why? It's familiar - we all went to school and are all wildly familiar with the structure. I'm also a bit of a "numbers guy," so it just makes the most sense to me. Besides, everyone uses the star or letter method, so I wanted to do something a little different.

The big problem, however, is that it's not very practical. Or maybe it's that it's practically boring. Either way, it's bad. Let me explain.

I love to go to the movies. A lot. My wife and I go (on average) at least 5 times a month, assuming there are enough halfway decent films to see. We're diverse - we'll see The Last King of Scotland or The Queen one night, and Arthur and the Invisibles or even Epic Movie the next (okay, so that one was a mistake...). On the whole, however, they are all "well produced", "Hollywood" films (or high profile foreign films like Volver).

The point is, they're not crap (usually). They are not student films or Michael Bay movies. There's a good chance that before entering the theater, the film will already place above a 60 score, if not higher. Put together good production values, decent acting, good music, mediocre writing and a halfway competent director and you're already halfway towards a "good", ** film.

That's where the math gets screwed up. If virtually every movie scores a 60 or above, what's the point of the first 59 points? Sure, I'll give an angry 7 to Epic Movie or even a deserved 43 to Eragon, but those are few and far between, and probably not realistic anyway.

I realize I'm putting way too much thought into this. But isn't that the point? I guess I just want to let you know that a) I'm aware of this problem and b) I'm trying to think of a better, simpler, more meaningful scale (I'm leaning towards the "phrase" method, where a great movie would be rated something like "Caddyshack" where a terrible movie would be rated "Vegas Vacation," to use Chevy Chase as a model. In fact, that idea might have legs...).

By the way, if you have any ideas, feel free to share. Muchas gracias.