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Review

Bits and pieces for educational purposes

Collected by the project team in 2021

Erasmus+ school project “May ICT be with you”

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Collins online dictionary defines review as ...

writing a critical assessment of (a book, film, play, concert, etc.);
looking at or examining again;
looking back upon a period of time, sequence of events, etc.;
inspecting (formal)
reading through or going over in order to correct; and
re-examining (a decision) judicially.

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Review vs. opinion

Review

A justified opinion with appropriate explanation

Opinion

What you believe or think about something

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Film review vs. film criticism

Review:

critically recepting a film at its time of release;
targeting cinema-goers; and
recommending rather than analysing.

Film criticism:

studying, interpreting, and evaluating;
focusing on a film’s meaning, structure, and style;
comparing with other films, and
estimating its likely effect on viewers.

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A good review

INFORMS

telling people who is in the film, who it is by and where or when readers can see it;

DESCRIBES

depicting the story, characters and some of the action, without spoiling the plot or giving too much away;

ANALYSES

giving an opinion on whether the film is good or not and why; and

ADVISES

telling the reader whether or not to go and see the film.

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How is a review organized?

A rotten tomato or a brilliant work of art?

Introduction
Summary
Analysis
Conclusion

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Introduction

general information about the film
your ideas
a thesis statement (your position + reasons)

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Summary

a brief overview of the setting, central theme(s), problem(s)/challenges/ conflict, and the aspirations of the main character(s)

Never retell the storyline!

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Analysis

a fair and accurate evaluation
evidence provided
specific details

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Conclusion

coming full circle
a well-balanced recommendation

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Do’s

Show that you can think critically, and analyse a work of cinematography, effectively.
Pay attention to the smallest details, but avoid irrelevant information.

Provide your work with vivid examples and write a well-balanced analysis.
Double-check all the background information, the history of creating the film, and the original source of its idea, if there is any.

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Don’ts

Do not write about cinematography in general.
Do not make your text too personal as it can harm the objectiveness of your paper.

Do not use unreliable sources of information about the film.
Do not express your personal opinion without saying why you think like that.
Do not produce an unstructured text.

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In conclusion

Writing an effective film review requires general knowledge about cinema, as well as knowledge of peculiar facts about a film itself.
The more you analyse the film, the more attentively you watch. You will soon realise that people involved in the creation of films deserve some respect for their work.
Each review is unique. That is why you hardly find two similar papers that concern the same film.

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C1 Writing Paper

C1 Advanced reviews

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List of web sources