How we score films

Every score on this desk is one number with a published method behind it, on a page that says who checked what and when. Here is the method - and what the number refuses to be.

The four axes

Each film is read on four axes: story and structure, performance and craft, direction and technical vision, and cultural weight - what the work means to the people it was made by and made for. Each axis runs 0-10; the printed score is the rounded average and half-points are allowed.

What the bands mean

• 9-10 — essential. The desk would press this on anyone, genre fan or not.
• 8 — strong and specific: excellent inside exactly what it attempts.
• 7 — good: worth tonight if the premise or the cast pulls you in.
• 5-6 — mixed: fun for fans of the genre, skippable if you are not one.
• 4 and below — honestly not for most people. We say so instead of burying it.

What a score is not

It is not an aggregate of other publications, not a popularity ranking, and not negotiable. No studio, distributor or platform sees these scores before publication; no advertising relationship has ever moved one; and none will - the site runs no ad network whose rates could be traded for placement. If the desk revises a score, the film page records the revision and its date.

The distribution, shown honestly

Across all 127 scored films the current spread is (every film is shelved on merit, not pushed to a flattering band):

Scores sit on film pages next to a verification date for the trailer and credits. Disagree? Corrections and disputes is a real page.