The first thing I'd like you to do is visit the Internet Movie Database, an excellent source of information about films. Find "Fast Food Nation," the film we finished viewing yesterday, and read reviews by Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com and Peter Travers from Rolling Stone. You can find their reviews by clicking on "External Reviews" (on the left) at the film's IMDB home page.
On a sheet of paper, record your observations of each of the reviews.
- Did they offer a holistic evaluation? What was it?
- Do they discuss character development?
- Does the review deal with both the film's strengths and weaknesses? How do they view them?
- Does the critic make any comparisons? What kind, and to what effect?
- What are some other important points they make about the film?
Once you are finished recording your observations of the two reviews, continue reading other film reviews from some of your favorite films to get a better "feel" for how they are done. Notice the critic's writing style, the types of things they choose to comment on, the way they back up the opinions they offer. You will be expected to do the same kind of thing in the critical reviews you will soon be writing.
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