My main mode of assessment:
- Visuals - the very purpose of cinema is to show us something, as opposed to a book or a game. If it doesn't catch my eye, it renders its cinematic format redundant. There will be cases where a movie doesn't need visuals to be captivating, but this is my biggest test for anything that presents itself as a movie.
- Sound - albeit not as big as the first point, it's still part of the sensory experience. For me it's sense first, rationale later. Sound also does not necessarily mean a good soundtrack, otherwise you can just hop on to my music blog. Sound means the amount of detail in the soundstage. A lot of the sounds heard in movies are actually recreated, not captured together with film. That's right, your explosions were created in a different department. There's new 3D sound technology these days but it still takes skill to utilize it tastefully. A great soundtrack helps, if it actually adds on the set piece in a movie.
- Direction - usually the most important in a movie, although it doesn't solely decide how good or a bad a movie will be. The role of a director has become smaller in recent years, but the director is still pretty much the one person to carry the entire film.
- Acting? - in my opinion not that big an issue. There is way better acting in TV serials and actual plays. It's not the defining factor of a film, and people who claim they dislike a movie based on the actor's ability are not fit to give critique on a movie. There are movies with terrible acting that have gone on to become classics.
- Writing- another very important aspect of film in ways that are different from the book. Many people don't realise that writers are the ones who kick start the project, before the director and actors are roped in. Writing doesn't just involve production and story, but also dialogue. Moreover, in recent times, Hollywood has introduced the concept of multiple writers on one story (a team if you will). The final script may have passed through several hands before it is finalized, sometimes even unbeknownst to the first batch of writers. Writers also decide how smart they want a film to be- the intelligent people do not decide the financial success of a film.
Am not sure if Rui Han will post his introduction or anything, but here are my rubrics, before any of you start an Internet war with me. Hope I can introduce you to a lot of great new movies, there really is a lot of gems out there, irregardless of genre or budget.
