SteelTycho

I think there are no special atribute a good movie must have. It only need to have a good and coherent atmosphere. (But a movie which starts wiht a big explosion, cant be so bad.)

Its very interesting because some movies start out good or as you said with an Explosion but have a really bad ending to it :/
((only if they knew how to use explosions correctly hahahaha jk))

For me, the factors would be:

*High quality visual effects
*Fitting atmosphere
*Action (but not just some mindless shooting or something like that)
*Intriguing plot.

And there is something else. Military. The more tanks, aircrafts, etc. the better.

Yeah, I agree with you.
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Some movies don't have those things. For me the quality of the actors in being the character is one of the factors as well. And also, mystery movies are rock! Sometimes they really get into it...

It's actually not that hard to find good movies, the problem is that you aren't looking for them.. in the right spot. Think about it. Lets say every year they come out with 6 good movies. Now lets say you go back to when "talkies" were first becoming the big thing in the 30's (metropolis is an awesome silent movie btw). 2009 - 1930 = 79 * 6 = 474. And I bet you haven't seen most of them either. I kinda realized this one day when I wanted to see a movie but couldn't think of anything I wanted to see... and I also realized that this was pretty common. But what about all those movies I hadn't seen?

So I looked it up online and started to watch classic movies. Now Citizen Kane which is reported to be the greatest film of all time is a bit too intellectual for me, but there are seriously a lot of awesome older movies. Just look up a list online and start checking into titles that may interest you.

Chances are you've seen many of the same movies as the friends you hang out with, but the nice thing about the Internet is that you can chat with people who are very different from you. Exchange movie lists and talk about why they think some films were good. If you make friends with one of those artsy people into films they'll have an endless list believe me.

Also go to blockbuster or some place and check out the foreign film section. There's really some great stuff in there.

Now Citizen Kane which is reported to be the greatest film of all time is a bit too intellectual for me, but there are seriously a lot of awesome older movies.

Citizen Kane is held with such high regard because of the innovations it brought to filmmaking, not necessarily for its plot and acting. It's difficult to use modern standards on films such as those since they've influenced modern film to such a great extent. Citizen Kane is definitely amazing from a production standpoint, but it's not exactly the most enthralling film I've seen. It's not a crime to not find it entertaining. :)

I can't really say I know for sure what makes a good film. I think it's a capable director. The genre and plot don't much matter one way or the other if the person responsible for them is unskilled.

What makes a good film?

A sense of purpose, snappy writing, a sountrack that doesn't make me want to gouge my ears out, good filmography, symbolism that isn't overtly gag-worthy, humour (no topic is too serious to be without a joke or six) and most of all, good acting.

The characters need not be well-done to make a good film.
It's not a novel; film is a visual medium.

Piano

Citizen Kane is definitely amazing from a production standpoint, but it's not exactly the most enthralling film I've seen. It's not a crime to not find it entertaining. :)

I know what you mean. I actually did like the film, but having seen a lot of parodies and read a few things about it I was well aware that there was a deeper meaning in the movie. I'd hate to have watched that all the way through and then think "what in the hell is that?" right at the end. Some movies are interesting to see, just to see them. I think Citizen Kane was more along that line.

Then again I always used to hate English class where the teacher would make you read crap, then explain to you the symbolism and what it really meant. Shakespear especially. I like deeper themes to things yes, but I don't really like over thinking things at the same time. But maybe I'm too used to parking my brain whenever I watch a movie.

Fluxbox: Yeah, I know what you mean there. Even though I also found it entertaining, it did drag a bit. If you're interested in classic film that's also enjoyable to watch (on a pure entertainment level), definitely check out Hitchcock's works like Psycho (you've probably already seen this), Rear Window, North by Northwest, etc. Hitchcock was a genius filmmaker, but he also didn't get too deep and pretentious with his films. From all the directors of the golden/silver era of film, I would definitely say Hitchcock's stand the test of the time the best.

Of course, I merely state my own opinions, but I'm sure some others share them. Hitchcock is still very well revered according to sites like imdb and whatnot. Makes me happy. :)

Thank you all very much for your comments!I learned alot from them.lol

Good movies are a combination of things a story that intrigues, characters that relate to the audience, actors that know what their doing, and a director with true vision and talent.

A good movie can be whatever the Individual likes. There is too much difference in opinion and in points of view which makes good movies depending on ones preferences.

Maybe old movies were unique, but you might not prefer them because you like any other type of movie. Or maybe for someone, likes older movies better then modern ones because they were classics...

For me a good movie represents a motion picture with good action sequences and which make me feel with the character. Story is sometimes not relevant to me. A good movie must have the right actors for the right spot.

Just because a movie is made by Hollywood doesn't mean that it is always good. There are many more International Action movies that I prefer over those in the mean time. I mean I even like Actors that aren't well known in Hollywood terms

You see, this is just my opinion and it shouldn't end up in a list festival...

Last year, I went and saw Iron Man at the theather SIX TIMES!! Why? Because my favorite Marvel super hero is Iron Man, of course! Also, let's not forget the two Transformers live-action movies. Not only that, but two months ago, on two seperate occassions, I took my two brothers to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the first brother as a birthday present for him, the other brother just for some brotherly good time).

Its the story and the actors that make a movie, even if the movie has a budget of like 50 bucks it could still be good with a good story and good actors, i mean look at those movies that come on the Sci Fi channel, like mutant chronicles, they suck so bad when you try to look at them, and you try hard too, you can't finish them, no matter how hard you try sometimes, you can't do it because oh bad actig and retarded stories.

I think for me, for a movie to be good it just needs to be entertaining. That sounds kind of silly, right? It makes sense though if you look at it in a certain way. A good movie doesn't necessarily need the loftiest script, the best actors, or the most cutting edge amazing graphics to be entertaining. There are many occasions where movies meet these minimum requirements and yet still fail to provide an enjoyable experience. I think, how entertaining the movie will be is determined almost solely by the quality of the storytelling, that is, the quality of the story's delivery. This would mean not only having a well woven plot with likable characters, but visually/aurally presenting it at a pace and direction that people can find agreeable and will enjoy.

I think this will depend on the capacity for the storyteller's involved in having empathy with their audience. That is, to put themselves in the shoes of their audience and ask "is what I'm watching fun? how could this be reworked to match the viewers expectations (or defy them) in a way that would make this more interesting and enjoyable?" I think good storytellers have a great sensibility for putting themselves in the shoes of the audience and trying to see the work from a viewer's position, determining whether or not something jives or is bogeying southbound.

Of course, there are lots of people involved in the making of a movie, so it will be their combined storytelling prowess (as filtered through the director) that will ultimately determine whether or not the movie is good.

Well, i really like terror movies, specially the zombie ones. I know more of them are lame, but with the special effects in this days i can´t really belive or "enter" into the movie.

There are a lot of good movies now, i´m open to new experiences.