So I have no idea what your experience with film is so take my information with a grain of salt. First of I'll admit I went to college for film; i have a great love for film and how it is made. So I will explain why I enjoy movies and than give you my top movie experiences. First off I love going to a new world in a movie. This doesn't necessarily mean a fantasy world. Just a world where the story's characters inhabit. I'm also a big character person. So i love stories with great character's. What makes a great character for me is a person who is morally grey or is led by more than just "hey I'm the good/bad guy." Also people who have motivations for their actions. I fucking hate it when a character goes against what their motivations are just so that they can forward the plot. This doesn't mean I don't like summer blockbusters. They can be great "shut your brain off" movies. Think of them like candy. Plot wise basically ever story has already been told. What makes seeing old stories in a new way interesting, at least to me, is what the story brings to the formula. You can be reductive with most story plots and break them down to a few bullet points. How I feel a story is being well told is hard to explain. Personally I feel like a story is doing well when I can't immediately guess what a character is going to do or when I'm so engrossed that I'm not thinking about the mechanics of the story anymore. Also editing can really help drive a story forward. They way a film is cut and edited can give essential information without expressly telling it to you. Film is a visual medium and it's great when the director uses that in order to tell the story rather than exposition. Exposition in many cases is lazy and I feel only works to undermine the intelligence of the audience. An example of this would be the beach scene in Jaws before the shark is know to the whole island. They cut between the protagonist and shots of the water. However what's brilliant is the use of people blocking your view of the water so you expect to see a shark and they build on tension with red herrings until they shark finally attack. Some of my favorite films are...
Seven Samurai: Dir. Akira Kurasowa- Great characters and well filmed. This is about a village in Japan that has been overrun with bandits. So a representative from the village goes to town and finds seven samurai to help protect it.
2001 A Space Odysseys: Dir. Stanley Kubrick- A very well edited film about man's evolution and their use of technology. It is a very long film without much dialogue so I recommend really knowing what your in for with this film.
Goodfelleas: Dir. Martin Scorsese- Great pacing and again I love the characters. It star Ray Liotta as Henry Hill a gangster. It's is based on a novel by the actual Henry Hill and its about his time in the mafia.
Blade Runner: As someone said before me this is a great movie.
Big Lebowski: Dir. The Coen Brothers- A wonderfully weird movie about bowling, kidnap, and detective work. It is a great comedy.
I apologize for this being overly long. I hope I could help. Also if you just don't like movies that's cool. Not every medium has to be for everyone. Have a good day duder!
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