Submitted for Feedback: The Official Legion M Movie Rating Scale

They say opinions are like elbows -- everyone has them and nobody cares about yours. That's not true though. Legion M cares deeply about yours.

That's because as a company owned by fans, we want to utilize your wisdom, passion, and experience. We believe our community is a lot smarter than we are (which is not really saying that much...), and that by finding creative ways to harness the "wisdom of the crowd" we can make better decisions for the benefit of the company and all its shareholders.

One area where your opinions are particularly relevant is the evaluation of movies. There's no "right" answer of course -- I may hate something and you may love it...and we can both be correct. However, in aggregate the opinions of the audience can be the difference between success and failure for a film.

One challenge with evaluating movies is the lack of a commonly accepted scale. Whether you are dealing with two thumbs up, a fresh vs. rotten tomato or 4.5 out of 5 star review, there's a lack of uniformity in ratings scales. If you give something 5 out of 5 stars is that because the movie is amazing, or because you are an easy grader? Is my 4 out of 5 the exact same as your 8 out of 10? What do you do when you think something is a 3.5 but you are forced to select a 3 or 4?

To address these problems we humbly propose the Official Legion M Rating Scale. This is what we use internally to ensure our ratings are apples to apples. We thought it was worth sharing for feedback.

Ratings are based on the following 5 point scale. Fractional scores are allowed (and yes, 3.786 is a valid rating for those that are so inclined).

5 - Excellent. One of the best movies you've seen in the past year. By definition, this should be a very small number of elite films -- the best of the best.

4 - Very Good. A movie you would recommend to most* of your friends. The number of films that fall into this category probably depends on how selective you are...both with your movies and your friends. For most people this equates to the top 20% of the movies they see.

3.14 - A movie that's particularly good with ice-cream.

3 - Average. An average movie is neither good nor bad. It just exists. This is the fat part of the bell curve, and for most people will represent 50% - 60% of the films they see.

2 - Bad. A movie you would warn most* of your friends to avoid. Once again, the number of films that fall into this category probably depends on your outlook and disposition. If you find more than 10%-20% of the movies you watch are 2s, we recommend you find a better way to choose movies. Or a good therapist.

1 - Horrible. A movie you hate with a white-hot passion. Hopefully you don't end up with too many of these in your life, but when you do we recommend following up immediately with a 3.14 rated movie to get the bad taste out of your mouth.

*****Note that we say "most" of your friends. That's because we know you hang out with one or two weirdos that will love all your 1s and 2s, and the one grouch that will hate all your 4s and 5s. Don't sweat it -- this is art after all. How boring life would be if we all liked the same things?!

That's our proposal -- tell us what you think! And feel free to rate it on whatever scale you choose.