Introduction to Review / Critique Writing

A review is a piece of non-fiction writing that comments on the work of someone else.  Someone who reviews is often called a critic because they are asked to make a critical analysis of someone’s work.  The purpose of the review is to help readers decide whether or not to read a book, watch a television show or movie, or listen to a new music CD. 

In the past, reviews were limited to print media.  Nowadays, anyone can write a review and publish it on the internet as a blog or a website.  Writing reviews is a great way to work on your craft whether you prefer to write fiction or non-fiction.  If you write reviews and post them online (to an online journal/magazine or your own blog,) then you are also getting your work out there for others to see. 

Writing a Review

Here is a basic guide to writing a review.

1. Watch the movie/television show/play, listen to the cd, read the book.  Engage in your media in a relaxed environment, free from distractions.  Some movie reviewers choose to watch a film in a theater packed full of people.  Other reviewers politely request special viewings.  When it comes to freelance writing however, the options are limited so you’re usually looking at spending your time in a theater full of movie-goers.  If you are reviewing books, television, movies on DVD or new music CD’s, then you’re going to have the option of doing so in the privacy of your own home and in a quiet, stress-free atmosphere.  Most critics take notes during the process. 
2.  Give your opinion.  It’s important, as a reviewer, to give your opinion of a work, expressing what you liked or disliked.  A review, however, is considered journalistic as well so you should be prepared to offer objective/impartial details of the film, allowing your reader to come away from the review with their own thoughts as to whether or not they are interested in watching/listening/reading.  The reviewer should elaborate on opinions so that the reader can assess whether or not they agree with what the reviewer has written. 
3. Assess your audience.  Take into consideration the type of reader you are likely to attract.  If you are writing a review for adolescent literature, your approach will be different from that of a horror novel.  What elements will matter to your audience? 
4. Give an outline.  Offer the reader an outline of the work, or a general overview of the material presented.  If you are reviewing a movie/film/book, do not give away details such as the end, or any twists/turns/surprises.  The reviewer may share that a shocking twist is present but refrain from using details.  The last thing a reviewer wants to do is ruin a surprise ending or give away an essential turn of events.
5. Identify the key players (author/actor/director/musician.)  It’s important to offer details about the writer (of a book,) cast members (of a film/play/television show,) or musician.  A reviewer can offer opinions as to how well an actor/musician performed or how well an author has executed his craft. 
6. Read, read and read.  A good writer (of any form/genre) has to be willing to study his art/craft.  Read reviews from critics you have come to agree with over the years.  Read how each critic approaches a new work, how they set up the article/essay and how they transition from one critical element to another.  Below are a few links to popular critics that may be of help when writing your own review.

Movies
Roger Ebert / Chicago Sun Times      http://www.chicagosuntimes.com/ebert
Bob Grimm / Rotten Tomatoes          http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author/author-5781/

Television Shows
TV Guide                                           http://www.tvguide.com/keywords/tv-reviews
Entertainment Weekly                      http://www.ew.com/ew/tv/reviews/0,,,00.html          

Music
Rolling Stone Review Archive           http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album
Pitchfork                                           http://pitchfork.com/

Books
New York Times                                http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/
AllReaders                                        http://www.allreaders.com/

Exercises to Help with Review Writing

1. Summarize your favorite movie in 1 paragraph.  Make it as simple as possible.  Example below.

Juno
A teenage girl named Juno gets pregnant.  She tells the father and he agrees to stand by whatever choice she makes.  She decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption.  She finds an ad in an advertising magazine for a couple that is looking to adopt.  She meets the married couple and agrees to give them the child . . . (continue in this style)

2. Take the summary you’ve written and cut out any surprises or spoiled plot twists/ending, etc.  This will help you find the general plot. 

3. Write down a list of pros and cons from the movie.  What did you like? What did you dislike?  Be as specific and as general as you want.  Did you like the way the ending made you feel?  Did you enjoy the actor’s performances?  Did you like one particular scene that made you laugh?  Did you like the whole movie except for one scene (that made you uncomfortable or didn’t quite fit?)  List anything and everything you can imagine.  An example is below.

