What makes a movie great ?

In my circle of friends I am known as the movie snob. My nickname is the lover of "Eurotrash" films. What exactly this term means I do not know. I find myself constantly feeling disappointed when I go to the cinema. Are my expectations and standards too high ? Who knows. I do know that I have certain artistic preferences that I use to evaluate whether a film is excellent; a wonderful and creative use of dialogue, well thought out and deeply explored characters, stimulating and beautiful visuals, creative use of the camera, and the willingness to stretch beyond the box. That doesn't mean that I expect all of these in a film but some of them are necessary.

I have decided to create a top twenty list of my favorite films and evaluate them based on the criteria listed above. These films can be old and new. By doing this I hope to express to others why I feel that these films are worthy of watching and to go into depth about why I feel that these movies are pieces of art.

Every week I will pick one movie and discuss it. Feel free to comment. I am sure through this process I will miss something, because there are so many wonderful films out there. In that same vein there are so many horrible movies out there as well. What separates the treasure from the trash?

Check back later for the first movie post.