A Good Movie is Hard Defined

Aristotle waxed eloquently on what it means to be good, as well as how to attain it. While the same rigorous process ought to be endeavored by someone to lay out what it means to be a good movie, that person is not me. However, I will briefly lay out my own criteria for evaluating a movie. The reason for these categories is that different movies a worth watching for different reasons. I personally find that a movie is worth watching when it is strong in at least one of these categories.

Direction - How the movie flowed from scene to scene; how the story unfolded; how it was told

Performance - How well the actors acted

Aesthetics - The cinematography, musical score, and all of the other sites and sounds that carry the movie

Story - Is this movie a story worth telling? What was the movie trying to do, and did we need this movie to do it?