Pros/Cons for Juno

The list can be as long or as short as you want.  [21]

Example of a Movie Review:

Movie Review: Juno
Printed in the Chicago Sun Times, December 14, 2007 - By Roger Ebert

Jason Reitman's "Juno" is just about the best movie of the year. It is very smart, very funny and very touching; it begins with the pacing of a screwball comedy and ends as a portrait of characters we have come to love. Strange, how during Juno's hip dialogue and cocky bravado, we begin to understand the young woman inside, and we want to hug her.

Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so. If most actors agree that comedy is harder than drama, then harder still is comedy depending on a quick mind, utter self-confidence, and an ability to stop just short of going too far. Page's presence and timing are extraordinary. I have seen her in only two films, she is only 20, and I think she will be one of the great actors of her time.

But don't let my praise get in the way of sharing how much fun this movie is. It is so very rare to sit with an audience that leans forward with delight and is in step with every turn and surprise of an uncommonly intelligent screenplay. It is so rare to hear laughter that is surprised, unexpected and delighted. So rare to hear it coming during moments of recognition, when characters reflect exactly what we'd be thinking, just a moment before we get around to thinking it. So rare to feel the audience joined into one warm, shared enjoyment. So rare to hear a movie applauded.

Ellen Page plays Juno MacGuff, a 16-year-old girl who decides it is time for her to experience sex and enlists her best friend Paulie (Michael Cera) in an experiment he is not too eager to join. Of course she gets pregnant, and after a trip to an abortion clinic that leaves her cold, she decides to have the child. But what to do with it? She believes she's too young to raise it herself. Her best girlfriend Leah (Olivia Thirby) suggests looking at the ads for adoptive parents in the Penny Saver: "They have 'Desperately Seeking Spawn,' right next to the pet ads."

Juno informs her parents in a scene that decisively establishes how original this film is going to be. It does that by giving us almost the only lovable parents in the history of teen comedies: Bren (Allison Janney) and Mac (J.K. Simmons). They're older and wiser than most teen parents are ever allowed to be, and warmer and with better instincts and quicker senses of humor. Informed that the sheepish Paulie is the father, Mac turns to his wife and shares an aside that brings down the house. Later, Bren tells him, "You know, of course, it wasn't his idea." How infinitely more human and civilized their response is than all the sad routine "humor" about parents who are enraged at boyfriends.

Mac goes with Juno to meet the would-be adoptive parents, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). They live in one of those houses that look like Martha Stewart finished a second before they arrived. Vanessa is consumed with her desire for a child, and Mark is almost a child himself, showing Juno "my room," where he keeps the residue of his ambition to be a rock star. What he does now, at around 40, is write jingles for commercials.

We follow Juno through all nine months of her pregnancy, which she pretends to treat as mostly an inconvenience. It is uncanny how Page shows us, without seeming to show us, the deeper feelings beneath Juno's wisecracking exterior. The screenplay by first-timer Diablo Cody is a subtle masterpiece of construction, as buried themes slowly emerge, hidden feelings become clear, and we are led, but not too far, into wondering if Mark and Juno might possibly develop unwise feelings about one another.

There are moments of instinctive, lightning comedy: Bren's response to a nurse's attitude during Juno's sonar scan, and her theory about doctors when Juno wants a pain-killer during childbirth. Moments that blindside us with truth, as when Mac and Juno talk about the possibility of true and lasting love. Moments that reveal Paulie as more than he seems. What he says when Juno says he's cool and doesn't even need to try. And the breathtaking scene when Juno and Vanessa run into each other in the mall and the future of everyone is essentially decided. Jennifer Garner glows in that scene.

After three viewings, I feel like I know some scenes by heart, but I don't want to spoil your experience by quoting one-liners and revealing surprises. The film's surprises, in any event, involve not merely the plot but insights into the characters, including feelings that coil along just beneath the surface so that they seem inevitable when they're revealed.

The film has no wrong scenes and no extra scenes, and flows like running water. There are two repeating motifs: the enchanting songs, so simple and true, by Kimya Dawson. And the seasonal appearances of Paulie's high school cross-country team, running past us with dogged consistency, Paulie often bringing up the rear, until his last run ends with Paulie, sweaty in running shorts, racing to Juno's room after her delivery. [22]