Recently Viewed

Borrowing a recurring post idea from kottke.org, I'm going to begin posting starred reviews of films that I've seen. The ratings will be on a 5-star scale, roughly following these criteria:

***** A film I unhesitantly recommend to anyone
**** A film I adore or am otherwise impressed by, but perhaps best fits my own tastes
*** A film that might make for a good DVD rental
** A film someone made me watch
* A film unworthy of anyone's time

I may occasionally also post brief reviews, not because I think anyone cares, but more as a kind of reminder of my initial and/or lasting impressions of a film. The starred ratings will also provide you with an idea of my somewhat eclectic viewing choices.

To get things started, here are the last five films I've seen, either in a theatre or at home on DVD:

In the Valley of Elah *****
Blow ***
Hot Fuzz ****
Young Mr. Lincoln *****
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster ****

For the life of me, I can't find a star icon to use here other than the rather uninspiring asterisks I ended up using. Blogger's version of Wingdings doesn't contain anything looking like a star (other than a strangely outlined pentagon), but I'll try to find something a bit more visually dynamic for future posts.

There are a few comments I'd like to share about In the Valley of Elah, so watch this space.