Yeah yeah, cinematography, acting, story, yada yada blah blubbidy blah. What about the small touches, the attention to fine detail that you think puts one movie a cut above the rest?
Me, I'm concerned with how easily a movie converts to a significantly smaller screen. Yeah, something like, say, Tron: Legacy looks pretty nice in theater and on a billion inch HDTV, but when you put it on a laptop, even in 1080p blu-ray, it seems to lose some of its luster. On the other hand, Office Space is one of my favorite movies of all time, and you'd better believe it looks right at home on a laptop, HD or not.
I like it when the characters in a movie have a simple, believable chemistry and relationship. One of the reasons why I like Ocean's 11 (and 12 and 13) is how well the characters work together in professional and friendly relationships. Because it isn't complicated, I, as a viewer, can concentrate more on the story and the individual characters conflicts and antics, which I think was the biggest draw of the movies.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, when a film tries to dim-wittedly squish two people into a relationship, it becomes downright painful. Case in point: Padme and Anakin in Episode II. Those two are about as in love as a woman and a gay sperm donor. I think if they had made their relationship a little less complicated and less cloyingly sweet (and if Hayden Christensen had more acting range than a set of traffic lights, but that's beside the point) the romance between them might have been more believable and less crap.
I like movies that are fun for the sake of being fun. The 5th Element, Mystery Men, Office Space, Zombieland, Speed Racer, Basketball, the list goes on. Oh sure, there are probably mixed reviews for most of the movies I mentioned, but you can't deny that all involved are having a damn good time making the whole thing.
A movie that shoehorns a romantic sub-plot into the story is tolerable, as long as the viewer isn't beaten over the head with it. If we have a big damn action movie that is ground to a halt so the two romantics can look at each other longingly for even five minutes, that's not always a good thing.
Anyone remember the movie Chicken Little? It thought it was almost entirely "meh" but there's a moment - just a moment, and no longer - where our hero, on his way to save the day, stops by his little lady-friend and says very quickly how he likes her and they should totally have a relationship once the main conflict is resolved. He then steals a quick kiss and runs off. I thought it was very well executed, and I'd like to see more of that.
*insert phrase that opens up the question to general discussion here*
Me, I'm concerned with how easily a movie converts to a significantly smaller screen. Yeah, something like, say, Tron: Legacy looks pretty nice in theater and on a billion inch HDTV, but when you put it on a laptop, even in 1080p blu-ray, it seems to lose some of its luster. On the other hand, Office Space is one of my favorite movies of all time, and you'd better believe it looks right at home on a laptop, HD or not.
I like it when the characters in a movie have a simple, believable chemistry and relationship. One of the reasons why I like Ocean's 11 (and 12 and 13) is how well the characters work together in professional and friendly relationships. Because it isn't complicated, I, as a viewer, can concentrate more on the story and the individual characters conflicts and antics, which I think was the biggest draw of the movies.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, when a film tries to dim-wittedly squish two people into a relationship, it becomes downright painful. Case in point: Padme and Anakin in Episode II. Those two are about as in love as a woman and a gay sperm donor. I think if they had made their relationship a little less complicated and less cloyingly sweet (and if Hayden Christensen had more acting range than a set of traffic lights, but that's beside the point) the romance between them might have been more believable and less crap.
I like movies that are fun for the sake of being fun. The 5th Element, Mystery Men, Office Space, Zombieland, Speed Racer, Basketball, the list goes on. Oh sure, there are probably mixed reviews for most of the movies I mentioned, but you can't deny that all involved are having a damn good time making the whole thing.
A movie that shoehorns a romantic sub-plot into the story is tolerable, as long as the viewer isn't beaten over the head with it. If we have a big damn action movie that is ground to a halt so the two romantics can look at each other longingly for even five minutes, that's not always a good thing.
Anyone remember the movie Chicken Little? It thought it was almost entirely "meh" but there's a moment - just a moment, and no longer - where our hero, on his way to save the day, stops by his little lady-friend and says very quickly how he likes her and they should totally have a relationship once the main conflict is resolved. He then steals a quick kiss and runs off. I thought it was very well executed, and I'd like to see more of that.
*insert phrase that opens up the question to general discussion here*
