Asking Advice
Hello, can someone help me out with how a written movie review should be structured? I want to start writing reviews for mainly Horror movies and others on IMDB, but I don't want it to be redundant or trip over itself.
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Hi! I'm a huge horror fan and I write reviews on Bloody-Disgusting. I find writing in stream of consciousness works best for me. Essentailly you can write your reviews however the hell you want but I understand the need to have a structure. What I generally do is explain the plot, then what you did/didn't like and WHY (very important you need to know why you don't like something...or at least need to be able to explain it in words), what could have made it better (if applicable) and then a sort of TLDR; paragraph at the end. I hope this helps!
Just look at a movie dedicated to movie stuff. The Dissolve is a good site for this. A good method I've used for the site I work on (shameless plug: Crushed Celluloid) goes something like
Intro (some interesting history/context about the film or perhaps a personal anecdote involving your personal history with the film)
Plot Summary
Highlights of actors/actress's
Tone/Technical Aspects/Themes
Outro (Bring it all together with how you personally feel about the movie)
It is easy to start repeating yourself if you aren't careful. Personally, I also think people often make the mistake of delving too far into the plot and not interacting with the movie beyond the narrative, ignoring the huge difference between a movie and a book. But that is just a personal gripe.
Thanks a lot this is a great outline it helped get my first review up. As did all the other posts. Thanks guys.
Depends on the movie you're reviewing and the tone you intend to convey. I suggest you go out and read a bunch of movie reviews to get a feel for what's being done. I know the Dissolve, which has been suggested already, is good, then there's the AV Club, and if you're into movies on the more campy end of the spectrum, you should check out Swamp Flix, a movie review site run by some friends of mine out of New Orleans. Good luck.
Dirge Magazine asked me to write movie reviews for them. I said I would, but only if I didn't have to write like most reviews.
Most reviews are basically like most newscasts: sensational and meaningless. I wanted to approach reviews by giving films the benefit of the doubt.
As for structure, I first try to give some historical context. Why do I think the filmmakers made this movie, and what movies that we've seen before are relevant?
Next I talk about how the movie sets up and what it appears to be getting into.
Last, I go over some conclusions about the film without giving away any major plot points. I rate movies on a 0-5 scale, then end with an attempt at wit.
Easy as that.
Thank you, awesome magazine.