Hello

This is a log of the films I watch, whether in theaters, at home, or somewhere else. Each entry will have a rating on a scale of 1 to 10* and a brief bit of commentary to explain the rating. Occasionally I might write in-depth reviews or analyses of a film, or even essays about multiple films or a particular film topic. But that will be the fairly rare exception. I have no particular schooling or expertise in moviemaking or film criticism. I just like watching movies, and seem to watch quite a few of them.

--Brian, filmaloguer


*Here is an intentionally unreliable explanation of the rating scale--that is, ratings are more relative to the movie itself and others like it, rather than to some master list's ranking of every film ever. Roger Ebert's star ratings sort of work this way, but as I believe he describes it to readers who would question his consistency, it's a rating of how well the film lives up to what it tries to achieve. So 3 stars for one movie is not the same as 3 stars for another. I think that's kind of a cop out--it allows him to get away with rating "Tomb Raider" (a pure popcorn movie) the same as "Fellowship of the Ring" (maybe a popcorn movie in part, but regardless of whether it lived up to expectations, it at least sought to do new or at least more ambitious things). To avoid Ebert-style weaseling (don't get me wrong, I think he's good), my "system" will instead award a little extra credit to the films that may not hit the nail on the head, but at least strive for something new or better than those that are essentially meant for mass entertainment. I realize this is still vague, so I will plan to justify ratings on a case by case basis.