My movie review - what do you think???

F

Fgs

New member
Hey guys

Since the start of the year, I've been writing reviews of the films I've been going to see.

I thought I might throw the first one I wrote - Into The Wild - up, to see what a wider audience thinks i.e. not someone I know who's just going to say "Yeah, it's good."

I'd appreciate feedback on the review itself. You might disagree with me on the rating, but if you can give me some feedback on the review itself (Did you enjoy reading it? Would you see/not see the film after reading it?) that would be great.

Cheers

Into The Wild
When top student Christopher McCandless graduates from Emory University in 1990, his parents expect great things of him. Instead, he decides to donate his remaining $24,000 college fund to Oxfam, destroys his ID and disappears off the face of the earth, trying to distance himself from the world he believes destroyed his parents
 
I find it well structured - plot, performances, cinematography, sound, overall summary. There's a few differences I'd make, for example putting the actor's name in brackets after the first mention of the character, and referring to them by surname when reviewing their performance. The way you wrote it I had to do a double take to check that Emile Hirsch wasn't playing the sister. :D There's a few minor mistakes like 'in a sometimes heavy the film' and 'of' instead of 'off', but I know how difficult it can be to pick up on those when you've been staring at your own worRAB for ages (plus spellcheck won't pick them up because, of course, they're not 'wrong').

One thing I would note, for what it's worth, is that often people browsing reviews will skim past the plot summary and get right to the opinions, and when it's a really well-known film you could trim the aforementioned summary down to just a line or two. Personally I want to know what the acting is like, the direction, the quality, and overall view/rating.

All in all well-written and thought-out, and though I am often wary of reviews that give full marks (assuming it's five out of five rather than five out of ten) or no marks to films, as long as the reviewer's other write-ups are balanced I will trust their judgement.
 
Hey guys

Thanks for the positive feedback - it's much appreciated.

To answer some of the points made:



I hold my hanRAB up to the spelling/grammer misktakes - despite having them checked by my flatmate...who it an English student!!!



Sometimes when reading reviews (and others have pointed this out to me)I feel that they don't give enough detail on the plot, so it doesn't encourage me to go and see the film. At the same times, you need to ensure that you aren't giving anything away. So I'm still trying to strike the right balance.



This wasn't a case of "I enjoyed the film, so it's 5/5". Into The Wild really left an impression on me after seeing it, and I feel that any film that does that is worthy a high rating. And to prove that I can also be critical, I've included my review of I Am Legend below.

Enjoy

I Am Legend
It
 
On the other hand, I make a point of reading only the plot summary and completely ignoring the opinion. I find formal critiques of films astonishingly arrogant things to do and have no time for them, no matter who does them. Still, each to their own.

RegarRAB

Mark
 
Back
Top