Film Review Research
Emily
‘Blair Witch’ review from The Telegraph
This film review is gives a brief outline of what the film is about, without giving too much away, which will be important for us to do in our review as the audience won’t want to watch it if they already know the ending. This review is also honest without saying outright, “it’s amazing” or “it’s terrible.” It describes in detail why they gave the film that review and picks out the good and bad aspects of it. It also refers to the original ‘Blair Witch’ movie and compares whether the remake is better or worse. For our film review it would be interesting to compare the film to other action thrillers with similar plots and describe whether this one is worth the watch and if it’s anything different.
Additionally, this film review from The Telegraph tells readers the director, cast and running time of the film, which we will include as they’re things potential viewers usually want to know, as well as images from the film so readers can get a feel for what the film and the characters are like. Plus, it breaks up the text.
The review concludes with a summary of what the reviewer thinks of the film. They give both positive and negative points then end with a short statement which will stick in the readers’ minds and make them really consider whether or not they want to watch the film: “Blair Witch styles itself as a love-letter, but its pure transcription.” The closing sentence can mean the difference between the audiences deciding to watch the film or not, so it will be important to end on a positive note if we are trying to persuade them to watch the film.
‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ review from The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/movies/review-renee-zellweger-bridget-joness-baby.html?_r=0
This review asks many rhetorical questions. In fact, it opens with “Who could dislike Bridget Jones?” which creates a relationship with the reader by talking about someone who is universally loved. Shared knowledge will be good to include in our own review so the audience will feel that they can genuinely trust the reviewer’s opinions. Once again, this review gives a brief plot summary, however, it does give away some moments that should be surprises when you watch the film and says that some moments which are meant to be funny aren’t funny at all, EG: “In the funniest farcical moment (not very), the three are stuck in a revolving door at the hospital’s entrance.” This is something we would want to avoid in our review as we want the audience to almost go into watching the film blind and having no idea what is coming next. Furthermore, this film review compares ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ to other films, which is something we will do to convince why they should watch this film over everything else that’s already out there. Finally, something else we could use from this film review in our own is the warning at the end about what viewers should expect from the film: “Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian for some strong language, sexual references and nudity. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes.” Our film will contain violence which some viewers may find distressing so it’s important that we warn them as we don’t want anything to come as a surprise that may offend someone.
'Don't Breathe' review from Empire
http://www.empireonline.com/movies/breathe-2/review/​
This review starts straight away with a brief plot summary, over only a few lines, which ends on a slight cliffhanger so, therefore, doesn't give anything away which may put the audience off reading the rest of the review or watching the film. It also gives the movie a rating out of five stars, an idea which would be good to use in our own film review as its something people take notice of and are keen to know. It also gives a the reader a hint as to whether its going to be a positive or negative review. The review then goes on to explain how this film is different from other home invasion movies. In our film review we could explain how ours is different to other films with similar plots, how our fight scene is different to other fight scenes, etc... in a bid to persuade people to watch it as what we have made has never been done before. This review of 'Don't Breathe' embeds the names of actors and directors in to the text, rather than putting them in a list at the bottom: "an unstable bad boy (Daniel Zovatto)" which we will do as it looks more professional.
Furthermore, this review includes little hooks such as, "Revelations come along every ten minutes" to intrigue the audience enough so they will want to watch the film, as Empire know that audiences are generally fond of films in which things are constantly being uncovered and surprising them. We should include positive statements like this in our review to ensure the film sounds exciting.
Finally, this Empire review references other successful movies the actors have starred in: "Lang, an underrated character heavy best known for Avatar," which will encourage the audience to watch 'Don't Breathe' as 'Avatar,' for example was extremely high grossing and readers are bound to be impressed by his performance in that and so would want to know if he is just as good in 'Don't Breathe.'
‘Kill Command’ review from The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/12/kill-command-review-superior-sci-fi-action-thriller
This review is rather short but is detailed and is written well to ensure the audience can make up their own mind about whether or not they want to watch the film. The review is honest and the writer doesn't try to exaggerate or make it sound amazing just because they feel like they have to, for example: "it’s a sci-fi action thriller whose borrowings are very plain, but it’s decent and watchable nonetheless." Its important for us to be truthful in our own review and not to sound false, otherwise, the readers may question whether or not they can trust our opinion and if we're just making it sound good to be polite. People aren't bothered about whether or not the film gets a good review, they just want to know whether or not it will be worth them spending money to go and see it so its vital that we are not biased. Additionally, this review addresses a specific group of people by saying "Gamers will have a bit of deja vu watching this," which in idea we could use in our review so its clear which kind of people will be interested in this film. Finally, this review of 'Kill Command' gives a brief description of the director of the film, "Steven Gomez is a visual effects supervisor who has graduated to writing and directing his first full-length feature" as, sometimes, who the director is can impact on whether or not people go and watch the film and it gives a bit of history about the film without waffling on too much.