I remember stocking up on a particular brand of film that was described by folks online as inherently 'cinematic'. It sounded amazing, and I was excited to shoot a few rolls. But, in practice, the negatives just never turned out all that great, technically, and the results certainly were not particularly cinematic, even if the images were pleasant enough. This experience surfaced again recently because I've been watching a lot of black and white movies that were filmed from the 1940s through the 1980s. What strikes me about the cinematic aesthetic is that the exposure and lighting were always spot on, in other words, technically well executed. No silver bullets.
Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, 35mm f/2 lens (first version).
