What is a movie review and why is it written?
Movie reviews
are written for the general public by commonly journalists or other
non-academics and appear in newspapers, magazines or online around the time the
film is released in theatres. Their intention is to describe the plot,
characters, director, etc in order to help decide whether or not a film should
be seen. To be brief, A movie review’s main function is to give you—the
reader—an idea of whether or not it’s worth your time and money to see the
movie in question.
How to write an objective and opinionated film review
If you’re
looking to write your first film review, there are some things to keep in mind.
First and foremost: no matter what, it is essential that you remain objective.
While it’s fine for us to admit that we may not like or dislike a particular
film, subjective words such as hate or love should never be used when writing
about movies.
All reviews
should strive to include a balanced look at both positive and negative aspects
of any given movie. This can be done by providing an overview of what you liked
and didn’t like about a film, then following up with an explanation as to why.
This type of writing makes it easy for readers to understand what they might
expect from watching a certain movie without giving away too much information
that could spoil their viewing experience.
Now, see the following sample movie review and notice how ideas are presented so that you can develop a movie review follow the same pattern. Also, notice the different sections and information mentioned in the movie review.
How to write
a movie review?
A Specimen of Movie Review on ‘Jhola’
Title of the movie: Jhola
Director: Yadav Kumar Bhattarai
Producers: Raj Timalsina, Ram Gopal Thapa and Sushil Shah
Starring: Garima Panta, Desh Bhakta Khanal, Sujal Nepal, Laxmi
Giri and Deepak Chhetri
Genre: Social
Duration: 90 minutes
Language: Nepali
Release Date: 7 December 2013
‘Jhola’ is a Nepali film based on
Krishna Dharawasi’s short story “Jhola”.
It has depicted Nepali society about the Sati tradition that was
prevalent until the 1920s. The film has beautifully presented the issues of violence against women.
“Has Nepalese society
really passed through such inhuman tradition?” is the question every
youngster wonders about.
The plot
develops with the death of Garima’s husband in which she has to
immolate herself upon her husband’s death, typically on his funeral pyre. She
is supposed to be burnt alive with the dead body of her husband according to
the tradition. However, she escapes the fire and hides in a cave. The help of
her son fascinates the audience.
Almost all the scenes seem realistic and historical. Traditional tools
like dhiki, janto, madaani, etc. give a traditional look to the film. Similarly
traditional lights like
ranko, diyalo and fire place represent ancient environment to the spectators. In addition to Sati
tradition, the movie also touches
Kamara Kamari (a kind of slavery) tradition. What a beautiful cinematography it is ! I think costumes of the artists and the leaf music in traditional tunes touch the
heart of every one present in the cinema hall. Garima’s
natural appearance, her role and her acting are spellbinding and
add to the beauty of the movie.
This is a
must watch movie. Don’t miss it. It will
touch the hearts of many.