The Shoutbox
dont tell me what to do yods

Got 'em.
Yoda's tip

A well-intended one, though in general it's just scraping the tip of the iceberg.

Now can we get a review of how to help write reviews? Or would that be redundant?
I think there's a thread about all this, too, lemme see if I can find it.
Some of our earliest guidelines for which reviews to tag and not, apart from really basic things like length, were about whether a significant portion of the review was just a plot synopsis, as well. Like you said, people can get that anywhere. Nobody's reading these having no idea what the film's about, and they can find out pretty easily if they want (especially since now we link them to a page with exactly that on it, anyway).
Yeah, I'd been writing reviews for awhile until I realized "oh, you don't have to describe everything." You don't have to mention the acting or the cinematography or anything else if you don't have anything worth saying about it. Your job is to convey interesting thoughts about the film, and that's pretty much it. You don't need a checklist of things to cover.

I think they probably got better than that. They certainly felt better to write.
Originally Posted by doubledenim
What has really struck me, is the style a lot of "media" reviewers seem to be adopting.

A couple of paragraphs, little to no synopsis and I'm left feeling like I missed something. But, they get their point across.

My thoughts on the sysopsis, this day and age of internet machines, people don't need you to describe it. Just the impression that you were left with.

I mean, people got a lot of cat videos to watch...
I think it's a matter of making sure that whatever plot points and characters you mention are relevant to the critical analysis you're trying to provide - and also we're all a bunch of amateurs on here so how much critical analysis are any of us really providing here? I think that might be why I barely read reviews on here - they don't really seem to tell me much.
Originally Posted by Iroquois
Originally Posted by doubledenim
@ all the review hand-wringing

I do a good job of being self-deprecating and admitting my weakness. So...

A lot of reviews are the same. People give a plot synopsis and 2 paragraphs later I quit reading.

You may be like me and aren't a good writer.

There is such a saturation of content nowadays you need a angle. There a few people here that can really write with insight. If that's not you, make it make you happy without outside validation.

Also don't forget. A lot of it is popularity and people may not be a fan of you.

In retrospect, I wonder if the "one movie a day" aspect I took with one of my review threads counts as such an angle, to be able to turn out that many reviews on a constant basis definitely drew some attention (especially since there was always the question of whether or not I'd ever actually miss a day). The attention certainly dropped off a bit after that, and then I just sort of gave up last year for a multitude of reasons.

I do agree that we don't need so many reviews where the approach effectively amounts to describing the plot bit by bit only with added commentary. Think the last review I read in full on here was an Alien: Covenant that was just several paragraphs of "this bit was so stupid" and that's not exactly insightful or interesting. On a related note, I think we should try to avoid posting unmarked spoilers in negative reviews under the presumption that it doesn't matter what you spoil since you don't want people to watch this movie anyway. That's just bad writing and something I've been trying to improve on of late anyway.


What has really struck me, is the style a lot of "media" reviewers seem to be adopting.

A couple of paragraphs, little to no synopsis and I'm left feeling like I missed something. But, they get their point across.

My thoughts on the sysopsis, this day and age of internet machines, people don't need you to describe it. Just the impression that you were left with.

I mean, people got a lot of cat videos to watch...
Originally Posted by ynwtf
Originally Posted by doubledenim
Originally Posted by ynwtf
Bumblebee tuna
Bumblebee tuna

Still in office. 16 hours so far gah. Hope all you Kats are well and snoozin'.
I just see a solitary you in the breakroom contemplating what to do with the fish fluid.

Maybe you are going to pour it in Robert's Philodendron. You know how we feel about Robert.

Dude. If you only knew how close you are. Freaky.