I am a double-major film and theatre arts student at Portland State University. My credentials include involvement with several indie film productions, PSU TV, and very recently a web series in which I am one of many writers for. I have written several screenplays for both short films and feature-length films.
When it comes to reviewing films, I look at the film through many different perspectives, both regarding the technical and creative aspects of film. There are ten elements that are looked at when reviewing a film.
- Story/Plot – The narrative of a film and how it is executed.
- Pacing – How fast or slow a film progresses from scene-to-scene.
- Direction – The style of the film, and the translation of the screenplay from paper to screen.
- Cinematography/Visuals – The look of the images we see on the screen. Includes composition, motion, lighting, color, angle, etc.
- Editing – How the individual shots are spliced together.
- Sound/Music – The audio of the film and how it helps tell the story.
- Acting – How characters are translated from paper to fleshed-out individuals with emotions, goals, and personality.
- Theme/goal – The concept/topic of the film, and what the film is trying to invoke with the audience.
- Entertainment Value – How the viewer reacts to the film, both during and after viewing the film.
- Rewatchability – The likeliness that an individual would willingly see a film more than once.
I rate these elements on a basic 0-10 scale. Since it seems like many, many people have different definitions of what each number means (I’ve read reviews that pan a movie, and then give it a 6–a score that I consider decent), so here’s how ratings compare in my reviews:
10: A complete masterpiece. Something that should be discussed and celebrated.
9: Nearly perfect, with very minor and barely noticeable flaws.
8: Very good, but not quite a masterpiece.
7: Good. Some noticeable flaws here and there.
6: Decent. Some really great things and some really bad things.
5: Mediocre. Almost 50/50 in terms of what works and what doesn’t work.
4: Substandard. Has many bad elements, but still contains a few elements to appreciate.
3: Bad. Contains serious problems that are distracting and ruin the film.
2: Terrible. Contains so many faults, that finding anything good is very difficult if not impossible.
1: Horrendous. Almost nothing works. Probably can’t get worse if the filmmakers tried.
0: Unsalvageable. A film that gets this probably deserves an award. That award being a Razzie.
Mixed Bag Reviews 