General Information: How to write
great reviews
When writing reviews of any kind—restaurant reviews, book
reviews, movie reviews, art reviews, music or concert reviews, and more—it's
important to organize your thoughts carefully and always to keep in mind the
people who will be likely to read what you write. Keep a few key pointers in
mind to ensure that whatever review you write will be intelligent, informative,
engaging, and fair.
1. Ask yourself “what does the reader want to know?”
This is the most important thing to remember when writing a
review. You can craft the wittiest prose with the cleverest metaphors, but
unless the reader finds out what they want to know, you’ve not done your job as
a reviewer.
2. Decide on the overall point you want to get across to the
reader.
If you know your subject matter well (which, as a reviewer, you
should do), you’ll no doubt have a whole ream of opinions, both good and bad,
that you can knock back and forth like a review-writing game of tennis. All
those viewpoints can get confusing, so simplify it.
3. Be ruthless when editing – don’t be precious about your
“art”.
If it doesn’t help you answer the reader’s question (point
number 1, above), or isn’t directly conducive to getting your main point across
(number 2), then get rid of it! You might be really proud of a line you’ve
written, but unless it helps the review as a whole it’s no good.
4. Don’t write about yourself; it’s about the band, book, movie
or whatever you’re reviewing.
A classic novice’s mistake this one. Look at any page of Amazon
customer reviews, and you’ll no doubt come across someone who tells a story all
about how the guy they work with said The Da Vinci Code is great, but I wasn’t
sure because he’s not too smart, but then he did recommend that other book to
me that was pretty good, although he’s a religious nut so it probably won’t be
my thing, but I suppose I should because otherwise he’ll never shut up about
it…WHO CARES?
5. Don’t be afraid to state the obvious.
You’re an expert in your field – anything you don’t know about
the works of Stephen King isn’t worth knowing! So it can be a bit frustrating
as a reviewer to have to hold your reader’s hand and explain to them that he’s
a quite well-known horror writer and that they may even have heard of The
Shining – it was made into a film, you know?
6. Don’t
praise—or damn—blindly. If you’re going to enshrine the subject, or entomb
it, back up your opinions with concrete evidence. Why is that particular pizza
so darn good? What's an example of a particular author's dazzling turns of
phrase? What about the artist's technique makes a particular painting so
exciting? In what ways did the cabaret singer fail to engage the audience?
7. Have an opinion. Writing a review is not an occasion to be modest or self-effacing. As long as you're capable of backing up your opinion, don’t be afraid to express, emphatically, what you feel or believe. Remember: professionalism is in the details. Specific facts, keen observations, and well-considered insights amount to more than opinions.
7. Have an opinion. Writing a review is not an occasion to be modest or self-effacing. As long as you're capable of backing up your opinion, don’t be afraid to express, emphatically, what you feel or believe. Remember: professionalism is in the details. Specific facts, keen observations, and well-considered insights amount to more than opinions.
8. Avoid “I” and “In My
Opinion”
Too many critics pepper reviews with phrases like “I think” or
“In my opinion.” Again, this is often done by novice critics afraid of writing
declarative sentences. But such phrases are unnecessary; your reader
understands that it’s your opinion you’re writing about, not someone else’s. So
leave out the “I.”
9. Give Background
The critic’s analysis is
the centerpiece of any review, but that’s not much use to readers if he doesn’t
provide enough background information.
So if you’re reviewing a
movie, that means not just outlining the plot but also discussing the director
and his previous films, the actors and perhaps even the screenwriter.
Critiquing a restaurant? When did it open, who owns it and who’s the head chef?
An art exhibit? Tell us a little about the artist, her influences and her
previous works.
Writing a movie review is a great way of expressing your
opinion of a movie. The purpose of most
movie reviews is to help the reader in determining whether they want to watch,
rent or buy the movie. The review should
give enough details about the movie that the reader can make an informed
decision, without giving anyway any essentials such as the plot or any
surprises.
Below are our guidelines and
tips for writing a good movie review.
1. Watch the movie
(seems obvious, but…)
The first step in
writing the review is to watch the movie.
Watch the movie in a relaxed environment you are familiar with. You do not want to be distracted by an
unfamiliar room. Watching the movie a
second time will help you absorb a lot more detail about the movie. Take notes as they watch the movie
review. (you will turn these in!)
2. Give your opinion (look over the general guidelines
again)
Most movie reviewers
will give their opinion of the movie.
This is important as the reviewer can express the elements of the movie
they enjoyed or disliked. However, as in
all good journalism, the reviewer should also give impartial details, and allow
the reader to make their own mind over an issue the reader liked or
disliked. Opinions should be explained
to allow the reader to determine whether they would agree with your opinion.
Many regular movie
reviewers will develop a following. If
one can find a reviewer who shares a similar taste in films, one can
confidently follow the reviewer’s recommendations.
3. Who is your
audience? (In this case it is your peers)
You need to consider
who your likely readers are. Writing a
movie review for children requires a different approach than if writing for a
movie club. Ensure you report on the
factors that matter to your likely audience.
4. Give an outline
Give the plot outline
of the movie, but don't give away essential details such as the end or any
surprises. If there is a big surprise
you want to entice readers by telling them something special happens, just
don't say what.
5. Actors
If the movie contains
actors, as most do, detail who is starring in the movie and how well you think
they acted. (research the actors / directors, etc)
6. Structure
Did the movie follow
a regular predictable story line? Flashbacks?
Foreshadowing?
7. Cinematography /
lighting
Give details about
how well the movie was shot and directed.
How did the camera angles contribute to the tone and mood?
8. Music
Did the movie have its own score, or did it feature songs
from popular artists?
9. Many of those literary element terms that have you have
had in English classes carry over into the film critic vocabulary: plot (and
its various components), setting, characters, tone, dialogue, point of view,
imagery and don’t forget to look for symbolism.
10. Read, read and read
Read and check your
review thoroughly. It can be
embarrassing to find errors in your work after it has been published. This is especially important for reviews that
will be published on the Internet, as search engines are always looking for the
correct spellings of key words.
ASSIGNMENT: 1. Make sure you have read both the general information on reviews and the specifics as regards writing a film review. As well, even if you did not or, in the case of period 3 need not send along the questions, please have read the New Yorker review of The Hunger Games. This is the level of detail that should be in your review.
2. Choose a film from the list below and watch it. They are all approximately 1:35 minutes long; hence you have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in class to watch the movie privately. YOU NEED EAR PLUGS!
3. On Tuesday May 1, turn in your detailed outline of the film. This should include, not only the notes you took while watching the film, but background information on actors, director, sound and cinematography.
4. on Thursday May 3, send along by 3:00- not the usual midnight- your review, which will be a minimum of 500 words. My grades are due the 4th; so no late work will be accepted.
1. Commando http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IliiXXDEEBE
2. Religuolous (documentary with Bill Maher) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8fMmMhwRg
3. Pink Floyd- The Wall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQE3vcwU97g
4. His Girl Friday (Katherine Hepburn / Cary Grant 1940) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rdSZUlzIQw
5. It Happened One Night (Claudette Colbert / Clark Gable http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZo7Gp03REY
6. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCAaEbCDovQ
7. 12 Angry Men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6QhKPZDZTE&feature=related
8. Urban Legend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH3FgMtPEVU&feature=related
9. Shawshank Redemption http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtwXlIwozog
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