Movie Rating Catalog

I will try my best to keep this page as up-to-date as possible. I may even change the rules or what I feel for the movies, or do nothing at all.

I have crossed many movies too. It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000s when I decided to employ a rating system for my movie reviews in my past blogging days.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are so many of the flicks I have seen and given ratings all over the place, that I have made the convenience to post them all here.

This rating system is called the “Acorn” rating… Yes, because I’m a bloody squirrel Furry.

Basically, my criteria is stupendously simple…

I live for high-octane, blood-boiling action movies, and piss-your-pants, side-splitting comedy flicks. Or a harmonious combination of the two. However, as long as I live, I will be seeing other movies too, so they should get in on this as well.

I need the following criteria for a movie to be good in my eyes… But it’s quite alright because my reviews don’t mean much more than my thoughts:

• A well-built story. A few intricacies here and there; enough to follow the movie’s intent; or something that really jogs my thinking deeper.
• Strong Composition. There are some movies that got me sucked into their world and made me want more things to happen. Other ones I can tell were all like, “alright let us shoot this scene and get this overwith”. If the composition was put together well enough to have its own life, then this is an enormous plus.
• Ability to Inspire. I love being creative. When I see a movie that makes me think of wanting to build something of my own in its like, then it clearly won my heart as a fan.
• Face-melting amounts of action. No other movie genre on earth can get me piped and on the edge of my seat. I could probably enjoy a movie with nothing more than gunfire and explosions for 2.5 hours straight; and not a story in sight… But the story really does help to get me geared.
• Tons of laughs. As a hedonist, I’m not that crazy about sad stuff, unless there’s a really good reason for it in the story. Otherwise, a movie that’s jam-packed with laughter will also win my heart. I love to laugh. Slapstick is an enormous plus in this arena; granted if done right.
• A sweet blend of action and comedy. Put my two favorite things together and you could do a great deal here.

Even after all of this, I may get deep into review on the movie’s intricacies, like things that really caught my attention or something, and it may have nothing to do with the criteria above.

Santo’s Acorn Ratings List

0/5 Acorns

The absolute worst movies I have ever seen. Plain and simple. Perhaps I literally decided to stop seeing it. If I see anything worse than these listed, because it’s not even close to as good as these, I’ll bump into the negatives. Otherwise, this is the pits.

• None yet!

1/5 Acorns

Something peaked my interest. I may not have cared for everything else about the movie, but an iota of it had some significance for me to rate it better than 0.

• None yet!

2/5 Acorns

Just about up the way. It may have had a moment that made me think a lot more into the movie, despite the rest of it being not that great to me.

• None yet!

3/5 Acorns

Decent movie. I can give credit where due. But eh.

• None yet!

4/5 Acorns

A pretty cool movie. It did most of its homework to impress me.

• None yet!

5/5 Acorns

Great friggin’ movie! I’d definitely look into picking me up a copy.

• None yet!

+/5 Acorns

Anything greater than 5 Acorns most likely went above and beyond my wanton thirst for action and/or laughs; along with a jam-packed and gripping story. You would have had a few laughs if you saw me watch these flicks. They’re that good.

• None yet!

Santo’s Money Tips

I had a cute idea of writing a pamphlet on the different money-management strategies I have employed and learned throughout my life with wealth-building in mind.

Then I remembered I had a blog. So I’ll put it up here.

In fact, screw it… I’m also going to tell you that this one post sums up about a few hundred dollars worth of literature I grabbed at the library that all taught me the same damn rhetoric.

1. Always remember: Your income must exceed your expenses; ideally by light-years, but go as far as you can.

   Remembering this engages you to think of how you can cut your expenses, and/or increase your income. If your expenses are too high or your income is too low (even if your expenses are lower), you are sort of pushed into finding ways out of the squeeze.

   I once heard a statement that goes, “it’s not what you make, but what you keep”. This is a half-truth… Consider that if you don’t make anything, what the hell can you save? You need income; bottom line.

2. If you are making anything, save what you do make for later uses.

   Saving, or as most books like to call it, “paying yourself first”, is almost essential. Ultimately, it’s up to you what you do with the money. Maybe buy that gadget you want, or invest, or safe-keep it, or whatever. The idea is you have money at the ready.

