Difference between "you are no good" and "you are not good"

If you look up a dictionary, you will see the explanation. GOOD means “able to do something / of a high standard or quality / skillful” (if “good” is an adj). NO GOOD means “not useful or suitable / of a low standard or level” .

What is the difference between this 2 pairs of sentences below ? :
you are not good / you are no good .

I am not good at speaking in public / I am no good at speaking in public.
The meaning is not the same of these sentences.

But “the movie was not good (adj)” differs with “the movie was not much good (noun)”. (This example is able to distinguish them easily).

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You are not good. = You are not of goodness.
You are no good. = You are of zero goodness.

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I am not good at speaking in public / I am no good at speaking in public.
The meaning is not the same of these sentences.-- Yes, the meanings are the same, and a native speaker is as likely to utter either.

“the movie was not good (adj)” differs with “the movie was not much good (noun)”.-- Both 'good’s are adjectives; ‘much’ is an adverb. The meanings are similar, but the first is more extreme than the second; that is all.

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I am not sure : “the movie was not much good”. good is an adj because this sentence I took from Longman dictionary of contemporary English. This example is for using “good” as a noun. Anyway Thank you Mr Mister Micawber for the comment.

good : noun

1 no good/not much good/not any good
a) not useful or suitable :
One lesson’s not much good – you need five or six.
‘I could come next week.’ ‘That’s no good. I’ll be away.’
no good/not much good/not any good for
The land here isn’t any good for agricultural crops.
no good/not much good/not any good to
You’re no good to me if you can’t drive a car.
b) of a low standard or level of ability :
The movie wasn’t much good.
Is the new headteacher any good?
no good at (doing) something
I’m no good at speaking in public.
c) morally bad :
Stay away from Jerry – he’s no good.
2 it’s no good (doing something) used to say that an action will not achieve what it is intended to achieve :
It’s no good telling him – he won’t listen.
3 do some good/do somebody good to have a useful effect :
She works for a small charity where she feels she can do some good.
I’ll talk to him but I don’t think it will do any good.
4 what’s the good of …?/what good is …? used to say that it is not worth doing or having something in a particular situation :
What’s the good of buying a boat if you’re too busy to use it?
What good is money when you haven’t any friends?
5 for good permanently :
The injury may keep him out of football for good.

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Please don’t paste the whole dictionary entry-- much of it is irrelevant, WC. This is the relevant definition:

b) of a low standard or level of ability: The movie wasn’t much good. Is the new headteacher any good? No good at (doing) something. I’m no good at speaking in public.

This, I presume, is a noun definition; I don’t think much of your dictionary, however. This meaning is subsumed in the many adjective definitions on line, as HERE, although the examples are attributive and not predicative as in our present case.

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Ok, I got what you mean. Mr Mister Micawber.
BTW, Sorry for pasting the whole dictionary entry.

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