Review

Review

Reviews comparison

 

The only difference between these two is the image. This is to see the difference between taking the image used for the poster and comparing it to an image taken from the film. The poster image will work because it is an image that is connected to the film, however other reviews like Empire Charlie St Cloud shows an image of the actors face. So I am going to use the second review to fit with industry design. 

Review Draft 1

The Absence of Life

Plot

Marc (Hurley) is alone after the death of his older brother, looking onto the faded line between reality and his memories. As the short film moves on the grief fuelled memories become realistic hallucinations; making it near impossible to tell reality from the illusions of his past.

Review

Being one of Callum Hurley’s first off stage performance he really pushes his acting ability with the grief stricken Marc as he comes to terms with his older siblings death. ‘The Absence of Life’ is set during a day sometime after his brother’s demise where Marc is struggling to tell the difference between reality and fantasy as he remembers his brother. A major contribution to this isolated feeling is the cinematography, using close ups and depth of field to create the atmosphere felt in the film. This visual style coupled with the original score by Wimble makes the atmosphere consistent throughout.  It is very clear that the flashbacks are filmed in a natural setting as the younger versions of Marc and his late brother are playing like children play, which hits home that emotional connection. The story slowly builds to the suggested ending, allowing the audience to know what happened to the older brother.

Verdict

The short film is well shot, acted and written; allowing Hurley to flaunt his acting range, using subtle tears to leave the audience feeling emotional. Making the film an all-around decent film and worth the watch. 

I am going to change some of the wording, and put it into a format that is usually seen within professional reviews, using images from the film and posters.

Film Review Analysis [layout]

This review shows a completely different and seemingly random style of review. The actual Review section isn't marked and spread across the bottom of the review. The Pink area shows a , background to the filmsomething that is lacking in the Empire magasine review

I have coloured the actual review of the review in red, this makes it easier to see the review section; which is clearly lumped as a single block. This is the same for the Plot (Green) and Verdict (Blue). This simple and logical layout makes it very easy to see and understand the review. This also makes it very ckear for their target audience (teens) as it needs to be to the point

This indipendant review is more spread out and much longer than the others. There are clear sections of the review like the red is in the later parts (and most of the review) and the pink at the top to give the information before the personal opinions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From looking over these reviews it is clear that the reviews have to be put into blocks. I want to make it very clear and place it into sections; Plot, Review and Verdict. I also want to use images from my film to line the sides of the review to give it come colour and show parts of the film. I will use the second 'Empire' review as a basis as it is easily understandable and seems to be aimed at a similar target age group.

Review Analysis [3]

Indiewire Charlie St Cloud Review

The indiewire review is more of an compilation of other reviews, but does comment on the characterisation of Zac Efron and a comparison to his earlier characters, for which he can be considered a type cast.
 The reviewer calls Efron a 'pretty boy' character which he is obviously type cast to. It is obvious that the review is aimed at a younger audience that holds some form of sense of humour, although I will not be doing this as my drama is more serious, but it adds to the review. The main part of the review that is focused on is Efron and his past actors.
So the comparison to Efron as a character and use other reviews as a basis. However this is an early film review.

Review Analysis [2]

Total Film Original Review (Tormented)

Although this is a review for a slasher film I feel that the age group for the target audience is relativly similar as it is aimed at late teens to early twenties. This is shown in the relativly informal language and structure used in the review. There is only a short paragraph on the actors and starts of the film as it isn't aimed for an audience who notices the actors, however it does state multiple times that it is connected to another well known TV teen Drama 'Skins' which catches the interest of the target audience. These are all tactics used to get people to notice the review and the film. The wording of this review makes it seem very interesting and it is obviously aimed at a teen audience.

Review Analysis [1]

Empire Original Review (Charlie St. Cloud)

The above review is written on the mainstream 'Empire Magazine', and is a review of a film made for the mainstream teen to early twenties audience. The review focuses on Zac Efron as the main character and pulls attention to his performance and his presentation of the 'heartthrob personality'. The actual film isn't discussed in detail until the last two sentences, and focuses on Efron's performance above the films style etc. The review itself is rather short, which can be because it needs to hold the attention of the target audience; but this limit does not leave room for more.
The review also conists of informal language and an irregular structure which reinforces the target audience.