AlainAKoningverdraag

Greetings from beyond.

First of all, I base my rating on the entertainment/educational value of a film, and obviously it will be different for a documentary; as that often goes beyond simply entertainment. The other things follow after. My reviews are based on whether or not a movie entertains me, and or teaches me about and or reminds me of key points in life. Of course, the quality of acting, technical aspects of production such as editing, soundtrack, coherency of the story, and reasonable character development, do play important parts in the overall effect on me; the viewer.

It's also very important to have a fairly extensive knowledge of older/classical films, especially the big-budget blockbusters of years past; without which, it would be unfair and even less than believable, to attempt to even give critique on a film; because then you would criticize without a foundation to base your criticism on. Know what came before, and go from there; with an open mind.

A big budget alone, A-list actors, and established directors, do not guarantee anything. Other than that particular production will usually be expensive, have some big-name stars, and a VIP director; nothing more.
A+ or movies which score a 9-10 on IMDB require a a combination of so many factors - and they all need to be on point; relevant to the times.

TheTopDawgCritic said it best:
"What I aim to critique are the key factors that make a film - directing, writing, cinematography, editing, casting, S/VFX, length/pace, sound/score, entertainment value, etc."