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Post by kolchak92 on Nov 15, 2018 2:58:42 GMT
Well for me it's hard to nail down exactly. I think a lot of great movies have different things going for them that adds to their greatness.
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Post by mslo79 on Nov 15, 2018 9:12:25 GMT
Movies are all about ones interest in them as I don't care what a movie may 'technically' get right if it fails at the core of holding my interest to a high degree overall the movie is not getting a 10/10 (for the record... only eight movies managed to get a 10/10 from me out of the 2,225+ total movies I have seen. NOTE: that figure used to be roughly triple that amount roughly 6 years ago or so). that's pretty much what determines my overall score for a movie as I can tell it boils down to some sort of feeling/emotional response a movie gives me that determines my 1 through 10 score.
that's at the core of how I rate movies using the 1 through 10 scale with 5/10 being middle-of-the-road/average and then scales up and down fairly evenly from there. NOTE: most movies I see score a 5/10 with a 6/10 being the next most common. between those two ratings that makes up at least 7 out of 10 movies I have seen over the long term.
or to show you the volume of each score I have given out among My Favorite Movies (and thereabouts)...
-10/10 = 8 movies -9/10 = 13 movies -SOLID 8/10 (i.e. 8/10 or 8-8.5/10) = 31 movies -7.5-8/10 = 49 movies -7/10 (i.e. 6.5-7/10, 7/10, 7-7.5/10) = 88 movies
...and what I refer to as 'The Best of the Rest', which are my 6-6.5/10's, comes out to 45 movies as they are just shy of being 'My Favorite Movie' status which makes them within my Top 234 movies.
so as you can see I don't hand out high scores (i.e. 7's and higher) much in general. to be clear... I never restrict ratings on movies just to restrict them, it's simply the fact that only a small amount of movies stand out from the pack and I rate accordingly. because once you have seen plenty of movies you can separate the gems from 'everything else' pretty much.
basically... once you have seen plenty of movies you just know when a 10/10 comes along. they are a rarity, a true gem. for the record... the most recently released movie I gave a 10/10 to is... Gran Torino (2008). I don't expect the current decade to output a single 10/10 as if it happens it will be a surprise as even reaching 9/10 status is really limited (only three movies managed to hit 9/10 status for me in the current decade).
p.s. if there is one movie I had to name in terms of a great balance of everything like visuals/score/moments etc I would have to lean towards... Road to Perdition (2002). for the record... I am not saying that's my #1 movie, but it's in the running for my #1 because it's just too difficult to name only one movie as my clear #1. but in terms of 'cinematography' paired with moments in a movie that's pretty much my 'go to' movie in that regard. like Tommy Gun scene with Tom Hanks in the rain at night and the end scene with the picture taking etc really stand out to me as great visually and also strong moments in the movie to.
@jakesully
I pretty much agree with your basic point as while I can't quite put it into words you just know when something stands out when you see it and I rate accordingly.
but as far as Drive (2011)... at one point it was my #1 movie of the decade (i.e. it topped out at a 9/10+ for me) but has since fallen off (on my 5th viewing(was a 9/10(closer to a 10 than a 8) down to a 7.5-8/10) and then once more on my 7th viewing (was a 7.5-8/10 down to a 7/10)). but with that said... I can say for a movie released in the current decade (i.e. 2010 to date) it's likely my most re-watched movie as I have seen it 7 times... 4 times between opening day at the theaters (i.e. Sep 16th 2011) and Jan 13th 2012. then 5th/6th/7th viewings on Sep 16th 2013/2014/2015. come to think of it... ill probably get around to seeing it semi-soon as it's been over 3 years now and it will be interesting to see if it holds stable or changes in score. my guess is it will probably level off at it's current 7/10 (which still puts it within My Favorite Movies in general which is currently 189 movies). but speaking of Drive... I think ill give the slight edge to Only God Forgives (2013) over Drive (2011) as my favorite movie from that director even though I acknowledge Drive is more popular.
but I do agree with you that Drive's all around visuals do stand out as it's not often ill find movies that stand out in this area in general as even looking at My Favorite Movies, which contains 189 movies, there are not many that stand out in the visual dept that have a strong mood/atmosphere to them etc. I am sure you know what I mean given you acknowledge Drive as one of these movies.
