The Movie Critic Critic's Rating System:
All ratings are out of four (4) stars (
) (yeah, been there, done that, whatever, it works for movie critics, it works for the movie critic critic).
Rating their Rating System
Do they stick with the old 4 or 5 star stand by (a tried and true method) or go for something novel and creative? How consistent is their rating system with the written reviews of the movie? Do they even have a rating system? Do you get the sneaking suspicion that they pull a random number out of a hat and put it in the rating box?
Rating their Format
Can you find their reviews? Can you read them once you find them? Do they have all sorts of annoying advertisements breaking up the flow of the text?
Rating their Style
Do they have any style? Is it a good style? Do they manage to pull it off or does it suffer the horrible death of inconcistency? Funny can be a style. Serious can be a style. Obnoxious can be a style. Incompetent, that's not a style.
Rating their Content
Are the reviews a good read? Do they sound like the reviewer actually saw the movie or like he just read the press kit, accepted the bribe and slopped together the usual quotes? Does the reviewer review a good mix of movies or just the same tired old Hollywood FX specials?
Rating them Overall
A rough average of all the other factors. I do mean rough. Some things will be weighted higher than other things. Sometimes that weighting will change for no apparent reason. Deal with it.