3. Invest ONLY in income-oriented funds, that have a nice, steady, gradual, and dedicated history.

   Common financial advice says to invest in growth early in your life because you have time to weigh out the fluctuations and gain a part of that overall rate of growth since the stock exchange recorded its history… Not me; I want the money I threw away my precious time commodity on to have superb (note: not perfect) stability, and more importantly, build me some income.

4. Use a cash-back credit card with no annual fees or other bullshit on everything you spend, from groceries to bills to taxes to toys to anything. And pay it all off after the fact.

   Consider buying exactly everything you do on a normal basis with a plain card, or even cash. Now suppose you got money back just from making that payment. Whether you call it a reduction on your expenses, or a stream of income, is up to you, but the idea is why not cushion the blow?

   My only exception to this rule is gasoline. Companies have gotten notorious for adding to the charge card an extra $0.10+ on top of what it would cost to use paper cash… Even if it’s a debit card… Unless the gasoline is the lowest price in the area, and you are charged the same price between cash or charge, then and only then is it the best move to use the card.

5. If you can, max out your retirement account per year.

   You’re going to get old one day. Why not get ahead of the game and get some tax-free income building on itself over the years?

6. Pick up every damn coin/dollar you find on the ground.

   There is more money in the ground than in circulation. What would it hurt you to tap into this source for an income?

7. Use Coupons.

   I hate seeing things like food or toiletries go to waste because no one’s buying them. I’ve seen party goods get thrown out by the bulk, so I can’t imagine food… But I don’t blame it happening when there’s a high price. Use a coupon, knock ‘em down, and get it as cheap as possible.

8. The best way to shop is to shop around for the best deal.

   Note every gas station or supermarket on your commute. Compare the prices on the stuff you normally buy. Grab the cheapest deal.

9. If you live with others, consider a financial alliance.

   You’re all in the same place, so why not pay for the same shelter, food, and other common goods in the household? Everyone gets to use it, and pay cheap for it. You might even consider doing something like a household tax system.

   Another fun idea, if possible, is to work an agreement out with any friends who are on the commute to your work and back, to basically camp there to help cut commute costs.

10. If your workplace has amenities, use them.

    Suppose where you work has a locker room and a shower handy… Why spend your water bill at home when you’re already there?

11. If your career offers benefits package, milk ‘em dry.

    Plain and simple. If you can get free this or discount that on something you need or want, use it.

12. Research the snot out of any prospective engagement you get into.
    Feel like getting into business? Perhaps that stock is interesting you? Whatever it is, research it, because your cash is going in on it. Why lose it to an ugly scheme or miscalculation?
13. Debt is a dangerous fucking tool to use in an unsteady and no-guarantees economy. Unless you absolutely know what you are doing with it, stay away from it like the plague.

    Debt is debt. Whether good or bad is purely anyone’s own judgment. The idea is you borrow money because you need it right away, then put it to use, and you pay it back over time. But the whole “interest” thing changes the entire ball-game. Now it’s an industry to lend, just from that principle (it’s called ‘banking’). If you’re going to borrow, your best bet is to put it into something that either generates money back; or is worth something to you and manage the hell out of its stake in your finances. For example, we all need a car to get to work to build our income, but you shouldn’t pay top-dollar on payments that could easily translate to your gas money instead. Again, do some shopping, preparing, and researching… Remember, they get rich off your back.

Bathroom Hand-Dryer Trick

A lot of interesting things happen when people need to amuse themselves. Soaped paper towels on bathroom ceilings, or Dry-Ice Bombs, or whatever….

One such thing I hope no one else discovered yet, I discovered myself when I went to a public restroom.

If you are familiar with those high-powered hand dryers like “XLERATOR” or whatever… I used one of them to dry my hands, and I noticed a fart sound.

I was curious. I held the position again, and it was a success… I generated long streams of fart noise through a hand dryer.

The trick?

Take the meat of the thumb at the heel (like, above the first joint before your wrist) on both hands, bring them gently close together (enough for hot air to push through, not tight or open), and get the fast air between the two heels.

Nice little gag I discovered, and now I have it written.

By the way, I discovered it long before I started the blog.