Preparing the Masses for the Big Screen

Essay by umkchellUniversity, Master'sA+, April 2004

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The film review can be a vital tool that sets the stage for an upcoming release. Through the critic's words, the general nature of a movie can be surmised along with various intricacies that an author will bring to light. Topics such as plot, actors, and movie direction are key components upon which reviews are built. However, those are just the subtle underlings for the critical movie review. In most instances, movies are picked apart by critics wishing to expose his or her renditions of directions the films chose to undertake. Critiques can be sometimes positive, sometimes negative, but always thought provoking. Three factors stand out and serve as insightful tactics for an analytical review: the use of witty banter to ensnare the reader, a reflection on how actors perform his or her chosen role, and a definitive stance implicitly stated from the start.

The first thing that stands out about each review is the author's choice of witty banter.

Regardless of stance, each author infiltrates their review with word usage destined to provide a smirk on the readers face. For example, in Elvis Mitchell's review on the film "Eurotrip," he speaks how the movie "has all of the anarchic charge of getting a tattoo at Wal-Mart." Later, while commenting on the humiliating moments of each character, Mitchell sees that "it's like the new kid in school - still wearing a John Deere cap and last year's Diesels - asking to be punked, so he can fit in." David Germain also uses words to evoke the reader's attention. In the beginning of his review, he comments on how "'Eurotrip' has no right to be anything but Eurotrash. How surprising, then, that this formless, shapeless bit of drivel actually manages a few fresh laughs." Each critic...