To write my own film review i first had to research and analyse other film reviews. The first film review i analysed was New Moon the Twilight Saga which was published by the Guardian.The Guardian is considered a high brow newspaper aimed at left wing audience. The Guardian has a very standard structure, it starts with a short explanation of the plot, says the films negatives and then its positives, and ends with a conclusion. The review briefly mentions the director and starts of the film as it is likely (because of the films publicity) they will already be aware of them, and would already have formed an opinion on their abilities. The Guardian is more relaxed in its approach to reviewing New Moon. The Guardian understands that it is aimed at a middle class, middle aged audience whilst New Moon is aimed at a teen audience. The Guardian uses socio-lect language such as "shag", this is to mock the teen audience originally meant for the film as they know the adults the review is written for will most likely not enjoy or see this film.
The second film review i analysed was 'Johnny Mad Dog' which was published by Sight and Sound. Sight and Sound is similar to The Guardian as it is also considered a high brow magazine, however Sight and Sound is more technical. Sight and Sound also follows the same structure as The Guardian, however The Guardian doesn't name the director instead referring to him as 'the French film- maker', Sight and Sound assumes that their audience is already familiar with the director and his work, this is because Sight and Sound write very technical and descriptive film reviews, they are writing for an audience that has a large and in-depth knowledge of film.
After analysing these film reviews i realised though both The Guardian and Sight and Sound are considered "high-brow" and liberal, they have very different ways of communicating to their audience. The Guardian is more relaxed , it focuses more on the actors and directors rather than the actual film, though they give give compliments and criticism it will either praise the film of rip it to shreds. Sight and Sound rather than focussing on the actors, Sight and Sound delves into the film, analysing its message and the technology used to achieve it.
From my research I have found these codes and conventions:
.Film summary - plot, setting, etc.
.Genre
.Director
.Actors
.Music
.Initial reaction
.Criticisms
.Compliments
.Sound
.Lighting
.Camera work
.Mise-en-scene
.Conclusion and rating
My review plan:
Although I have discovered the codes and conventions from these reviews i will not write my review in their style. The Guardian was too critical mad judgmental, while Sight and Sound was too technical. Instead I will be writing in the style of Empire magazine. It is a magazine that I read often, and one that I feel suits my own writing style. To fully understand Empire's style of writing Im going to analyse Empire's review of The Ugly Truth.
Empire magazine starts its article with a summary of its main information i.e. release date, certificate, director, actors, cast, and a short summary. Empire then moves on to some humour. Its sarcastic humour not only tells the reader what Empire thinks of the film but also makes the review feel relaxed, as though it was a friend telling another what they thought of the movie they had seen the previous night. Again using humour Empire tells the reader about the films genre, characters and the plot in more detail. Empire then gives its opinion of the film, it criticise's the films writing and overall plot "What's wrong is that the script - written, God help us, by three women - seems to hate its leading lady". Although Empire criticise's the film, it is fair. Unlike The Guardian who I feel judged the film before it had seen it, Empire does give the film a fair trial, saying while it may not be the best film of the year it is not the worst, and is just the result of a over used genre "The plot, in other words, is no worse than any of its genre" . It then end's with a summary of The film, with a negative and a positive, then a star rating.
