How To

How to Interpret Critics' Movie Ad Blurbs

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By eHow Contributing Writer
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Movie ads often quote reviews. To avoid wasting time and money in your local theaters, learn how to interpret those blurbs. They can be deceiving.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Check the movie ads in your newspaper.

  2. Step 2

    Be suspicious of those that quote no reviews at all.

  3. Step 3

    Be skeptical of critics' comments that are surrounded by ellipses (three dots). A word such as "spectacular" with three dots on both sides could be lifted from a sentence such as "This film is a slick, silly, spectacular flop."

  4. Step 4

    Rely more on the blurbs that contain complete sentences.

  5. Step 5

    Pay attention to which critics - and which publications - are quoted. The best reviews appear in major newspapers and magazines.

  6. Step 6

    Ignore, for the most part, an ad sprinkled with one-word "quotes" from obscure radio and television stations - and ignore the film.

  7. Step 7

    Choose movies that earn legitimate "rave reviews."

Tips & Warnings
  • Check movie reviews on the Web for reviewers' complete opinions and to avoid being fooled by clever ad writers.
  • Find a newspaper critic you trust and rely on his or her reviews.
  • Never underestimate the value of word-of-mouth opinions about films.
  • Ads containing only a couple of quotes often indicate that most reviews were negative.
  • Some so-called critics who appear on television seldom do anything but praise movies. Their opinions are virtually worthless.

Comments  

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on 7/2/2009 You should checkout dailyblurbs.com I just signed up it is pretty cool. Write all the blurbs you want.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Unfortunately, the more movies you watch, the more you will deviate from established critics' opinions. Beware of this observed phenomenon (which I observed after working at a video store for three years). Just learn to trust your own instincts, which are more dependable than the words of critics.

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