* * * The Thing about Grading Movies * * *

Movies can represent two things in philosophical ethics:

1. How things have been done (and haven't changed since Neanderthal times) and the myths used to maintain the status quo - and unfortunately these are 90% of the movies. If by mistake I pick one to see, I would consider it a waste of my money if I didn't include a scathing review of it.

If they promote violence, perverse use of animals to human domination, women in pathetic subjugation to men, violation of the weak by the physically strong - this is what will keep savagery around. Never mind that I can't change centuries of this thinking which is insidious to bolly and hollywoods ... I give these movies 3 stars or less (* * *)

or
2. A new idea or a concept that can change 'how we view the world' (ontology) or 'how we [learn to] do things' (epistemology): the difference between "living" and "doing" and "where we live" and "how can we know".
After all, cinema is a reflection of a real world like song and story, sometimes including song and story, we learn to see and hear and learn to live. The value is in it's ability to make us approach life differently giving us a greater flexibility. If a movie can add such value, I give it 4 stars or more (* * * *)

The world may or may not change in my time to a life-promoting, just and equitable world across species and gender, but I'll put my back to the wheel of karma to turn it in that direction. :)