The summer issue of Salvo features an interesting interview with screenwriter Barbara Nicolosi.  In it she explains that "A beautiful film is one that achieves excellence in production and message."  Technical considerations (script, design, acting, etc.) are important, but:

[A] film should also be judged according to its message.  What does the movie want you to believe?  Is what it's telling you the truth or a lie?  If the latter, then it's a bad film, no matter how good the technique may be.

There are many well-done ugly films out there--and many badly-done nice ones.  Why is this?  I came across a quote from Simone Weil that seems to capture the problem (though it doesn't explain it):

Nothing is so beautiful and wonderful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good. No desert is so dreary, monotonous, and boring as evil. This is the truth about authentic good and evil. With fictional good and evil it is the other way round. Fictional good is boring and flat, while fictional evil is varied and intriguing, attractive, profound, and full of charm.

The truth is, for whatever reason, it is very, very difficult to portray goodness as it really is and quite easy to portray evil as we wish it to be.  Christian filmmakers, you need real skill to achieve the former.  Don't give in to laziness!  Strive as artists throughout history have striven to uplift our souls with real beauty and truth.  Our prayers are with you.