A formal movie review is one that goes into more detail and presents more analysis of the movie being evaluated. This type of review is the most familiar and began as dramatic reviews of plays from the 16th century. Yes, critics have been around THAT long!

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Terms and Definitions of a Formal Movie Review

• Blurbs – When a quote from a review is used in a commercial/advertisement. (ex-“Better than the Matrix!  I would see it again and again!”)

• Critic – A professional who publishes his opinion on a particular movie/play/book. (ex – Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, Leonard Maltin, Pauline Kael)

• Mediocre – Competent but not especially outstanding. (ex – “The film wasn’t bad and it wasn’t good either, it was just mediocre”

• Cliché –Something that’s been used so many times that it no longer surprises or interests the audience; overexposure. (ex – In a scary movie, a black cat jumps out and scares the character, but the real danger is RIGHT BEHIND HIM/HER!)

• Character Driven – When the characters in a fictional work develop over the course of the story into people you care about. (ex – “Twilight” is about vampires, but more importantly, it’s the relationship between the characters that makes us care about the story)

• High-Concept –When the idea behind the story is interesting enough to get people to see the movie without knowing anything else about it. (ex – A young clownfish gets kidnapped and put into an aquarium and it’s up to his father and a misfit group of fish to save him {“Finding Nemo”})

• Plot – What the story is about. (ex – “Kung Fu Panda” is about a clumsy, overweight panda bear who dreams of becoming the ultimate kung fu warrior, etc… {note that a plot summary is about a paragraph long})

• Hype –Using different techniques to get the audience excited about the story. (ex – “Come see ‘Coraline’ in amazing 3-D!  It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before!”)

• Out of Context – When quotes are mixed up and changed around to give the words a different meaning. (ex – The commercial says:  “Roger Ebert calls ‘The Big Crazy Movie’ BRILLIANT!" What Roger Ebert really said in his review was, “The Big Crazy movie could have been BRILLIANT if the acting wasn’t so terrible.”

• Puns – A clever play on words. (ex – “Waiting to Exhale” will take your breath away!) (ex – “Run to the theatre to see “Running Scared!”)

• Editorial rights – When handing over a review to a publication, the editor has the power to create a title and cut things out of the review. (ex – YOU WROTE:  “This movie stunk.”  The editor changes it to:  “This movie wasn’t so good.”)

• Syndication – When the same article is published in more than one newspaper or publication.

• (ex – The Associated Press takes one article and sells it to 300 newspapers and 1000 websites across the country).

• Ratings system –  When the critic uses a scale to show the degree of how much they recommend the movie (ex – “thumbs up” or “four stars”)

• Audience demographics – When the critic recommends that only a certain group of people should see, or not see, the film. (ex – “Kids will like ‘Madagascar,’ but adults will get bored.”

• Critical bias – When the critic cannot review the film fairly due to a personal problem with something in the film. (ex – I hated “Jaws” because I’m afraid of sharks.)

• Spoilers –When a critic reveals secrets and plot points that could ruin the surprise for the audience and lessen their enjoyment of the movie. (ex – In the end of “The Big Crazy Movie,” John the main character dies)  Note:  DON’T TELL SPOILERS!!!