In our studio on Monday (31st July) we watched the film ‘City of God’ a documentary about food critic Johnathan Gold whom investigates and critics foods all around L.A. I can’t say that I would be willing to watch this film again, but I am sufficed to have had it ticked off my documentary film list. It was a very investigative and participatory film about a reviewer himself, but I really struggled to see a climax other than his well respected opinion around LA. What this film did teach me about being a critic is those whom are most respected by their audiences are those who are fair and reasonable. It can be painful to read reviews that you do not agree with, but holding that respect of knowing it is honest, truthful and knowledgeable is extremely important.

I really appreciated and took active participation on our Wednesday Studio where we looked at 5 different reviews of the same film, ‘Edward Scissorhands’ (a personal childhood favourite). This gave me insight towards what it may be to be a better critic through different styles. What I really valued the most from these articles was the use of comparison and painting a picture in the readers mind. This is something I really enjoy about reviews, because it gives you the closest rendition of what to expect from a film. Specifically, I really liked this from critic Ray Cassin. He compared Edward Scissorhands to old fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Frankensteins, not only me but other viewers would be able to relate to and get a sense for the sort of tone portrayed throughout the film. What was also noticed through these reviews as I can sense that they give to much summary of the film sometimes, rather than leaving the audience the opportunity for their own expectance. In some what this seems fair for a film reviewer as he wants to apply his knowledge and authority to the film, but it can put the audience in a position of weakness knowing to much about the film before watching it.

I feel this was a extremely affective task for myself with my writing as I am beginning to understand what I expect from a review and also what I like to read.