Good Review vs. Bad Review

What makes a movie review good or bad? With sites such as Blogger.com, Rottentomatoes.com, and Yelp.com anyone can become a critic, but that does not make everyone a good critic. Both Austin G. and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote critics on Quentin Tarantino's latest film, Inglourious Bastards, but only Lisa's review properly critics the film.
Austin G's critic on Inglourious Bastards can be found at Rottentomatoes.com, along with hundreds of other horrible reviews. Austin's review does not work as a good review because of its short length, poor grammar, and little knowledge of the film. The first thing to notice about Austin G's poor review includes the unprofessional appearance of his blog. Once your click onto his blog you notice that he fails to use a title to introduce this review. The review is barley composed of 150 words, while missing an introduction and conclusion. The body of the review only mentions two characters, giving broad generalizations about the film. A good critic should have a thorough understanding of their subject, which should give them much to say about their topic. Austin compares the film to other Taratino films, but fails to mention how Inglourious Bastards relates to those films. The review also contains many typos such as " it still holds it's owns as probably as movie of the year" causing confusion and frustration to the reader. He claims parts of the film "[were] already played out in a lot of other movies", but never mentions which other films. He does not provide proper evidence for his accusations. Towards the end of his review Austin mentions several negative aspects of the film, but concludes the review by telling readers to go see the movie. A critic should not contradict themselves within their own review. Overall, Austin's review proves to be a waste of time and is not worth reading.
Lisa Schwarzbaum's review, found at EW.com, displays a well written film review. Her review provides a thorough understanding of the film, with attention to the details. She begins with a well written introduction which gives the reader a quick plot summary of the film. She continues by analyzing the title of the film. She properly references and inserts quotes throughout her review, allowing the reader to easily follow and understand her review. Within her review Lisa mentions several important scenes and characters without giving away major plot secrets of the film. Lisa also manages to comment on the films set and soundtrack, reviewing every aspect of the film. Halfway through the review Lisa relates specific characteristics of Lieut. Aldo Raines to outside references. This gives the reader a better understanding of the nature of the characters within the film. Lisa writes her review with a great knowledge of cinematography and a broad vocabulary. She also shows understanding of the director and his past films by comparing Inglourious Bastards to his past works. Lisa's review gives the reader a good incite on the film and makes them eager to watch it.
In order to make a review work the critic must sit and take their time while writing the review. With constant, fast Internet access critics often become to eager to voice their opinion quickly, rather than properly. A good review gives the reader proper understanding of what is to be expected of a certain product.


Austin G.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/722170/reviews/view.php?type=2&id=1200615


Lisa Schwarzbaum
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20297351,00.html