How to write a good movie review for college in 8 steps
How to write a good movie review for college in 8 steps
1. Watch the film like a film critic. Even if you have already watched the film several times, it’s time to analyze it from another angle. You need to conduct research. “How should I do my research paper about a movie review?” You need to answer several questions. Do actors wear historically correct costumes? What emotions does the camera operator try to convey? How does one scene move to another? What mood does the color and lighting establish? Try to evaluate all elements that were involved in the film creation.
2. Divide the film into scenes. This will help you find out the sequence of scenes and evaluate their significance to the overall idea. Look how the director moves from one story line to another, presents a story twist, and depicts characters. Does the movie have flashbacks?
3. Look through critical reviews of the movie. Search not only over the internet, but also look at academic databases in your college library. Academic works about films and views of professionals about the films may give you good ideas for your own review.
4. Determine the main thesis. What will be the main thought of your movie review? For example, you can discuss the movie in terms of its effect on the audience, compliance of the film with the depicted epoch, or the quality of the book adaptation.
5. Analyze the most significant scenes. Analyze the location, story development, and camera work. How does the director use technical means and the actors’ performances to create the mood, meaning, and character development?
6. Present your own point of view and understanding of the film. For example, you can explain the philosophical aspects in the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
7. Write your first draft. Create an outline that will help you to structure your review. Here, a narrative essay outline example or classification essay outline can help you depending on your review type. Typically, you will need an introduction, body (review of story, technical characteristics, cast, directing), and conclusion.
8. Edit and proofread the text of your movie review. It’s essential to ensure you have no grammatical errors or other mistakes in the text, as you usually do when you write my college essay. Re-read the text to check whether you have covered all movie scenes, every thought has an ending, and the text reads smoothly.
When you finish your first draft, make sure that your movie review:
has an attractive and attention-grabbing title;
has a brief description at the very beginning;
contains a short overview of the story;
analyzes the key elements of the movie;
contains real examples from the movie to back up your personal opinion;
keeps the ending and story twists a surprise;
recommends the movie to a particular audience.
Ideas for movie review writing
While writing an effective movie review, you will need to take a certain approach to the movie, especially if you are writing a cause and effect essay. Here is a list of approaches that you can apply to your movie review:
The role of music, special effects, operator work, motifs, editing, characters, or other movie details. For example, you can discuss the role of black and white tones in “Angel-A” (2005) by Luc Besson.
Analysis of the narrative form. For example, you can define the influence of postmodern scripts in “Pulp Fiction” (1994) by Quentin Tarantino.
Analysis of a movie from a cultural, political, theoretical, historical, or ideological perspective. You can make a profound analysis of the movie in the context of a particular approach.
The influence of an artistic vision and the director’s approaches to the overall character of the movie. How has the director’s viewpoint influenced the movie? Do the director’s works have distinctive characteristics that distinguish him or her from other directors?
Analysis of the film genre from the perspective of typical qualities of the genre. For example, you have chosen the thriller “The Silence of the Lambs.” What typical qualities of a thriller does this movie have? What differentiates it from other thrillers?
The role of cultural traditions and the country’s history on the film. For example, a typical ending of Hollywood movies is a happy ending. Bollywood movies are typically accompanied by dancing or singing.
Comparison of two films. It may be two films of one director, or two films on one book or story, or two films of identical genres.
1. Watch the film like a film critic. Even if you have already watched the film several times, it’s time to analyze it from another angle. You need to conduct research. “How should I do my research paper about a movie review?” You need to answer several questions. Do actors wear historically correct costumes? What emotions does the camera operator try to convey? How does one scene move to another? What mood does the color and lighting establish? Try to evaluate all elements that were involved in the film creation.
2. Divide the film into scenes. This will help you find out the sequence of scenes and evaluate their significance to the overall idea. Look how the director moves from one story line to another, presents a story twist, and depicts characters. Does the movie have flashbacks?
3. Look through critical reviews of the movie. Search not only over the internet, but also look at academic databases in your college library. Academic works about films and views of professionals about the films may give you good ideas for your own review.
4. Determine the main thesis. What will be the main thought of your movie review? For example, you can discuss the movie in terms of its effect on the audience, compliance of the film with the depicted epoch, or the quality of the book adaptation.
5. Analyze the most significant scenes. Analyze the location, story development, and camera work. How does the director use technical means and the actors’ performances to create the mood, meaning, and character development?
6. Present your own point of view and understanding of the film. For example, you can explain the philosophical aspects in the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
7. Write your first draft. Create an outline that will help you to structure your review. Here, a narrative essay outline example or classification essay outline can help you depending on your review type. Typically, you will need an introduction, body (review of story, technical characteristics, cast, directing), and conclusion.
8. Edit and proofread the text of your movie review. It’s essential to ensure you have no grammatical errors or other mistakes in the text, as you usually do when you write my college essay. Re-read the text to check whether you have covered all movie scenes, every thought has an ending, and the text reads smoothly.
When you finish your first draft, make sure that your movie review: