What elements would a perfect drama movie to you?

Something like Witness. . .fish-out-of-water, action-packed, lots of emotion, long-odds-but-still-achieves-victory. . .but a somewhat melancholy ending. . .

Victory. Defeat. Redemption...

Boy meets all meat burrito, boy loses all meat burrito, boy becomes boxer, boy gets back all meat burrito and everybody lives happily ever after. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. (Sigh)

War, historical accuracy, Germans vs. Soviets, Eastern Front, location: Kursk, Operation: Citadel, date: July 1943.

The unexpected ending.

movies are for fools

Believable characters, a hero that I can sincerely grow to like. Good plot and surprises along the way, fabulous acting and a stirring musical score. I would hope that the director would do a good job, as well -- I'm thinking about going to film school next year so I'm paying a lot more attention to how a film plays out and whether or not things could have been done better.

A good drama should consist of an intelligent script and a plot with twists and turns, but not so many twists and turns that it is not credible. Of course a drama requires great acting, but not overacting. And this is a personal preference of mine: I like tear-jerkers. There's just something so cathartic about bawling your eyes out in a movie theater.

Realistic; a lead character I can identify with; no crazy, impossible stunts, but only action which feels as though you could be there yourself; strong character development, with surprises; no forced happy ending, but rather an outcome which reveals an insight into the human condition. Hollywood comes close about once every ten or twenty years.

Lots of blood and gore, explosions, slapstick humor, and space ships. The soundtrack would consist of selections from my favorite Norwegian black metal bands. Christopher Walken would play both the hero and the hero's evil twin, and several other roles for good measure. There'd be plenty of yodelling, head-butting, and gorillas, because the world could always use more of those things. Maybe get Nick Nolte to deliver the head-butts, because no one delivers a better head-butt than Nick Nolte.

For me, good acting and a sensible plot make a good drama for me.

Something with about a person with a dramatic life. It can be a tragic love story about an artist who becomes bedridden (a.k.a Frida) It can be about two girls whose friendship is so powerful it causes them to do the seemingly impossible (Heavenly Creatures) or it can be a movie that ends up good in the end with happiness. I just want a drama movie that makes me think, laugh, and cry!

A superb script, a gifted director, and a talented cast.

- Happy ending that shows good winning over evil and leaves the door open for sequels (people laughing together at end, villain in jail promsing revenge, etc.) - Upbeat, optimistic tone (no dark, grungy cities, no gang violence, none of THAT! -- unless easily crushed by the good guys) - Quips and joke humor (tounge-in-cheek tone ala Superman or Indiana Jones or Tom Paris from Voyager) - Unrealistic approach - No profanity - No graphic sexual material - Talking/animated animals, plants or inanimate objects - Crossovers with other franchises (team-up!) - Nuclear families (no divorcees/orphans/single parents, etc. - can start non-nuclear, but finish together) - Any evil characters get their comeupins (arrested, jailed, knocked-out, etc.) - Continiuty if in series (references to previous elements ROCK! ala Star Trek) - No drug use, cigarettes, etc. - No angst (no in-team arguments (that last), no hate, no frustration, no isolation, etc.) - No serious pondering scenes (none of those drawn o... Read more

Taut, psychological thrillers where the characters are well developed yet you aren't really sure who the good guys and bad guys are. A well written script. Characters that are complex, intriguing and somewhat edgy.