In your opinion, what makes a movie good? Give some examples and why you think this movie is good.

For me, one of the single most important parts of films is the sound effects. I love the movie Romeo Must Die. Because of my dad's profesion, I get to see the difference between a film with complete sound mixing and a film with just straight diagenic/location sound. Not only is there a huge difference, but the location sound is just boring. Simple dialogue with maybe a few hits and bird chirps. That's all you get. But after you spend a good amount of time with a scene, you can add a lot. Voiceovers and other non-diagenic sounds make a world of difference. A good film has to have a good sound job. If it doesn't, it may be the most impressively visual film EVER, but if it sounds like crap, then it's really not going to work for me.

Then again, if done right, some silent films can be amazing. But the only way they can work without sound, is if there is a lot of style put into the picture. Constant cuts and shifts of the scene are a must; without the changing angles and shots you'd get pretty bored. Pans, tracking shots and zooms are helpful things as well, because they can add dimension to the film. Also, with a pan in the right place, you almost feel like you're actually in the film. Also, the right kinds of dissolves or cuts between scenes are extremely important. You can't go from an extremely dramatic scene to a happy bright one, without a dissolve. You just can't make that an automatic cut.

Movies require depth. That normally starts in the script, which has to have a beginning, middle and end. If it doesn't, the movie will suck.

Tits. Nice, firm, round, natural.

And a good solid story.

According to Tony Scott on the True Romance commentary, it takes three really good scenes, no bad ones.

Boobs. Lots of them.

It's simple for me: It's entertaining.

And I use a broad definition simply meaning not boring. Entertaining can mean exciting, thrilling, funny, thought provoking, disturbing etc.

Though that seems lazy, I'd agree!

[dvdtalk]Foreigner director, subtitles[/dvdtalk]


I'm actually with Josh on this.

Fucking Christ, I was going to come in here and post witty on what DVDTalkers consider the key factor in a good movie but it looks like I was beat to the punch with honest-to-God answers of which I was going to make fun of.

Years ago, a DVDTalker seriously posted that the thing that made The Matrix great was a scene where somebody gets shot point-blank in the head. No kidding.

Since then, I've made that my personal criteria to judge all movies by.

Interesting some posters referenced women, because I was going to post that a good movie is like a good woman. You can't simply select a good woman based on a clear cut list of criteria. It's a complex mix of several factors, and when they work all together, they work wonderfully. And, like women, many different types appeal to so many different types as well. A woman I wouldn't touch with a ten foot poll might be somebody's prized catch, and a movie you may despise may be somebody's all time favorite. It's all subjective.

Something that doesn't take it's audience for complete idiots (for example, huge plot holes)

and bush. but not too much.

Movies are too dynamic to put any sort of criteria on. The only things I look out for these days are originality, if it's well made, and how entertaining it is

To quote Gene Siskel:

"A good movie has at least three good scenes, and no bad scenes."

Totally agree... you can argue endlessly, but this is what it comes to... was it entertaining for you?

I agree. I could never peg down what makes a movie good, as different movies are good for different reasons.

For instance, I love and admire films like Schindler's List, Casablanca or Rear Window. These films in general are considered great, and excel in many of the categories that make people admire a film...good writing, good direction, depth of character, a well plotted and interesting story. And of course, entertainment.

But I like other films that don't really even fit into that mold. I love horror films. As many might know, most horror films have a lot of problems, from bad writing, cliche characters or a cheap look. No, there are some horror films that stand out but I enjoy the genre and love many horror films beyond that.

So it does come down to entertainment, but a film in my mind can be "good" based upon gratuitous things, like tits, explosions, mass violence. I love Rambo 2, which has thin characters, idiotic dialogue, ridiculous leaps in logic, but god damn does Rambo blow a lot of shit up real good.

So yes, I'd agree entertainment is key...but entertainment comes in different forms, not necessarily the wham bam roller coaster feel. Sometimes "entertainment" can be a strong emotional reaction. But again, reasons vary too much from film to film for me to specify. In general, I try not to walk into films with a preset checklist of things to look for.

Not having Uwe Boll a part of it.

Kung-fu fighting.

That's what Ebert says on the Casablanca commentary. And goes on to say Casablanca has zero bad scenes and about 6 really good ones. I agree.

Monkeys and/or midgets.

If you can believe the biography section of the imdb, Howard Hawks said it too. Anybody else?

Oh hell...well then I guess I'll just claim it as my own quote too!

Zombies