What are Your Standards When Watching a Film?

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What I mean is, what are the points of critique? What do you look for in cinema? I am sitting here watching The Cremator, and enjoying it, but I realized I can't really explain why I am liking it. I have never really examined what I look for in cinema personally. What makes a film one of quality, to me.

I can appreciate a lot of different stuff - I can appreciate a film being one of bleak realism, or of light-hearted feel-goodness. I can appreciate a really well-made film and I can appreciate pure trash. But when I think about it, I don't feel very refined in how I examine cinema.

As I tend to be very hyperbolic and try to look for the best in cinema, I want to try and be more critical, improve that side of me, and maybe discussing this will help.

So, what's important to you in a film? Character development? Cinematography? Lighting? Acting? Craft? Script? Theme? Mood? Or something else? And how do you know if you really appreciate a film?



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Interesting characters, a great story, dialogue, and it helps if the film can in some way connect to me personally. Sometimes it's strange how films connect to me and I can't describe it but I know one when I see one.



Interesting characters, a great story, dialogue, and it helps if the film can in some way connect to me personally. Sometimes it's strange how films connect to me and I can't describe it but I know one when I see one.
I think character is really important, yeah. Whenever a film has boring characters, I find myself bored.



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Storyline, Cinematography, Performances, Score, Memorability, Direction, and Characters. Another huge factor is how the film hits me and if I can relate to the story.

Edit: Editing if I find it really hard to watch due to fast cuts.
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I don't think one should go into a film with an idea of what's important, or what element of film is "superior" to others. Just be on the lookout for everything, try to absorb as much as possible. The more you take in, the more likely it is that you will find something of value.

Different movies will emphasize different elements of the art. More important to being able to express yourself about a particular film than trying to fit it into some definition of standards for movies, is to just jot down notes, during or after. Just note things you found interesting, enjoyed, or generally noticed (and the negative side of these other two). This helps with figuring out why a movie clicked or didn't click with you, recognizing specifics.

Writing at length also helps but I've found that nearly impossible unless I have the movie in front of me while I write a longer piece. It's a tough task writing about a whole movie without getting into generalities about your experience that could be more related to your lunch than to the movie itself.

I just always try to keep notes, and after a while you notice things that you frequently note or like, and you start to internalize some of that stuff and it becomes more of a second nature. Structuring your writing into a typical review format will a lot of times limit how you can think about a movie, and it's tripped me up and made me look like a fool several times.
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I think a good question when watching a film is "why?", why has the director made this decision? How all the elements combined to form a way of creating what the director intended. How the director uses the different elements to tell his story/message. In some movies now I don't really care too much whether the plot makes sense or the acting is fantastic, sometimes that isn't important, as the director makes a decision to deliberately make things such a way in combination with other things.
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One thing very important to me is suspension of belief, if a movie is really really good I won't particularly notice the fact that the guy with the revolver just shot 12 times without reloading, I won't care if the protagonist is some kind of super human residing in a world that is essentially ours. However if the project is too ambitious for it's budget, or the acting and chemistry between cast just isn't there then I simply cannot watch it. I will complain. That being said I will include general setting as well, if the set features beautiful locales and places that are believably appropriate than that makes it all the much better, a lot of films tend to have a few sets in them that are just incredible and really reinforce the reality of the film.

If I cannot immerse myself in the story, and cannot place myself in the reality of the film, I will not watch it. This I guess would also go for the acting, if the actors aren't committed to the part and you can see that through their performance that will wreck a film for me. Nothing worse than watching a film with a fantastic plot and great chemistry only to have one or two actors not act with the emotion needed for the part or the scene. Sometimes it's limited to one scene, sometimes a whole damn movie. The former is bad enough, the latter will ruin a film any day for me.

