Your Movie Monkey posts scores according to the following scheme
4 to 5 stars – Excellent film, definitely worth seeing
| Perfect |  |
| Outstanding |  |
| Excellent |  |
In older posts (with letter grades), these ratings correspond to ratings of A+ (5.0 stars), A (4.5 stars), and A− (4.0 stars).
3 to 3.5 stars – Good film, not great, but still worth seeing
| Very Good | |
| Good | |
In older posts (with letter grades), these ratings correspond to ratings of B+ (3.5 stars), and B / B− (3.0 stars).
2 to 2.5 stars – Nothing painful, but no real reason to see it
| Fair With Some Good Moments |    |
| Fair | |
In older posts (with letter grades), these ratings correspond to ratings of C+ (2.5 stars), and C / C− (2.0 stars).
0 to 1.5 stars – Avoid
| Avoid, Somewhat Painful | |
| Painful | |
| Very Painful | |
| Excruciating | |
In older posts (with letter grades), these ratings correspond to ratings of D+ (1.5 stars), D (1.0 stars), D− (0.5 stars), and F (0.0 stars).
Other Notes
Your Movie Monkey also rates films for their artistic/filmmaking value. This is of course the Monkey’s own opinion, and it is possible that he will find a film not great, but still could have great filmmaking value. (Or he may find a film to his particular taste, but realize it is not great filmmaking.)
Finally, Your Movie Monkey will discuss family-friendliness and moral messaging, which is often related to how he believes the movie is consistent with the teachings of his Christian faith. Note that it’s not the depiction of certain acts that makes a film consistent or inconstent with Your Movie Monkey’s beliefs… it is the underlying message about whether such acts are right or wrong, justifiable or not. For this reason, Your Movie Monkey would rate The Passion of the Christ as high on the moral/spiritual scale, even though the acts committed in this film are despicable–the movie portrays Christ’s willingness to suffer these terrible tortures for the sake of mankind, and this is the crux of the Christian faith (that and His resurrection from the dead).
As a final note, these posts are meant to be entertaining, and to provide an opinion on movies. They are not meant to substitute for your own judgment with regard to entertainment or spirituality. Just because Your Movie Monkey gives a movie a high rating, does not necessarily mean you should run out and see it. For heaven’s sake, use your own judgment.
