About
How we review
Every review has a person's name on it, a score out of ten, one line of verdict, and an answer to the only question that matters on a Friday night: is it worth the ticket?
The score
Halves are allowed. The word next to the number is fixed, so a 7 from one of us means the same as a 7 from another:
- 10 Classic
- 9 Essential
- 8 Great
- 7 Good
- 6 Fine
- 5 Mixed
- 4 Weak
- 3 Bad
- 2 Awful
- 1 Avoid
- 0 Avoid
The call
- Worth the ticket. See it at the cinema.
- Stream it tonight. Worth your subscription.
- Wait for streaming. Fine at home. Not worth the ticket.
- Skip it. Your time is worth more.
The call isn't the score in other words. A 6 can be worth the ticket if it's built for a big screen; a 9 can be a "stream it tonight" if it's a quiet two-hander.
Whose score is "ours"
When one of us reviews a film, that review is Screenism's verdict, and its score is the one that sits next to IMDb's and Rotten Tomatoes'. If someone else on the team disagrees, they can write a second opinion. It runs under their name with their own score, and shows on the film's page beside the main review. We'd rather show the argument than hide it.
Against the crowd
Our score always sits next to the crowd's. When we're far from IMDb or the critics, we say so in the review and say why.
What we owe you
- We pay for our own tickets and subscriptions. If a cinema or a studio ever gives us a free screening, the review says so.
- Nobody pays for a review or a score.
- No spoilers past the first act without a warning.
- Some reviews start as a voice note and get typed up for the reviewer. The opinion and the score are always theirs, and they approve every word before it goes up.
Write for us
Send a review on WhatsApp, as text or a voice note, with your score, your one-line verdict and your call. If it runs, it runs under your name, with a page of your own. See who we are.