I need to see art, not fun entertainment.
This is accomplished primarily through exceptional technical craftsmanship across the board; along with subtlety and taste. It’s a team effort and weak players/departments show. When done correctly the gestalt effect is amazing. You get what @Cruiser is talking about. To me, the ultimate movie you wake up from (in a trance) at the end and find it hard to believe you’re even in a movie theater. Then for 8+ hours – or days – you see the world from the movie’s perspective with those beautiful sea legs.
I expect the cinematographer to not have Parkinson’s disease. Nor any other of the major “seamless style” rules to be recklessly broken – like the 180-degree rule.
I expect to see ZERO product placement. They should be paying me if they want to show me commercials.
Inception (2010) was overcooked on action for me. The first half was such a great experience, but then Nolan (who also did Memento) pulled the rug out and turned it into a Die Hard Bondian remake, and all the subtlety and nuance went up in C-4 flames. There was no relief. He tried to sustain tension for like the last hour straight, and it didn’t work. He also overused closeups; like too much rouge on a whore. And there are some major editing errors in the second half.
So ultimately I hated the directing and editing. “Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”
Tom Hardy (who started in the minor masterpiece Bronson (2008)) is my new favorite actor. I think his work and DiCaprio’s may be worth an Oscar nod.