The Factors Which Determine A Great Movie...

I saw a lot of movies in 2011 which I loved. However, as much as I adored the likes of X-Men: First Class and Trust, I don't feel inclined to add them to my Blu-ray collection until the asking price is more reasonable.

It recently dawned on me that these days I don't do Day 1 purchases, because I can easily pick up the disc in a sale a couple months down the line. Then I realised how much I want to own Drive. Regardless of its RRP or if it lacks special features, I will buy this movie on its first day of release.

I want this film in my collection. I want to be able to experience it in crisp high definition on a constant basis. I haven't done a Day 1 purchase in years. This shows how great Drive is.

Drive also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (Saw it twice)

This movie possessed all the earmarks of a great movie, with Tim Burton at the helm, Johnny Depp in the lead, an interesting story, top-notch technical contributors, etc. It did not disappoint. It instantly broke its way into my all-time Top 10. Movies like that need to be in my collection, so I was literally counting down the days till its release. And I pre-ordered it. And when I got the call one day at school that the DVD was in, I couldn't concentrate.
If that's not the sign of a great movie, I don't know what is.

Sweeney Todd also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (the music is at times too loud for the vocals)
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (Saw it multiple times)

Titanic runs a mammoth 190 minutes, yet not a frame feels inessential. There is not a moment in the movie that doesn't engage or enthrall me; from start to finish, I'm under Mr. Cameron's spell. When it's over, I wonder where the past three hours have gone.

I've watched this film in its entirety more times than I care to remember. And I continue to watch it a lot. It's definitely the hallmark of a great movie if I want to watch it again right after it ends.

Titanic also applies to:
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (technical farts here & there)
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I saw it during its 3-D re-release. Many times)

While Titanic is a LONG movie I can watch repeatedly, Rambo is a case of an almost sickeningly graphic movie that I can watch again & again despite its graphic content.
Stallone pulled no punches in portraying the atrocities unfolding in Burma, but his movie is not just a cheap exercise in "bleak and uncomfortable means a movie is excellent". Nay, Stallone's movie also tells a very human story about an interesting character, and the film ends with an insane action sequence.

Thus, Rambo is both a hard-hitting war movie and an amazing action movie. Surprisingly, the two styles mesh extraordinarily well.

Rambo also applies to:
Day 1 Home Video Purchase
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (CGI is a bit rickety at times)
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I was lucky to get into just one cinema showing, as it was R-rated and I had to sneak in... Didn't really want to try again in case I got caught...)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is lightning in a bottle. Shane Black's script is full of witty dialogue, Black's direction is well-judged and demonstrates impeccable comic timing, and the selection of actors (including Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan) were born to play their characters. Everything comes together marvellously.
As a result, you could be forgiven for wanting to see more back & forth between Harry and Perry, or more of Harry getting in over his head. The film is as brilliant as it is because it's so tight and well-paced, but I still would love to see more of these characters...

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang also applies to:
Day 1 Home Video Purchase
Can Watch Again & Again
Never Feels Like A Chore
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (Alas I missed its theatrical run as I had no idea about this movie, but I would've seen it many times if it was on my radar)

I don't want to hear any childish whinging or moaning about Avatar being too long as it is, or just being a film about blue monkeys... Fuck off and grow up.
Avatar allows you to immerse yourself into the world of Pandora. I loved seeing all of the different animals, landscapes, and the possibilities for these characters. I didn't want it to end, and you bet I'll be in line to see the sequels on opening day.

Avatar also applies to:
Day 1 Home Video Purchase
Can Watch Again & Again
Never Feels Like A Chore
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (Saw it 5 times, all in 3-D)

There are two or three noticeable instances in It's a Wonderful Life where a long shot doesn't match a close-up, or there's a jarring piece of editing (there's a rather baffling cut while Uncle Billy talks to Potter at the bank).
I can easily overlook these minor faults, though, because they do not matter in the long run. Apart from these tiny imperfections, this is a wonderfully-acted, uplifting movie.

It's a Wonderful Life also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I've seen this in cinemas, for a special screening...even though I own the movie on DVD and had seen it many times prior)

The Terminator was made on a small budget in the 1980s. Some of the effects, therefore, look dated, including an obvious mechanical head during Arnie's impromptu surgery in a bathroom. And the stop-motion effects bringing the T-800 skeleton to life are very obvious.
But Cameron did not rely solely on flawed visual effects to see his movie through. With a focus on pacing and building momentum & excitement, The Terminator easily overcomes its technical imperfections.

The Terminator also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
Never Feels Like A Chore
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I'd love to see this on the big screen)

The Blues Brothers clocks in at around 140 minutes (though it depends on which version you watch). There's not a frame in it that I don't enjoy. It's full of memorable dialogue, hilarious scenes and enjoyable car chases. It moves from one great set-piece to another. It's never a chore to get through. Never.

The Blues Brothers also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (some of the framing is a little off, which the filmmakers themselves have lamented in the past)
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I wish I was alive when it was showing theatrically...)

This is the perfect action-adventure movie. It's packed with exciting action and an enthralling sense of adventure, while at the same time inserting interesting character development and keeping interest high through witty character banter. I never get bored watching this amazing motion picture.

Raiders of the Lost Ark also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (the special effects are dated, and there are obvious technical goofs)
Worth Paying For Multiple Cinema Viewings (I wasn't alive during its theatrical run, but if it was in cinemas these days I'd DEFINITELY watch it a few times)

I saw Return of the King a whopping 14 times in the cinema, and therefore it's the film that I've seen the most times on the big screen. This includes two cinema marathons and once at the drive-in. By the end of the film's theatrical run, I was seeing it just for the hell of seeing it again.

Do you think I'd see a bad movie in the cinema that many times? Do you think I'd go see Disaster Movie in a cinema on 14 occasions? Fuck no. ROTK is a GREAT movie, a modern masterpiece. It's long but not overlong. It's extremely epic. It's exciting. It's emotive. It's my favourite movie of all time, period.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (Some of the CGI hasn't held up as much, few patches of direction are a tiny bit weak)
Never Feels Like A Chore

(I would have purchased it on day 1, but my brother beat me to it. Since we're in the same household, I didn't see any reason to buy it at that stage.)

I'll probably get flack for including this movie on this list, but I don't care because The Expendables illustrates the multiple cinema viewings principal very well in my case. I saw the movie in the cinema a total of 8 times, including 3 full sessions on opening day (saw the first 2 sessions of the day back-to-back, too).

So yeah, I find this to be a great action flick, with good comedy, heart (Tool's scenes are loaded with heart) and a boatload of terrific action.

The Expendables also applies to:
Can Watch Again & Again
You Don't Want It To End
You Can Overlook Small Imperfections (shaky-cam, CGI blood, not enough character development)
Never Feels Like A Chore