Plot: What was the movie about? Was it believable? Interesting? Thought-provoking? How was the climax revealed? How did the setting affect the story?.When I write a review, I do my best to cover all aspects of filmmaking that went into creating the final product, including: This is where the checklist comes into play. Being precise in your commentary and incorporating specific examples from the movie to back up your opinions is key. It’s better to get it all down on paper, and then evaluate what’s necessary to convey to the reader later. And since collecting my thoughts after seeing a movie can be chaotic, I need to be sure that I jot down everything that struck my radar as soon as it’s over. Since I don’t take a lot of notes during the movie, one of the most important aspects of writing a critique is to stay focused and write down all of the things that stood out to me about the film. The window of time immediately following the viewing is critical. In general, I think of pausing, rewinding, and taking notes as interruptions that will bring you out of the film-literally and emotionally-and that can play a role in how you view a film from a critical standpoint.Īvoid trailers and other reviews prior to watching as to not sway your perception. This will help later when I’m constructing my review-for brief summary recaps, breaking down the themes, and reflecting on the direction or acting. I will however, write down a word or phrase that stands out so that I can recall scenes or story information that catch my attention and that I deem important. I also try not to take many notes while I watch the movie-if you’re jotting down a long critique or opinion while watching the movie, you can miss brief, yet vital moments. If you spend your first viewing pausing, playing back, and re-watching segments at a time, you won’t get a sense for the way the film was meant to be enjoyed.
What works for me is to watch the movie in its entirety without distractions in order to get a grasp on what the director intended. Of course, there are those who prefer at least a couple viewings, but from my experience multiple viewings can actually skew your assessment. I believe you only need to a see a film once in order to critique a film.
Without being affected by the trailers, marketing, and other reviews before watching a movie, you can really put your best foot forward to creating your authentic opinion and turning that into a movie review people can trust.Īvoid trailers and other reviews prior to watching as to not sway your perception. Of course, after the review is finished, I always welcome a discussion with fellow cinephiles to hear and understand what they enjoyed and didn’t. And when you’re in reviewer mode, you want to be as honest with your own opinion as possible, and not allow any outside voice to alter it. As for reviews, reading about what others think of the movie before watching or writing a review can affect your opinion heavily. Trailers work well to provide some context and tone prior to watching a movie, but they can also be filled with spoilers, which is why I do my best to avoid them when possible. But if you can avoid watching the trailers and reading about other peoples’ opinions prior to watching, you won’t have any preconceived judgments and can go in with an unbiased perspective. Avoiding exposure to the movie can be more difficult than it sounds when it’s a popular film-as trailers and marketing run rampant. If I’m not familiar with the cast and/or the director, I’ll do a little filmography research, but only about their past work if I’ve never seen it before. Ideally, when I start on the path of reviewing a film, I will know very little about it-aside from the actors and the director involved. The hardest part of this first step is going to be avoiding doing too much research or reading other reviews prior to watching the movie (as tempting as it may be.) I find that it’s more liberating to the experience to go in with an air of unfamiliarity.
Here are the steps I take from start to finish, when screening films. Rather, they need to be honest and encourage discussion. I’ve been analyzing movies critically for six years, and I’ve personally found that reviews don’t need to be complicated. There’s a lot of advice out there about writing film reviews from a critic’s perspective, each with varying degrees of advice.
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