Film Review magazines first appeared in the United States of America in 1950 and were initially created for a 3-issue trial run. Originally it was titled "ABC Film Review" due to being tied in with ABC cinemas. America had a close relation to Britain in regards to Film Magazine Review as it was an American Film Company but it was published by Associated British in association with Pathé and produced by Axtell Publications Ltd. of London. After the trial's success it became a full monthly magazine from January 1951. The creation of Film Magazine was born.
Moreover, the ultimate purpose of a magazine film review is to directly illustrate, exclaim and provided the audience with information and third person opinions on upcoming films that are to be released at the Box Office in the up coming weeks. This is done as Film Review Magazines like well known British Magazine “Total Film” “Kamera” and “Uncut” provide the audience with a general plot and synopsis of the film. Through this film reviewers like Ginette Vincendeau working for “Sight and Sound” Magazine provide an in depth and detailed synopsis of the film, providing the audience with the entirety of the film within one article by a film reviewer. However this may vary between Film Review Magazines as it is commonly known that “Sight and Sound Magazine” provide the audience with a detailed synopsis on up-and-coming films e.g. the 2011 Production of Black Swan or 2010 Production of the King’s Speech. Moreover, Sight and Sound Magazine are also notorious for giving away many spoilers within their articles, making the viewing of the movie almost pointless to the audience. 
Furthermore, Film Review Magazines also provide objective opinions and third party recommendations on the film under review. This means that a typical review on a film would provide the audience with an opinion on the actors in the film but, also commentary on the director's style and narrative structure. This is generally capped with an overall viewpoint on the production of the film the main director and producer in question. This is usually done through a star rating system from 1 being Tragic or Unacceptable e.g. the 2004 production of Catwoman, to 5 being excellent, outstanding and a must see film e.g. the 2010 James Cameron production of Avatar. Overall, the main function of Film Review Magazines is to offer guidance to the audience about what films to see, practically deploying the audience with more information about the film in question then the film’s film poster which only provides the audience with a minute element of the plot and synopsis of the film.In addition, the impact of a magazine film review can be vital to the success or failure of contemporary films at the Box Office. Many members of the audience rely on the opinions of film critics in order to decide what films they should view at the cinema. Film magazine reviews often provide the audience with a brutal or harsh opinion on the film. This is primarily to subsequently inject an objective balance for people to read unbiased reviews of a film, in question. An example of bad film reviews can be seen from the 2004 production of Catwoman staring Halle Berry and the 2010 Production of R.E.D starring Bruce Willis which both received strong criticism by critics leading to a large deficit at the Box Office. This could be drawn from the Bad film Reviews and therefore illustrates the limitations of a bad magazine film reviews.
The Review of Catwoman can be seen at
The Review of R.E.D can be seen at:
On the other hand, a good review from a film critic can lead to a films success with the audience and sufficient revenue at the box office, further establishing the director or the producer to the audience e.g. James Cameron and Avatar, or illustrating a breakthrough for a person in the film in question e.g. the Directing skills of Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino” a good review from a harsh critic is significant to the audience who may follow the view of a critic in a magazine like Total Film which comes out 13 times a year and talks about forthcoming films. Moreover, examples of good Magazine film reviews can be seen in the 2010 production of the King’s Speech, the 2009 Production of James Cameron’s Avatar and the 2011 production of the Black Swan, which have all or are still receiving success and the UK and Global Box Office to date.
Reviews of the King’s Speech can be found at:
Reviews of the Black Swan can be found at:
Review of the Avatar can be found at:
Overall, the main purpose of a magazine film review is to address audiences who are looking for an objective professional third party opinion on the suitability of a film for the audience reading. Furthermore, many people will look to their favourite film critic e.g. Jamie Graham from Total Film, or Phillip Kemp from “Sight and Sound” to view a film as they trust the opinion of critic and use this opinion to correspond to what they see at the cinema. Film Reviews provide the audience with an in depth synopsis of the film allowing the audience to establish whether the film will be suitable to them. This also helps the audience see the embarking of new actors into the market of film and witness how new producers like Clint Eastwood cope with Hollywood demands. This can be supported as niche and alternative audience would be spurred to read the Film Review Magazine Little White Lies, which looks to expertly and critically assess the films at the Box Office, whilst the opposing audience may read in-house cinema film review magazines like Vue’s “PreVue” which looks to positively promote films at the Box Office to make revenue for their cinema. Ultimately, the main purpose of a Magazine Film Review is to directly illustrate, exclaim and provided the audience with information and third person opinions on upcoming films that are to be released at the Box Office in the up coming weeks. Thus offering guidance to audiences about what films are ideal to see at the cinema.
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