What makes a film good?

If it makes me feel something or think about something I otherwise would not have felt/thought.

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Comedy is much harder to make than drama always, without exception.

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True, there's way more bad comedies than bad dramas. Comedic acting is much more difficult than dramatic acting.

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For me, it is 99% writing and 1% everything else. I would prefer to watch two people sitting in a room having a conversation (for example The Sunset Limited) than any recent Michael Bay-esque movie.

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See, the beauty of film is that it's a little bit of everything. If I wanted something that's 90% writing, well I'd read a book or comic book. Those are also certainly great mediums of art that have a lot to contribute, but when I see a film...it's about all the pieces.... writing, editing, cinematography, acting, special effects, costume design, music, etc.

It's the interplay of those elements to tell a great story and inspire/incite a feeling, that makes a "good film."

That doesn't mean that Michael Bay can't make a good film, he's made a couple for sure, but he leans too hard on one aspect to be consistently good. No one does a better job filming explosions. And there's value in that.

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I judge movies the same way I judge people: are you interesting within the first 5 minutes of me meeting you?

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If I'm even mildly interested, I'll watch anything all the way through.

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For example, the first scene of The Dark Knight Rises is probably one of the worst written scenes of any recent top grossing mainstream movie.

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Prepare yourself....

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Also just for fun I leave you with this comment: Comedy is much harder to make than drama always, without exception.

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They both can be pretty tough to make. Making an effective movie is tough, period. No matter the genre. Star Wars. Holy Grail. Die Hard. Casablanca. Wizard of Oz. All of those films took guts and hard work.

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For me, it is 99% writing and 1% everything else.

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I wouldn't go that far since there are directors and actors that can make a huge difference in any production but if you have a great story/script, then there are likely a lot of directors and actors who could make it work.

Being the exact opposite of 'The Phantom Menace.'

When one of the main actors dies irl during production.

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I judge movies the same way I judge people: are you interesting within the first 5 minutes of me meeting you?

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One woman will sit a table not made for coffee, but for love.

"Hello, nice to meet you"

The person sitting across from her will be a man. But will he be....the man?

Starring Kate Winslet, Channing Tatum, Owen Wilson, and Benedict Cumberbatch as "Gunther", coming this fall from Universal Pictures.....

It's not who you are, but how quick you are

SPEED DATING: THE MOVIE

The clock starts October 8th

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Let me be a bit more specific: I am impressed with cinematography if it tells a story (is part of the writing). If you've seen any of Terrence Malick's films, and I'm sure you have, you will understand what I mean.

I appreciate acting, but only if the actor is achieving what the writing calls for. In my opinion it is far too easy to "spot" some actors, and even easier to typecast actors.

Special effects mean the least to me. To be honest I would probably enjoy a play of Avatar as much as, if not more, than I did the movie.

Music however, I will bend the knee. Good music in a movie is definitely a must, but at the same time the music plays on the writing. Not the other way around.

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Let me be a bit more specific: I am impressed with cinematography if it tells a story (is part of the writing). If you've seen any of Terrence Malick's films, and I'm sure you have, you will understand what I mean.

I appreciate acting, but only if the actor is achieving what the writing calls for. In my opinion it is far too easy to "spot" some actors, and even easier to typecast actors.

Special effects mean the least to me. To be honest I would probably enjoy a play of Avatar as much as, if not more, than I did the movie.

Music however, I will bend the knee. Good music in a movie is definitely a must, but at the same time the music plays on the writing. Not the other way around.

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That's fine and dandy, but a good film contains a heavy dose of many of these all added together.