[[Opinion]What makes a movie "bad" or "good"

For me, I'd say it has to be believable (or the type of unbelievable that's still believable) , dramatic, action packed, funny, suspenseful, and/or thought provoking. Attractive female actresses are always a huge plus.

I don't think that's asking for too much.

 

Is it super predictable? bad
Has it been done before? (see above) bad
Is the dialog/acting wooden/fake/false/no one would do/say that? bad



Production value is icing for me. I have seen some really good low budget movies.


I also get turned off by "pretentious" movies, though, too. Tree of Life, for example, was theoretically a great movie, but I couldn't get over the pretentious execution. I prefer a more palpable presentation.

 

Witty comedies are good. (Dr. Strangelove, Princess Bride, Coen Brothers, Ocean's Eleven, 500 Days of Summer, etc)

Dramas that make sense, compelling storyline, no deus ex machina to save the day, people act like real people (Shawshank Redemption, Good Will Hunting, Gravity, The Social Network, etc)

Drama that don't necessarily make sense when looked at under a microscope, but do a good job of handling emotions (The Dark Knight, Titanic, Truman Show, etc)

 

I love movies with great stories and character development.

I can respect and even love movies with great acting and a mediocre storyline (Lincoln) or ones that incite emotion and put you into a different mood (like the effect Tree of Life had on people, except I actually hated Tree of Life).

I can like movies that entertain me. Elysium was "entertaining" to me, but it wasn't a "good" movie. Especially compared to District 9 which I loved.

Was a upset I spent 2 hours watching the newest Planet of the Apes because it was rated well? No. Would I watch it again? Hell no. Did I like it? Nope.

The toughest category to win with me would be comedy. There are maybe 5 comedies I actually like.

 

It's all about the characters for me. They have to be interesting and realistic. Have to have depth.

I love a good story. One that takes you somewhere and makes you think. I hate movie cliches.

I don't really like the big summer blockbusters with the amazing special effects, cool soundtrack and big name actors. I'll take The Godfather over the latest Transformer movie any day of the week.

 

Depends on the genre, actors and director.

Movies don't have to be ORIGINAL.

I'm ok with an Action movie having some cliched plot points if the action is good.

I'm ok with Drama doing the same story again, if the acting and power of the film is great.

If it's a tried and true director, I'm going to hold every one of their movies to their own gold standard. Classic Example: The Matrix. Poor Wachowskis can never live up to that, but the sequels were serviceable (but really, big fighting robots with no protection for the pilots? stupid, guys).

Same with actors- they have to live up to their own standard.

If an unknown comes out of the blue with an awesome flick, like District 9, I go in with pretty low expectations.

 

There are too many factors really (all the normal stuff), and those factors have different weight for different people. For most, I think it's all about how lost you get in the movie.

If I find myself constantly being kicked back to reality by things I don't like about the movie as I'm watching it, then I'm not going to enjoy it as much.

If I find myself constantly getting wowed by something in the movie or evoking some feeling in me, then I'm probably going to like that movie.

I will say this though, endings are HUGE. So many recent movies have dropped a whole tier because I didn't like the ending...and others have went up because the ending was so great.

 

If it can stimulate my imagination and bring out the kid in me.

I want to walk out thinking "man I wanna be like that!" or in a similar situation.

 

1) What was the message of the movie? If the only message is non-controversial (i.e. racism is bad) then I am turned off. The movie's position should also agree with my position on whatever the issue is.

2) How memorable is the movie? Usually a month or even a week after viewing the film, I try to think of what scenes I remember vividly. If I struggle to remember anything then that is a black mark against the movie to me. This criteria is more applicable to action and comedy movies that may not have a message. This is a good aggregate of everything that goes into a film (story, directing, acting, lighting, etc....)

 

Character development, pace, and dialogue are probably what keep me interested in most films / shows.

Now, there are different expectations I have for different genres: for scifi/fantasy/superhero, I want great (and fairly believable) world-building embedded in the story. For action movies I want really, really intense action (think: The Raid) otherwise... why even make it an action film? Those are just a couple examples.

Aside from character development, pace, and dialogue I'd like a good score and nice cinematography, but those are both "nice to haves" for me.

 

this is what makes a good movie scene

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If you can get a clear sense of what the film-maker was trying to accomplish, and then be able to determine whether or not they accomplished it, then that is one good measuring stick:

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It doesn't necessarily follow though, that you will always ENJOY a 'good' movie, nor that you will always HATE a 'bad' movie.

For example, I *enjoy* Corky Romano, but would I consider it a particularly good movie? No, not really.

By the same token, take a movie which is historically considered a 'great' movie, such as Midnight Cowboy. Didn't care much for it, but I can understand why people revere it.

Then of course, you look at the 'Gold Standard' movies, among the all-time greats, such as Silence of the Lambs.. I love that movie and could watch it endlessly.

Sometimes a movie just seems like it was made specifically for you - and it's ok that most other people just didn't seem to 'see' it.. there have been plenty of movies like that for me, just picking a name a random, something like Gentlemen Broncos comes to mind. I really think I see what Hess is trying to do in his movies, but I totally understand why a majority of people are mystified by them.

And then there are 'popular' types of movies that I just never watch and cannot stand - things like slasher/horror/murder-p*rn movies. Things like Saw, or Hostel, or the constant stream of supernatural horror movies, going all the way back to Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.. and everything like that between then and now. Any number of those could be 'great', but I just don't care and never will, because I cannot stomach watching them.

Each movie will speak to you differently than it speaks to anyone else, so it's primarily personal preference. But for flaws in a movie, and there are always flaws, look at the Youtube channel 'Everything Wrong With _______', that guy breaks down logic and story lapses better than anyone.

Oh .. and if a movie has Susan Sarandon in it, it's bad.

 

Characters, lighting, setting and especially music. I don't really care if the movie doesn't have a plot, but I usually pay a lot of attention to those other things mentioned.

 

A good movie is probably directed by a Coen, a Thomas Anderson, a Linklater, Nolan, Fincher, Aronofsky, etc. I tend to gravitate toward a director I trust but even they can have mediocre or bad films.

A bad movie probably features Kevin Hart.

 

expectations delivered and exceeded > expectations not met

 

I'm looking for deeper meaning of life