I am not a film snob, y'all just watch shitty movies!

The notion of what defines a 'good' and 'bad' movie is an intriguing one for me. Almost everyone can agree what a really bad movie is. Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, for instance is a terrible movie. Anyone thinking otherwise needs to lay off the glue-sniffing. Youtube it, you'll thank me later. Okay, but what defines a good movie? A placement in IMDB's top 250? A 90+ percentage on rottentomatoes.com? A cult following? Box office success? Critical acclaim? I mean, come on...the last two almost always clash.

Then I'll throw another wrench into things, as I am a guy who often loves 'bad' movies, albeit for all the wrong reasons...you know, the 'so bad they're good' low-budget flicks. Lucio Fulci is one of my favorite directors, but I highly doubt any serious students of film would even acknowledge him as anything other than a hack (which he was, I make no apologies, but he has a singular tone and atmosphere to his movies that has never, and will never be replicated).

To me, there are a few important 'criteria'. 1) The perfect melding of all my favorite elements - score, lighting, cinematography and atmosphere - are incredibly important. I'd even take that mix over story or plot. 2) Pure love of film translated onto screen - what I mean is that a great director is just flaunting style with grace and bop-you-on-the-head panache, straddling the line between self-indulgence and unadulterated exuberance for the craft. Everything from Jodorowsky's El Topo to Fellini's 8½ qualify here. Watchmen is also a good example. 3) Rewatchability. Hey, I like The Usual Suspects as much as the next guy, but it loses it's appeal after one or two viewings. Give me Lynch or Cronenberg anyday over that kind of stuff.

And of course, 4) Emotional connection. The ones you tear up to, cover your eyes in terror, laugh at until your sides hurt. The ones with moments so real you want to kiss the director for making something so perfectly authentic. The films themselves don't have to be perfect, but the moments, the dialogue, even the characters themselves you could encounter on your next trip to the grocery store, or mirror your own memories/emotional states.

So that's a lot of things to love...and maybe that's why i love the medium so much - I am not limited to one genre or critical pigeonholing to enjoy what i watch. Film is art, folks, and is infinite in it's depth and possibility. I won't limit myself to Apatow comedies or Tarantino-esque action flicks.

OK, so here's an exercise: come up with a list of your 10 favorite movies. They don't have to be in order. Seems easy, no? Riiiight. I would be willing to bet that everyone (all 2 of you) would have entirely different lists.


Here's my current, most-likely-will-change-at-the-drop-of-a-hat list, not in order (minus Suspiria, which is undoubtedly my all-time fav movie):

Suspiria
Re-Animator
Rushmore
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
8½
Mulholland Dr.
Magnolia
Zombi 2 (aka Zombie)
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

Here is a link to a great little article on top movie lists on Roger Ebert's Blog.

And yes, sadly, I'll judge you by your favorite movies ;) As Nick Hornby said in High Fidelity:

"It's no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn't even speak to each other if they met at a party."