Your article gives a great insight to your approach towards film criticism. I can now see why having no rating works so easily for you. I developed my 4(5) star system back in 1990, and I don't know why I left it for so long. It does give that shorthand, while at the same time clearing up that cloudy issue of recommending a film with a lower star rating, because my system is all about how much I would recommend the film to others. If all you're going to read is my star rating, then you know I recommend anything 3 stars or more.