Favorite Movie Elements

I can be taken in by a lot of things.

As someone who's worked on student films, I'm a sucker for a "pretty" movie. I mean a movie that may have other weaknesses in its narrative, but is just fucking gorgous to look at and watch. Expert choice of framing, movement, focus, shutter speed, and then post-production choices like color grading make the filmmaker in me go "oooh."

As far as narratives go, I'm always drawn to character dramas. I usually find action movies disappointing (unless the action is really damn good) because character interaction is flat and uninteresting. So often I love movies that some of my friends find "boring" or "pointless" because "nothing happens" (notable examples: Lost in Translation or The Life Aquatic). In movies like that, it's all about the characters and the subtle interaction between them.

Finally, as someone entering the visual effects industry, I will sometimes just watch a film as a technical exercise in looking for notable visual effects work. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is probably the strongest example of this: there were a lot of problems with that movie story-wise, but the technical achievement of it (and the great soundtrack) is what keeps me coming back.

Of course, if a movie can integrate ALL of these qualities, or combine the first or third with the second, that's wonderful. But not all can accomplish that.

Jam it back in, in the dark.