What Makes A Great Movie
I want you to know I’m bringing this to you while watching the fifth episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. While it’s not a movie, it is one of the better pieces of content that I’ve watched in quite some time. And I think it has a lot of the aspects that I will be speaking about in this blog (as does the rest of the MCU, in my opinion). I want to write more about the tv shows, movies, and music that make me happy and are meaningful to me. But before I do that I want to make sure we’re all on the same page.
A few months ago I set out to watch a slate of new movies - not new in general but new to me. If you caught my tweet below, you’ll know I stick to the things that I like. But I wanted to switch it up a little. And I decided I wanted to rate them as I went along. Doing that required me to sit down and really think about what I think makes a great movie. And I came up with the list I’m about to go through.
My Movie Rating System
Here are the things that I think make a great movie (in no particular order). Note: the best movies have all of these, but I think movies can be missing some and still be good.
Realistic Characters: By this, I don’t mean the characters need to be people (?) that I could actually run into at Trader Joe’s. But their motives and their reactions should feel realistic. Some of my favorite movies include super soldiers, ogres, and witches. But their actions are true to the characters built up in the stories and make sense to the way someone like them would be if they and their world actually existed.
Rewatchable: This one is a tough one. Because some of the most impactful movies hit you so hard they can be difficult to watch again. But I think the best movies are ones that you want to revisit over and over again. And even better if the feelings they give you return each time. I’m no stranger to rewatching the films that I love and they definitely hold up.
Elicits Feelings: I don’t think great movies have to make you feel any one particular way. They can make you feel happy, or sad, or moved. But if you ever get done watching a movie and just feel “meh”, that’s not the one. Some of my favorite memories come from going to the theater with friends and family and feeling those big moments together.
Unpredictable Plot: If you get this far you have to get to #7 because you can’t just go wild with the unpredictably. And, like other things on this list, while a good movie could be missing this element, a GREAT one will have it. I don’t want things coming out of left field every scene but I do want a moment where I’m just a little bit shocked. But for the very best execution of this, it has to be something that makes sense when you think about it and has you going, “I should’ve seen that coming”.
Good Pacing: Nothing is worse than watching a movie and thinking, “When is this going to be over?”. Even some movies with great parts have this happen because it spends too long developing a certain character or relationship or there’s too much action and you’re wondering how they could possibly be getting shot at again. The best movies feel natural, you don’t even realize how long you’ve been sitting there and you’re sad when it ends.
Recommendable: Have you ever seen a good movie but thought maybe it was a bit of a fluke? I don’t know how to explain this. I think maybe what I’m trying to say is that you realize it may not be a good movie in general but it just seems good to your particular taste or maybe what’s going on in your life at the time. And therefore you don’t really recommend it to anyone because you’re pretty sure it’s just going to be you that likes it. Again, there’s nothing wrong with these movies. But I know the ones that go the extra mile are the ones I want to tell everyone to watch.
Sensical Ending: This one may seem to at odds with #4 but stick with me. Unpredictable plot points still need to make sense. And so does the ending of the moving. I think we’ve all seen movies that have done something really big that didn’t make any sense with the rest of the story but you could tell they just wanted something flashy or exciting or something that would leave a good cliffhanger for the sequel. The end doesn’t need to be something I’ve seen coming but it doesn’t need to be something that doesn’t betray the rest of the story that I’ve just dedicated two hours to.
What I’ve Been Watching
So I’ve told you what I think makes a good movie. Now let’s check in on those new movies I set out to watch. I picked 28 movies I’ve never seen and I’ve made it through 13 so far. And here’s how they netted out. Bonus, the way I chose these movies is that one person from the next movie had to be in the last one. Let me know if any of your favorites are on here or if there are any ratings that surprise you! The best rating has gone to Ghost with almost a perfect score and the worst score has gone to Les Miserables.
I am looking forward to watching more new movies. I’ll keep you updated on how the other 15 go. But now when you hear me say a movie is ‘great’, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Until the next one, x.
