How to Write a Movie Review

Ever wonder how to write a movie review? It’s a skill worth developing. I’ve written movie reviews for years, mostly so I could remember the movies I’ve seen. If you’re young, you probably think you’ll never see enough movies to forget what happened in them, but when you hit 40, if you watch two movies a week, you’ll have seen 2000 more movies than you’d seen when you were just 20. Having a movie review to look back on as a mnemonic device can help you remember details you’d otherwise forget. That’s not the only reason to write movie reviews though. Some people get paid for it. Some writers, like Roger Ebert, get paid very well for it. You might not get rich writing movie reviews, but you can make money writing them. You can even self-publish them on the Internet and sell advertising on your site. I don’t know how much money someone like James Berardinelli makes from his movie review website, but if you love movies, love writing, and love getting paid for doing things you love, then learn how to write a movie review. How to Write Movie Reviews – Step by Step See a movie. You can’t review a movie you haven’t seen. If you do, then you’re a liar. Movie reviews are supposed to be honest accounts of your experiences watching a movie, so seeing the movie first is critical. (You’d think this would go without saying, but in these days of Internet junk content, lots of people will rive anything you want, even if they have no experience with it. Take the high road. Movie reviewing is a type of journalism, and that’s a noble profession. See the movie on the big screen. Watching movies on a television set is an anemic experience. Watching movies on computer monitors, iPads, and cell phone screens is even more anemic. Movies are meant to be see in a dreamlike state that can’t be achieved with a small screen. Don’t read other people’s reviews of the movie. At least wait until after you’ve written your review. The problem with reading others’ movie reviews before writing your movie review is that you’ll wind up responding to the other movie reviews instead of responding to the movie itself. Also, your opinion of a movie shouldn’t be influenced by what Leonard Maltin thinks of the film. Include a little information about the plot. I edit and publish a movie review site that employs three different reviewers. I’ve told all of them that anything that happens after the first act in the movie is off-limits. You want to give enough details about the plot of the film that people will know whether or not they want to watch it, but you shouldn’t spoil what happens in the second or third acts except in the most general of ways. Really, explaining what happens during the first ten minutes of the movie should give people the idea. Plot details should be limited to who […]