Movie Review Essay

How To Write A Movie Review http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

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

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. Most movie reviewers take notes as they watch the movie review.

2. Give your opinion

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

reviewers recommendations.

3. Who is your audience?

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 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.

6. Structure

Did the movie follow a regular predictable story line, or did it get you thinking like a Quentin Tarantino movie?

7.Cinematography and lighting

Give details about how well the movie was shot and directed. Was the lighting good in the moody scenes?

8. Music

Did the movie have its own original score like A Beautiful Mind, Schindler’s List or ET, or did it feature songs from popular artists?

9. 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

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How To Write a Movie Review: Another Perspective!

People always want to know what someone else thinks about the film they want to see and they scour the web to look for these opinions. You could syndicate another

site’s reviews, but why do that? You want your readers to be loyal to you and your reviews and honestly, they want

to hear what you have to say and what you think. Below

there are some tips how to write a great film review.

1. Actively Watch the Film – Yes, movie watching is a passive activity. Watching a film isn’t something you do,

it is something that happens to you. However, if you want to write good reviews you have to learn to look at movies with a critical

eye. This means you need to pay attention to EVERYTHING. Notice how the actors are placed in each shot, the setting, the camera angles, even the

music. All of these elements play a role in the story that is trying to be told and are important to talk about if you want to write the compelling sort of

reviews that your readers will like to read.

2. Take Copious Notes – No, you do not need to sit in a theatre with pen

and pad or laptop in hand, but take solid mental notes. Information such as the actor’s names or who the director was is easy to come across, but

information like camera shots, or plot devices is not, so you need to train yourself not only to watch for that type of information but also to remember

it.

3. Summarize. Don’t Spoil. – This is important. Nothing is worse than

reading a review that tells the whole film from beginning to end and leaves nothing for you to see. People want your opinion, not for you to spoil the

film. A basic summation of the plot is all that is necessary. From there you can talk about whether or not the plot worked well or was the plot even a

plot at all. Let the details of the film be revealed when your readers see the film, not when they read your review.

4. Critical Analysis is Key – The difference between a review anyone can

write and a review people will clamor to read is in how well you analyze the

film. Think about those papers you had to write for lit class in college. The professor didn’t want you to just tell him what the book was about but

wanted you to break down the themes in the book and how they related to the plot, the characters, etc. Well the same is true for a film review. No one

wants a summary of events or the plot. A good review will examine the

themes or ideas the movie raises and talk about how well or not so well the film executed those themes and ideas.

5. Point Out the Pros and the Cons – No film is perfect and rarely is any

film all bad, so take the time to talk about what the film does well and what it does not so well.

6. Be Original – For some folk it is two thumbs up, for others it is rotten tomatoes. Whatever you decide you want your rating system to be, be

original. Try to find a hook that works for you. Just don’t do something that closely resembles someone else or you’ll just seem like a bad copy of the

original.

Follow these steps and you’ll be writing the best reviews and your readers will constantly come back for more week in and week out. Happy writing.

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