|
|
|
Comment |
Sorted by
Date Written |
Wonderful review! (Reply to this comment)
by arianej
I'm not sure why Epinions' notification system sent this to me today since you wrote it back in May, but I'm glad I got a chance to read it. Great advice, and applicable to reviewing books, too.
arianej
|
Aug 29 '01
11:49 am PDT
|
|
Excellent review! (Reply to this comment)
by Redlass
I wish they still had the "featured reviews" in the Member Center, 'cause this would definitely have to be there.
You've written an excellent essay on the difference between what makes a review good and what makes one excellent. The type of research you describe is what is demanded of professionals who want to be paid market rates for their work. It's what makes their work stand above their competitors.
Great stuff!
Bridgette
|
May 30 '01
8:54 am PDT
|
|
should be obvious (Reply to this comment)
by benho
I would have thought this advice would be obvious, but reading many of the opinions, and even some of the comments, I guess it is not.
The internet has made it ridiculously easy to do at least cursory research. imdb.com for movies and amazon.com for books are essential stops for every movie/book review I write. Even most poetry can be found online, if you look hard enough. (not sure you even had to go to the library). It is a service you have done to get more people to realize this.
Since joing epinions, I have paid more attention to reviews I read in the NYTimes, and Economist, and realize that for books especially, I should take the next step, which is finding out more about the author. The Economist starts every review, with a background about the author and the broad subject matter. Though this is easy to say, so far, I have been slow to implement.
|
May 29 '01
3:09 pm PDT
|
|
Re: Re:+Re:+No+offense,+but... (Reply to this comment)
by solleks
Agreed. :-)
|
May 20 '01
1:11 pm PDT
|
|
Re: Re:+No+offense,+but... (Reply to this comment)
by sheila18
To revise my previous statement, I do agree that some analysis is necessary. It is utterly pointless to write a review about liking a movie if you don't explain why.
However, one can go to extremes on the analysis front, which can make a review sound a bit pretentious. I believe that many professional film critics make the mistake of over-analyzing the true meaning of obvious fluff films like "Charlie's Angels" and "Bring It On"-- sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
~Sheila
|
May 20 '01
11:16 am PDT
|
|
Re: No+offense,+but... (Reply to this comment)
by solleks
No offense taken. I usually don't go quite that far to review an opinion. In this case, I was interested in finding Radnoti's poetry anyway, and just decided to put off writing my review until I could get my hands on some samples of his work. My review would have been fine without it, and I don't demand extra touches like that when I rate (however, they are kind of fun, and now I have all the material I need should I ever decide to write anything else about Miklos Radnoti).
However, I must beg to differ when you state analysis is not necessary. Analysis, to me, is the essence of a good review. It is not simply enough to say, "I liked it," or "I didn't like it," you must also explain why, and that entails at least a small amount of analysis.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Debra
|
May 20 '01
5:33 am PDT
|
|
No offense, but... (Reply to this comment)
by sheila18
I think you may have gone just a bit overboard. Sure, I agree that in order to review a film, one must actually watch it, but looking up obscure European poetry at the library? I'm afraid that's a bridge too far.
I concede that Epinions was created to inform potential consumers, but let's get a grip-- by just watching the movie, you've made yourself a consumer, thus qualifying you to review the product. Analysis and extreme research techniques are just unnecessary.
~Sheila
|
May 19 '01
6:01 pm PDT
|
|
Excellent! (Reply to this comment)
by wordwalker
Not to mention applicable to reviews in general: we can all learn from this editorial.
|
May 19 '01
10:08 am PDT
|
|
This was a great review (Reply to this comment)
by jo.com
I actually love research but I won't do movie reviews! It feels like my life revolves around epinions (I have stopped reading best sellers unless I am going on a trip..who has time??)and when I go see a movie I want to enjoy it rather than writing the darn review in my head :) jo
|
May 19 '01
5:04 am PDT
|
|
Wow! (Reply to this comment)
by Suzer
Impressive review.
Suzi
|
May 18 '01
11:53 pm PDT
|
|
Excellent advice! (Reply to this comment)
by jsgoddess
This should be required reading. Well done.
Julie
|
May 18 '01
10:00 pm PDT
|
|
Control (Reply to this comment)
by witlesschurl
The epinions site is neat, but if they have one problem, it's CONTROL. WATCH your punctuation, WATCH your spelling, DON'T use too many words, YOU didn't use enuff words, YOU'RE not courteous enuff, YOU'VE wandered off the subject and so on and so on. Can't someone say (like the kids dying on the hillsides of the Mid-East or streets of Moscow and New Delhi would say); "HEY...good flick! 'Cause after all....IT'S JUST A MOOOOVIE!"
|
May 18 '01
8:49 pm PDT
|
|
I would go so far... (Reply to this comment)
by jkkelley
...as to categorize this as 'uniquely helpful'. This is the best essay I have read today, filled with excellent advice. Fine work. I hope some of our 100-word wonders are paying attention and taking notes.
jk
|
May 18 '01
8:39 pm PDT
|
|
Great ideas (Reply to this comment)
by nwinston
and epinion!
Nancy
|
May 18 '01
8:03 pm PDT
|
|
|
|