Certain other aspects kind of depend for me, character development is only as important as the plot needs it to be. I don't need back stories to be fleshed out and characters to endure emotional growth if the plot doesn't call for it. Theme is usually very important for me and goes back to suspension of belief, certain themes and genres are an instant turn off for me, which is the reason why I have only seen select films from certain decades, and just don't enjoy some of the accepted classics. My taste in film is basically Horror, Fantasy, Crime, War, Exploitation, Animation and certain Comedy. I abhor Musicals for the most part and won't touch anything resembling a Romance, same with most Drama.

Overall the technical aspect is what means the least to me(yeah yeah) if the acting, mood and theme are good than I can look past amateur production and bad editing easily for the most part. Lighting can play a big part in mood, so I guess that aspect is something I can appreciate more often than not. Certain films make incredible use of lighting to portray concepts ranging from pure malice to deep despair, cold sterility to fiery passion.

I know I appreciate a film if I.

1. Pause it when I get up to leave the room
2. Can get through the whole film without getting bored and thus sidetracked
3. Find myself attempting to advise and cheer for the characters, because I can actually relate to them.
4. Realizing my muscles are all tense because I actually thought that thing on screen could be coming for me
6. Actually find myself somewhat upset at the loss of a character, because they were sooooo cool.
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Possibly being the most inarticulate Fo on this site , I can wrap my words around this easily. Immersion. When I forget that I am in the act of watching and have an emotional connection.

I am envious of those that describe this point, that plot device, her character arc, etc. All of these things fly over my head. It is a main reason I don't do reviews. Nobody wants to hear what I like or don't like with no way to expound on the why.

Drive, Guardians, Moon, Predator, FLLV. These just worked. I know some people have issues with them, but I don't see it. Fury Road didn't work. I know it was well executed, but I just didn't connect with it.

To me it is like playing poker, sometimes you know something doesn't work without knowing why. It's just a gut reaction.



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Writing to me is 80% of it, the rest is acting, characters.. I don't like cliches, but doesn't mean I don't like a happy ending. I can separate myself from the content - it doesn't have to be totally believable, as long as it's interesting. It usually helps if I feel for the character, it's essential actually. I'm not looking for twists, turns, mysteries, puzzles.. I like an economic movie, when the director isn't milking a scene, whether by special effects, landscapes, etc.. A few seconds is enough, but I like originality. I like social commentary, a film that brings some kind of truth, and humor is always great.

I want to know as little as possible. I like to watch movies by directors I love, or sometimes, certain actors. I use people in here a lot for recommendations.

And to what Daniel said - why? Why this type of narrative, or why this kind of shot, why this certain actor. After the movie, I like to find things out, as sometimes certain actors or directors are only there because of nepotism, or because of contracts, or star-power to make a weak story-line more successful financially.



That depends on the type of film you are watching. If you are watching a Documentary don't expect there to be amazing CGI shots on the level of the big budget movies. lol

It depends on the person since all film is subjective.

The biggest thing I pay attention to in every movie is Acting. I myself am going to become a theatre major here real soon and unless it is a spoof movie (where a lot of the time they aren't trying on purpose), I can't stand bad acting or "phoning it in" (Bruce Willis I'm looking at you). If the acting is bad I can't immerse myself into the story, I get too distracted by how bad and wooden the acting is.
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For me it's only one thing: how entertaining it is. It could be any genre; action, horror, comedy, drama, romance etc. etc. It could have great writing but weak acting, weak writing but great production, or weak directing but great acting. As long as it has that quality of entertainment, then I'm happy.

I guess you can say my standards aren't very high... So I might not be the best one to respond to this if you're looking for something deeper.



Directing. Nobody has more infuence over a movie than the director. Not even the producers, but none would admit it. Ive seen great performances from actors, and even a well written movie just tank because the director completely screwed the pooch. Second is acting, performers have carried projects on their own. Then theres writing. If it aint fresh then it has to be the opposite of that.