NOTE: my #1 movie of the 2010's decade is one of the following three movies... The American (2010)/Source Code (2011)/Skyfall (2012) (all three are within my Top 21 movies straight up simply because there is only 21 movies I scored a 9/10 or higher (i.e. thirteen 9's and eight 10's)). I recently (Nov 9th 2018) re-watched Skyfall, which made for my 5th viewing of it now, and it remains within my Top 21 movies straight up (and is my #1 James Bond movie to). it's definitely one of the better movies visually in general and just a great movie straight up. my most recent re-watches of the other two... The American = Oct 20th 2016. Source Code (2011) = Aug 6th 2015. ill probably be re-watching Source Code soon enough as I usually try to re-watch all movies I scored a 7/10 or higher at least once every few years or so with some being a bit more often than that. in fact, The American is basically my favorite movie of it's type (basically that hitman themed genre) as it seems to fly off the radar even though I see some praise it here and there around these forums. but I suspect it's because it's less action and more atmosphere/character driven. a little side note... that's how they should make a Hitman movie (the character from the video games), with tweaks to suit the character etc, as that would be far more inline with character from the video games than what we got in the Hitman (2007)(6/10)/Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)(5/10) which are basically just action movies as they need to make things focus more around atmosphere/character like how The American does than just some generic action movie out to make a quick buck. I do mildly like the Hitman (2007) movie but it's basically just a simple action movie which is not really suited for that character.
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Post by Tristan's Journal on Nov 15, 2018 9:23:57 GMT
I have never seen a perfect movie.
And I think it idle to speculate on perfection on an abstract level.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Nov 15, 2018 10:01:10 GMT
For me personally, the ingredients required for a movie that I'll deem 'perfect' are...
A likeable cast of characters (even if they're a villain). If a movie has characters I dislike/hate, then all I'm going to be thinking when watching is how I want them dead/off the screen ASAP. The heroes need to be likeable, but the villains should also be ones that you can at least understand how they are the way they are, even if you don't agree with what they're doing. Also, I prefer villains who don't just simply yell all their lines. That gets old fast. I much prefer 'quiet menace'.
Likeable actors/actresses in the roles. Even if the characters do questionable things at times, I can still tolerate them if the actors/actresses are right for the parts and bring something unique to the roles that only they can.
A story which, no matter whether it's 'predictable' or not, is at least engaging. I've seen many movies with similar plots, but I don't mind that so long as they can tell the same plot in interesting/different ways. I know I really love a movie if I can watch it over and over again - since you're seeing the exact same story, but nevertheless it's interesting every single time.
A good score/use of music on the soundtrack goes a long way towards my enjoyment of a movie. Oftentimes, I find, the choice of music can make an emotional scene have much more impact if it's the right choice. Other times I've watched movies where I'm clearly supposed to be feeling sad or emotional in a scene, but the music just isn't having any impact whatsoever. Music can often 'make or break' these types of scenes, I've found.
A satisfying conclusion, damn it! So many movies seem to drop the ball when it comes to their endings that it spoils what was, up until that point, a really good (even great) movie. Hell, I'll even take an 'open-ended' conclusion if it's done right...but oftentimes it feel likes the writer/s just didn't know how to end their movie properly, so they left it open to interpretation simply because they rather have the audience do the work *for* them.
Interesting opening and/or closing credits might not be considered 'essential', but for me they are always something I appreciate.
And lastly...no animals in distress/animal torture/animal death. This can mean the difference between me liking a movie and hating one - if there's any of that in a film, chances are I'm not going to like it.
These^ are just some of the things I could think of off the top of my head. There are probably more that I'm forgetting, though.
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Post by Vits on Nov 15, 2018 10:07:16 GMT
It's hard to answer, because I've given movies a 10 for excelling at certain aspects but not really standing out in others. By aspects I mean acting, writing, directing, etc... The grade isn't really mathematical. It's not like I assign points to each aspect and then calculate an average. The grade is a reflection of how the movie made me feel (it can be a negative feeling if that's the purpose). I've also given movies a 0 even if they didn't look like home-made videos. There's also a standard to consider.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 26, 2019 2:23:08 GMT
A thread worthy of bringing back to the top for another read !
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Mar 26, 2019 11:14:27 GMT
Compelling - The story must hook us and it has to do it close to the beginning as opposed to a progression. Action/Suspense - There must be stakes even in comedies Humor - Levity cuts tension and darkness caused by the conflict even if the humor is dark Emotional hook/Care/Love - Need and emotional connection between characters that the audience can recognize, aspire to, or empathize with. Surprise - Not the same thing as a twist. It's something unexpectedly pleasant that elevates it beyond what we expected to see.
Movies do not have to be perfectly made to be perfect as all films have flaws and conveniences in plot to wrap up the story at the expense of more detailed storytelling.There is no need to be a film snob to love a movie.
Movies that come immediately to mind for me:
Raiders of the Lost Ark The Godfather Into the Spiderverse Dark Knight Fellowship of the Ring Children of Men Minority Report Casablanca Lion King Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
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Post by politicidal on Mar 26, 2019 18:59:21 GMT
A giant mechanical spider.
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