Introduction

        I think it best if I use this first post to introduce myself and my methods. I am Ryan Hood and I really like watching movies. Really I love anything that tells a story, but I prefer drama to reading. I go to the odd play when I can (a couple of old friends are wonderful actors that are just starting out and I've been blessed to watch their various offerings over the years), but I spend a great deal of time and money watching movies and TV.
        Now, I am not an organized man externally, but in my mind, I demand strict organization of my thoughts. For this reason, I began the "Re-watching Project" when I was 16 or so. I wanted to watch film in a different way, more intentionally and more intelligently. The very first movie I rated was Karakter, a Dutch film that I haven't seen since, which I watched with some friends at the house of one of our teachers. Since then I've watched and rated quite a large number of films. I intend to post my full list soon.
        I came up with a very specific method that has served me well. I use on a large scale the five star rating system of Netflix, which I find to be very useful and intuitively brilliant. If you're not familiar, its ratings go in order: 1 star, I really don't like it; 2 stars, I don't like it; 3 stars, I like it; 4 stars, I really like it; and 5 stars, I love it. This guides me well in my initial reactions to films. I will only write up on this site 5 star movies, so if you want to know what movies not to watch, this isn't the place for that.
        Within this system I have a thirty point rating system, with three categories of ten points each. These categories are wit, wisdom, and wonder. Wit encompasses writing and acting, a great deal of what goes into movie making from my perspective. Wisdom is about the quality of the intended message. I think that all media, as the name suggests, are intended to convey some truth and the extent to which they do that from my perspective is a legitimate criterion for judgment. Wonder is flash. It is all the other things for which they give Oscars. It is set design and directing and that style or bold choice that sets it apart, like the silent, black and white the Artist or Michael Fassbender's astounding weight loss for Hunger. So that's my system and my rules. I hope you enjoy and are benefited by this blog.