★ My Rating Scale

🎬 Films  ·  📺 TV Shows  ·  📚 Books

Star ratings have always felt a little awkward to me. A five-star movie or book isn't objectively better than a two-star one — it just means something clicked. At that moment, in that mood, against everything else I've watched or read. Ratings are personal. Mine especially.

That said, I watch a lot of movies, more TV than I'll admit, and there's usually a book going too. So I needed some system. Here's how mine works.

One more thing: I'm terrible at writing reviews. I spill spoilers without thinking, and I never quite manage a "proper" review anyway. So don't expect one. What you'll get instead is a rating and whatever thought is rattling around in my head after the credits roll or the last page turns. Sometimes that's a paragraph, sometimes it's one sentence. That's just how I watch (and read) things.

A few things worth knowing: I rate films, TV, and books on the same scale, but I'm not comparing them against each other. A five-star film, a five-star series, and a five-star book are just things I loved, full stop. Context always matters. These ratings reflect where I was when I watched or read something. They're not final verdicts.

Browse my reviews

These categories are brand new, so they're a little sparse right now — but more reviews are on the way as I work through my watch and reading backlog.

Hat tip to John Philpin for the inspiration.