Empire Magazine Film Reviews Analysis

October 2016 issue

A United Kingdom (romance)

• Image fills half of the page, as a still from the movie. I feel that this highly represents the genre of the film as it features a male and female, side by side with a scenic background. This relaxes readers and brings in audiences who value this ease of viewing.

• The structure involves three columns: in the first column, the director, cast, rating etc. are listed underneath the title – this can be seen as almost a summary. The block of black underneath this then separates this from the rest of the text – this allows it to look a lot less “blockish”.

A United Kingdom (romance)

• A list of three “enough charm, smarts and jokes” – a humorous summary of the reception of the film.

• The comparison to another film allows audiences to put the narrative into perspective, in order to imagine the film and be more invested in it.

• Instant strengths and weaknesses are presented informally and conversationally. This creates the feeling of a discussion.

• Gratification is regularly given to actors, directors and producers, giving them credit.

Blair Witch (thriller)

• Three quarters of the double page spread is covered by an image, which is generally dark due to the lowly lit surroundings and little can be seen apart from a main character and a torchlight.

• The colours of yellow stick to the magazine’s regular design, however this also gives a sense of appeal to the magazine compared to simply black and white. It draws

attention to the page; particularly with the striking “ON.SCREEN” feature. Colour is significant in ensuring audiences do not get bored. • The conventional layout is again used, with small text and multiple

columns, being separated by bars of text and paragraphing structure.

Blair Witch (thriller)

In reading the review, it can instantly be inferred that the informal and colloquial language is key to maintaining an audience. Rhetorical questions are enforced so that audiences can be put into the place of watching the film. Weaknesses are instantly raised so that it is understood as a reliable and unbiased source. Adjectives are exciting and follow the genre codes, such as “flow of terror and relief”, however criticism uses language techniques to come across as humorous or casual. A final paragraph in bold gives the “final verdict” – this is important as audiences have ease of reading if they want a quick insight into the film.

The Girl With All The Gifts (drama/thriller)

• An atmospheric image from the set of the film is used to cover over the top half of the page, as a landscape – much of the film can be understood from looking at the image alone.

• The similar layout is used again in this review, i.e. flashes of yellow, a section listing the review/actors/directors and small text in columns etc.

• In the corner of each review, it is stated in a tab form which type of review it is – in this case, “cinema”. This makes it clear for audiences when flicking through the magazine what they will be able to go and see as an outing, promoting the entertainment purposes of filmed media.

The Girl With All The Gifts (drama/thriller)

• Characters are instantly presented as either good or bad, through descriptions such as “lovingly examining a photo of a kitten” “polite, perky kid” “sympathetic teacher” “sometimes brutal guard” “single-minded researcher”. This deception of characters can instantly build bonds and likings.

• Summaries of the plot are effective however are not

too revealing. Audiences will therefore be intrigued. Again, this review links the film to many other similar and dissimilar films in order to portray both strength and weaknesses. This is more of a formal review, perhaps due to the genre and target audience, however still has a casual atmosphere.