You guys rock, thanks everyone for the input, it's all very insightful. Obviously we all watch movies in different ways. FW, I'm also someone who can feel appreciative of a film even if all the components aren't masterfully done. Like, if the writing is incredible, but the acting sucks... I can recognize and appreciate that. And I think different movies go for different things. Some movies are more intellectual endeavors, some are more emotional endeavors. I just watched The Quiet Man, a masterfully done work of auteurism, one you can appreciate immensely on a technical level. But it was ultimately seeking, I felt, to be just an engaging feel-good film. I really appreciated it on that level.

Daniel, love what you said too. To expand on it, and I'm speaking purely as someone who wants to study the craft, you could also ask how. Especially for repeated viewings. But trying to figure out how exactly a director went about achieving whatever he wanted to achieve, can be very insightful to a lot of things, include language of film as well as message, story etc. How and why are, perhaps, the two most important questions when examining cinema on a technical level.



Story tends to be the biggest one for me. Tell me a good story, and I will at the very least like the film even if it has flaws. A lot of my favorite filmmakers like Scorsese, Kevin Smith, and Spielberg have the ability to tell really good stories about characters I like. Each does it their own way though. Scorsese is more of an artist and focuses on various topics, but crime is a big one. Spielberg does big action and adventure, but also the more serious drama as well. And Kevin Smith just tells really funny stories. And while each shots and or writes the films differently, I respond to each filmmaker in a big bad way.

Now I do appreciate other filmmakers who favor other aspects of films more (Lynch, Kubrick, and Tarkovsky) and I love their work too, but for the longest time, films have been my favorite medium for story telling.



Miazaki's films defined my standards: How visually interesting the movie is, how much passion I can feel in it and I can feel for it, its immersive qualities (how easily I can suspend disbelief) and how elegant its flow is. As Tarkovsky said, movie is an sculpture in time and so I value its elegance as it unfolds through time.

Besides these factors, if the plot and themes are of my interest is also a big factor (although secondary) to my enjoyment. The quality of the writing is not of great relevance although at some points it makes a difference, for instance I am such a big fan of PMMM due to its very efficient writing, that minimizes the amount of attention you need to pay to understand the plot.



I love when a film stirs up my emotions to the point that I start talking to the screen...that's the sign of a film I've become completely invested in.



What are Your Standards When Watching a Film?

I have no standards, I can watch a cheesy-fun-b film and love it...or watch a serious film and hate it because it fails to do what I want it to do.


What are Your Standards When Watching a Film?
Boredom or the lack of it. If I'm bored in the first 15 minutes I often shut it off.

Other than that I try NOT to hold all films to the same standard. But I try to judge the film by this adage: Did it do what it was suppose to do?

That's why I could give Earth Girls Are Easy

But give Love & Mercy (2014)


Even though Love & Mercy was a more serious film, there forth I held it to a much higher standard.



Possibly being the most inarticulate Fo on this site , I can wrap my words around this easily. Immersion. When I forget that I am in the act of watching and have an emotional connection.

I am envious of those that describe this point, that plot device, her character arc, etc. All of these things fly over my head. It is a main reason I don't do reviews. Nobody wants to hear what I like or don't like with no way to expound on the why.

Drive, Guardians, Moon, Predator, FLLV. These just worked. I know some people have issues with them, but I don't see it. Fury Road didn't work. I know it was well executed, but I just didn't connect with it.

To me it is like playing poker, sometimes you something doesn't work without knowing why. It's just a gut reaction.
Your way works for me too DD
I can enjoy and appreciate films that have fine acting, great directing and brilliant writing, but the ones that stay with me do have that emotional connection. It is a gut reaction you're right. It can be many, many things that give you that feeling. It can be as simple as empathising because you've been in the same situation, or one of the characters is like someone you know. More likely tho is something almost undefinable that appeals to your own inner self.
Could be something like admiring a characters determination - like The Martian - I loved Mark Watney, full of fight yet somehow just like a normal guy. I'm quite a sucker for beautiful looking films so I'd connect with even an average film if the cinematography was particularly gorgeous.