Good acting - this speaks for itself. The acting must be convincing at the very least. For example, the character 'Donna' on 'That '70's show' is the definition of a TERRIBLE actress - she must be the daughter of a producer or something. Poor acting by one person can be overcome though. Though they try, Elijah Wood in 'The Lord of the Rings', and Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix' - both come across as 'blank'. Both movies have bad casting, but the supporting actors save both movies. Blankness in acting can be a useful tool as well, as in the campy performance by Sam Jones in 'Flash Gordon'. Wether blank acting is done on purpose or by accident, the audience will know. If you can't tell the difference between the blank acting style of Scarlett Johansson (on purpose) and the blank acting style of Jake Lloyd (bad actor), you shouldn't be allowed to watch movies.

Good (preferably original) story - A good story, for the most part, is what movies are all about. There are great movies that are stricly 'spectacles', however, and don't rely on common ideals of what makes a good movie, like 'Magnolia'. Some stories are are borrowed as in 'The Matrix', or stolen completely as in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' (compare to 'The Last Picture Show').

Good cinematography -

Good music -

Good ending - In order to have a great ending, a movie does not necessarily have to have a big blast or twist at the end, but must leave the viewer with a great feeling. Many have noticed that 'The Usual Suspects' is not on my list, and those people cite the 'great ending' it has. This is not a great ending, it merely points out that we have been fooled and led in the wrong direction for one and a half hours, for no reason whatsoever. Imagine if 'The Sixth Sense' existed merely to lead us up to finding out Bruce Willis is a ghost, and you will understand what I mean. A good ending can be a great, moving, or disturbing discovery concerning the events in the movie, as in 'Memento', or merely a last line that leaves you thinking, as in 'Raising Arizona', 'Eyes Wide Shut', 'Abre Los Ojos', or 'My Left Foot'. A good ending often brings emotion, and not necessarily sadness.

Can't have the name "John Woo" associated with it in any way.

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