New Category: Reviews

I've been thinking for the longest time that I'd do more and regular movie & TV reviews and finally decided I'd start. I'm not sure about "regular" posts, but I AM going to do them. (now 'n then would probably be a more apt description of the frequency of the reviews)

(I haven't been reading nearly as many books as I used to do, but if I read a good one, I'll try to review it, too.)

I'm going to link to IMDb for the movies and TV series so folks can get other information if they're interested - no need for me to repeat something that's available in a thousand other places.  I'm not going to make any pretense that I'm some sort of critic; I'm just going to write how I liked - or didn't like - the movie/TV show. Sometimes it's difficult to describe a movie or show without revealing spoilers, so the descriptions might be a little sparse.

I've given a lot of thought about how I will grade them, too.  I didn't want to go strictly thumbs up or down;  that is too "either/or" for me and I also don't want to go on a 5-star or 10 point grading system because that's too limiting.  I have trouble at times rating something on IMDb because 1-10 stars sometimes doesn't let me "nuance" my grade.  For example, I might really like something, but 7 stars isn't enough and 8 would be too many, esp. compared to something else I rated 8 stars and liked a little better.  So, I have decided to go on a 0-100 scoring system, just like number grades in school. (and letter grades also wouldn't let me be as precise with scoring, but they would be closer than a 5 or 10 star system)

I hope I will be fair to the movie or TV show, but I also think I will be stingy with my grades on the top end, generous on the lower ones.  In MY system, a "60" would be passing, just as it is in many schools, but it's certainly not a glowing recommendation.  I don't remember ever giving a movie or TV series a "10" on IMDb and I expect a "95" will be around the upper range of my scoring.  OTOH, anything "40" or under will probably be in the "Not Worth Watching" category.  If I give something a grade of 40 or less, I probably couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes of it.  I won't waste my time if the thing is that bad, but I also wouldn't want to dissuade someone else from giving it a look-see.  Different strokes, etc.

I may include YouTube videos in my reviews, particularly educational and documentary vids I've watched.  I'll probably factor in resolution and quality into those, though.  If possible, and I think the movie or TV series is worthy of the space, I'll embed a video of the trailer or a certain scene. (if I can find one)

Hope you'll read my reviews and comment on them...all six of my regular readers!