Good film, bad film

So I was watching The Long Kiss Goodnight, and I got to thinking; what is it that makes some films good and other just TV fodder?

I mean: the plot isn’t exactly original, the effects are good but nothing noteworthy, and there’s not exactly what you would call ripping dialogue seen on camera.

Why is it we like films like that, but hate films with Steven Segal? Many of his films have better plots, better effects and deserve to be liked more. And yet many of them end up as “made for TV”, and die a quick death.

Surely it can’t be just because Geena Davis and Samual L Jackson are in the film? Can it really be that a high pay actor can save a movie?

I don’t think so, because there have been plenty of recent films with “good” actors in them that failed to float my boat.

So what is it about certain movies that make me instantly turn off? Is it really that Steven Segal’s cheese-fest permeates everything he touches? Can it really be possible to curse a movie just by adding a single actor (cough-Tim Curry-cough*)? Are we really that fickle?

Personally, I’m stumped. I really don’t know.

Answers on a postcard please…

*The three exceptions being:

• The Hunt for Red October
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Scary Movie 2