Ranking Your Favorites
“Everyone likes to pick favorites when it comes to different things. Colors, ice cream flavors, books, video games, seasons, clothes, apps, fragrances, sneakers, and more. We thought it would be fun to hear some of the student and staff favorites, specifically when it comes to movies and TV shows.”
Everyone likes to pick favorites when it comes to different things. Colors, ice cream flavors, books, video games, seasons, clothes, apps, fragrances, sneakers, and more.
We thought it would be fun to hear some of the student and staff favorites, specifically when it comes to movies and TV shows. After watching each selection for at least one hour, we made a list of each show or movie recommended to us by people in this community.
This list includes a final score, ranking, and our final thoughts based on 5 factors: creativity, likeability, the target demographic, price, and runtime. Enjoyable movies got higher scores in likeability, movies that matched the expected audience’s expectations got higher scores for target demographic, and movies that had good pacing had higher scores in runtime. We asked everyone we interviewed what they felt would make a movie fit into these categories to help us rank each movie properly.
We hope that you may find something new to watch by the end of this article.
The Last Airbender (2010) - Not Recommended by Ms. Medina
Originality/Creativity: 1.5/5
Likeability: 1/5
Target Demographic: 1/5
Availability/Price: 5/5
Runtime: 1/5
Overall Score: 9.5/25 = 38%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: The Last Airbender has a lot of inaccuracies, but it also tries to fit all of Book 1 into one movie, which causes major issues with pacing. The acting suffers from this decision as well, since the characters do not get enough time to have any development that feels natural. If you’re a fan of Avatar, you should avoid this movie. And if you aren’t, this movie probably isn’t for you either.
Matilda The Musical (2022) - Not Recommended by Anonymous
Originality/Creativity: 3.25/5
Likeability: 3.25/5
Target Demographic: 3/5
Availability/Price: 2.5/5
Runtime: 3/5
Overall Score: 15/25 = 60%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: While Matilda the Musical is an adaptation of the book “Matilda,” the movie takes its own creative liberties when it comes to the story. The movie isn’t bad, but it just isn’t something that I would normally watch. This version sets itself apart from its predecessors in a way that makes it feel closer to being a separate story to them.
Jaria’s thoughts after watching: Matilda the Musical was quite whimsical. There was a lot of childhood joy that was in the air while watching and it brought a sense of inner peace for me.
Power Book II - Recommended by Destiny Francis
Originality/Creativity: 3/5
Likeability: 3/5
Target Demographic: 3.5/5
Availability/Price: 2/5
Runtime: 4/5
Overall Score: 15.5/25 = 62%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: I didn’t have as much time to watch this as the others on this list, but Power Book II definitely makes sure it stands out within its first few minutes. Episode 1 fills in the audience with what happened previously, so that they won’t miss too much of the context from Book I.
The Greatest Showman - Recommended by Aaron Williams
Originality/Creativity: 4/5
Likeability: 4/5
Target Demographic: 3/5
Availability/Price: 3/5
Runtime: 3.5/5
Overall Score: 17.5/25 = 70%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: The Greatest Showman is a great movie in its storytelling, music, and aesthetics. I found it engaging throughout its runtime, and I plan on finishing it later. I would genuinely recommend this to anyone who's looking for something fun to watch later.
Jaria’s thoughts after watching: The Greatest Showman is a captivating movie that tells a story that the viewers may love to see. Watching this was like being in my childhood era again.
The Good Place - Recommended by Prince Hall
Originality/Creativity: 3.5/5
Likeability: 3/5
Target Demographic: 3/5
Availability/Price: 4/5
Runtime: 4/5
Overall Score: 17.5/25 = 70%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: The Good Place is about how Eleanor Shellstrop finds herself in “The Good Place,” rather than ending up in “The Bad Place” where she thinks she belongs. Episode 1 puts a focus on Eleanor’s negative traits while Episode 2 focuses more on her attempts to stay in The Good Place by becoming a better person.
Frozen - Not Recommended by Abdulhaqq Ibrahim
Originality/Creativity: 3.5/5
Likeability: 3.5/5
Target Demographic: 3.5/5
Availability/Price: 3.5/5
Runtime: 4.5/5
Overall Score: 18.5/25 = 74%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: Frozen is a movie that many of us may have grown up with, and yet I can understand where people are coming from when they say they don’t like this movie. I feel like it has less to do with the movie itself, and more with how often we’ve had to hear the same songs on repeat. Eventually it can get annoying, but the movie isn’t ruined for me because of that.
Jaria’s thoughts after watching: Frozen brought me back to my childhood days. I love the sisterhood bond that was going on throughout the film, as well as the action scenes.
My Neighbor Totoro - Recommended by Jason Wright
Originality/Creativity: 4/5
Likeability: 4/5
Target Demographic: 3.5/5
Availability/Price: 3/5
Runtime: 4/5
Overall Score: 18.5/25 = 74%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: My Neighbor Totoro is a charming movie because of its simplicity. The characters are very expressive, which allows for the movie to stand out. This movie is great if you are looking for something calm and cheerful to watch this weekend.
Grey’s Anatomy - Recommended by Ms. Kniesh
Originality/Creativity: 3/5
Likeability: 3/5
Target Demographic: 4/5
Availability/Price: 5/5
Overall Score: 19/25 = 76%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: You can’t learn everything about a character from one episode, but you can begin to learn how each character may connect or clash with the rest of the main cast. Grey’s Anatomy’s first episode follows 5 surgical interns on their first shift, choosing to focus more specifically on Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, and George O’Malley.
Top Boy - Recommended by Mahamadou Drammeh
Originality/Creativity: 4.25/5
Likeability: 4.25/5
Target Demographic: 4.5/5
Availability/Price: 4/5
Runtime: 4.5/5
Overall Score: 21.5/25 = 86%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: Top Boy’s first episode “Bruk Up” switches between the perspectives of Jamie and Dushane as they both navigate through their lives of crime. This episode sets up the overall plot for the rest of the series, and does it in a compelling way. I might even take the time to watch more episodes to see if I want to finish the show.
Jaria’s thoughts after watching: Top Boy is a unique show that is really snagging while giving insight of what the real world could be like. There is a bit of violence in the show, but it shows what could be a reality for someone else.
Rush Hour - Recommended by Mahamadou Sylla
Originality/Creativity: 4/5
Likeability: 5/5
Target Demographic: 5/5
Availability/Price: 5/5
Runtime: 4.5/5
Overall Score: 23.5/25 = 94%
Jasmine’s thoughts after watching: Carter and Lee have a character dynamic that I’ve seen often, but it always works so well. Rush Hour is a fun and engaging movie, and I’m surprised that I’ve never heard about it until now. It definitely would have been a classic for me.