Here are a couple of open source scripts for a star rating system
http://plugins.learningjquery.com/half-star-rating/
http://www.sayopenweb.com/star-ratin...ls-javascript/
I think it's a good idea. Maybe you can do a featured dump of like 5 or so thumbs that get a 5 star rating, or 4 - 5 star etc. It sounds like a little bit of work, but I can tell by how you write that you enjoy working with code.
If I am totally wrong, and you don't like dealing with the code, there is a tgp script that should have just about anything you would need,
http://www.jmbsoft.com/software/tgpx/.
Its like 60 or 70 bucks and you could mod it easily as they give you the complete source code.
Either way, best of luck.